There are two well-known origin stories for the Houston Astros: The intentional, out-in-the-open period of tanking that birthed a behemoth under general manager Jeff Luhnow, and the sign-stealing scandal that branded that behemoth MLB’s chief villain.
Five years after winning that momentous 2017 World Series, the Astros remain baseball’s final boss — 106-win titans set to tackle the upstart Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series — but this team’s most terrifying strength has nothing to do with tanking or stealing signs.
These Astros still have many of the star hitters who were the face of their rise — and their fall into ignominy — but they blazed an undefeated October path to the World Series behind an army of homegrown pitchers who are laying the groundwork for yet another stage of the Astros’ arc: Dynastic rulers of the American League.