Future looks bright for champ Astros
Houston Astros general manager
Jeff Luhnow uses a Seinfeld reference when pinpointing the time he saw the once-woebegone franchise start to turn around its fortunes on the way to becoming what it is today, the newly crowned World Series champion.
Luhnow had arrived in December 2011, after the Astros lost 100-plus games in a season for the first time in their history, and his plan called for plenty more losing as they moved expensive veterans and built through high draft picks.
The next two seasons were miserable, each worse than the previous one and bottoming out with a 51-111 record in 2013, but the next year signs of hope emerged. The Astros became more competitive, finishing at 70-92. They had a two-time all-star in second baseman Jose Altuve. And a swashbuckling rookie named George
Springer provided much-needed signs of better times to come.
“Our fans were waiting for our process to start working and the players to start coming up,” Luhnow, drenched in champagne, recalled in a smoke-filled clubhouse at Dodger Stadium, where the Astros had defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 in Wednesday’s Game 7 to capture their first-ever championship.
“We had a lot of up-and-down guys, but when Springer arrived, there’s a
Seinfeld episode — the summer of George — and I remember tweeting something out about the summer of George. He infused such energy into our team that from that point on I knew it was going to be all up and not down.”
The Astros reached the summit by outlasting the Dodgers in a memorable World Series, and it was Springer who set the pace, batting .379, tying a record with five home runs and earning unanimous MVP honors. Springer doubled leading off the clincher, soon came around to score and capped Houston’s five-run outburst in the first two innings with a two-run homer off Yu Darvish.
Turns out the autumn of George isn't that bad either.
“This has been a crazy journey, a wild ride,” said Springer, a first-round pick in 2011. “The organization has come so far in three years, it’s awesome to be a part of. To look back on 2014 and to look back on the huge jump we made in 2015 to now, it’s incredible.” Mariners dump Gallardo: The Seattle Mariners declined 2018 options on right-handed pitchers Hisashi Iwakuma and former Brewers starter Yovani Gallardo, making both eligible for free agency.
Gallardo, who gets a $2 million buyout payable next July 1 rather than a $13 million salary, shuttled between the starting rotation and bullpen in his one season in Seattle. Gallardo was 510 with a 5.72 ERA in 28 games.
Angels, Upton agree: Justin Upton and the Los Angeles Angels have decided to stick together.
The outfielder is staying with the club that acquired him with one month left in the regular season, agreeing to a $106 million, five-year contract on Thursday that adds one season and $17.5 million in guaranteed money.
The Angels acquired him on Aug. 31 for their playoff push, but they finished 80-82 and missed the postseason.
Upton had career-highs of 35 homers and 109 RBI last season while batting .273 with a .901 OPS.