Tag Archives: 2022

Winners Win: How the Houston Astros Pulled Off A Second World Series Title

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The Golden Age of Astros Baseball

The Houston Astros are no strangers to postseason baseball, having made it to the postseason in every season since 2017, and to the World Series four times in six years. Since their first title win in 2017 and after falling short last year, the Houston Astros were chasing one thing this season: another World Series Championship. In a Game 6 against the Philadelphia Phillies, the Houston Astros won their second World Series title in six years, capping off an incredible season.

Road to the World Series

The Astros finished the regular season with a second-best franchise record of 106 wins, having already accomplished incredible feats such as pitching two immaculate innings in one game and throwing a combined-no hitter.

To start the postseason they swept the Seattle Mariners in the first three games of the American League Division Series (best-of-five), the first two games of which were defined by game winning home runs by Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez. The finale was a tense 18-inning game, a pitching dual from both teams that ended in a 1-0 win for the Astros in Game 3 thanks to a solo home run by Astros rookie shortstop Jeremy Peña. Then, in the American League Championship Series (best-of-seven) they swept their rival team the New York Yankees in four games, one of which was a complete game shutout, punching their ticket to a second straight World Series.

This October met an unlikely matchup in the final series of the season. The Phillies were the #6 seed team in the playoffs, a spot that didn’t even exist before the playoff bracket this year was expanded to include an additional Wild Card spot. The Phillies battled their way through opponents to face the #1 seed Astros in the 2022 Fall Classic. The stars aligned and the Houston Astros were set up for a chance at another World Series run.

Perfect Pitching

The success of this team can largely be attributed to what the team previously lacked: an all-around stellar pitching staff. The Houston Astros bullpen alone finished the playoffs with the lowest single postseason ERA with a stunning 0.83 ERA (earned run average), while the Astros starting pitching staff held their opponents through the postseason to a .172 batting average. In the World Series, Astros pitching got the Phillies to strike out a record-breaking 71 times.

Astros Aces:

Framber Valdez

Dominican-born left-handed pitcher Framber Valdez signed as an international free agent with the Astros at age 21, which is considered “old” for most international free agents. In 2022, he pitched dominantly and had considerably the best season of his career. Valdez relies heavily on his sinker and curveball pitch to record a high percentage of ground balls for outs. In the regular season he broke the record for the most consecutive quality starts, which is when a pitcher completes at least six innings allowing no more than three earned runs. He recorded a streak of 25 quality starts. In the postseason, he held a 1.44 ERA with 33 strikeouts, and was credited with three of the team’s wins during that span.

Cristian Javier

Another Dominic-born Astros pitcher, Christian Javier, was a 16 year old outfielder who decided to give pitching a try. Just shy of turning 18, again considered “old”, he signed a contract worth $10,000 with the Astros in 2015 and made his MLB debut in 2020. This season, he has proven himself to be a reliable ace for this team. Starting the year out as a bullpen pitcher, he soon became a key asset in the team’s starting rotation. While considered only the team’s number four starter, with his electric fastball he’s been nearly unhittable versus opponents. During the regular season he and the bullpen combined no-hit the New York Yankees. Later in the ALCS, the Yankees would see a complete game shutout pitched by none other than Javier and the Astros’ bullpen. Then, in the World Series, he gave the Phillies’ hitters the same treatment. In Game 4 of the World Series, Javier and the bullpen combined no-hit the Phillies, completing the first combined no-hitter in World Series history. He threw his fastball 70 out 97 pitches in this game. His plan was plain and simple: attack the strike zone and get ahead in counts. He finished the World Series credited with a win and a perfect 0.00 ERA.

Bryan Abreu

Yet another Dominican-born player Bryan Abreu, who signed with the Astros as an international free agent in 2013 and made his MLB debut in 2019, became the Astros’ secret weapon out of the bullpen this season. All year Abreu proved to be lights out and only continued this dominance throughout the postseason. In ten postseason games played this year, through 11.1 innings pitched (IP), he recorded 19 strikeouts while allowing zero runs.

Ryan Pressly

Astros closer Ryan Pressly had an incredible 2022 season. As a closer, it is generally the pitcher’s job to record the final outs of the game and preserve your team’s lead with the hopes of securing your team’s win. In this year’s postseason alone, Pressly had 6 saves out of 6 save opportunities (SVO) through 10 games and 11.1 IP. In that span, he recorded 13 strikeouts and a spotless 0.00 ERA.

Stepping Up to the Plate

With the loss of veteran shortstop Carlos Correa prior to the 2022 season, it was unclear if the Astros would be able to find a player of value to fill his shoes. But, rookie shortstop Jeremy Peña set off to make a name for himself in his first season as an Astro. He became the first rookie shortstop to win a Gold Glove, winning the award for his exceptional defense. In the regular season he lead all shortstops with 16 total defensive runs saved (DRS). Offensively he hit 22 home runs (HR), with 63 runs batted in (RBI). In Game 4 of the ALDS, he put an end to the Seattle Mariners season with a solo home run to snap a 17-inning scoreless game, completing the sweep and allowing the Astros to advance to the ALCS. After the Astros swept the Yankees, Peña was named MVP of the ALCS. Peña hit one home run during the World Series, becoming the first roookie shortstop to hit a home run in the World Series. His batting average through the World Series was .400 and his on-base percentage (OBP) was .423. He hit a total of four postseason home runs. As the Astros were crowned the 2023 World Series Champions, Peña was named MVP of the World Series, becoming just the third rookie, and first ever rookie position player to do so. If this is just the beginning of this 25 year old’s MLB career, the future is bright for this Astros star.


“Do it for Dusty!”

In 2020, Dusty Baker became the new manager of the Houston Astros. Prior to the 2022 World Series, 73 year old head coach Dusty Baker had managed the most MLB games without winning a World Series title. Both his 2002 San Francisco Giants and 2021 Houston Astros lost in the World Series. Since becoming manger of the Houston Astros, Baker has been successful in guiding his team to the postseason in each season he has managed, but his teams had just fallen short every time. That all changed when this year the Houston Astros prevailed against the Philadelphia Phillies and rewarded Baker with his first managerial World Series win.

H-town vs. Everyone

Ever since the Astros’ 2017 Championship was tarnished by scandal, this team has been fighting to put the past behind them and show everyone that they are a force to be reckoned with. On November 5th, after steamrolling their way through their two previous opponents, the Astros silenced the haters and in six games remarkably won the World Series trophy for the city of Houston. The final blow was executed by Astros power hitter, Yordan Alvarez, who hit a 450 ft. bomb to center field to put the Astros on top.

“Bury Me in the H”

I have followed this team all season long and never once doubted that this would be the outcome in the end; winners win. If this so-called “Golden Age” of Astros baseball and their postseason success is not to last for much longer, then I, as a true fan of my hometown Astros, call myself proud to be able to witness these days in which we can revel in the taste of sweet victory.

A Year In Review: Celebrating 2 Years of ‘Faith It ’til You Make It’

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Today marks exactly two years since I posted my very first article to this blog site, two years of pursuing just what I love to do: write. Every year in my first blog post of the year I recap all that has happened in my life in the past twelve months and I share all that I wish to manifest for myself.

part of the caption I wrote a year ago today.

It’s safe to say 2021 did not go easy on us. This year has been a rollercoaster of challenges, yet so full of opportunity.

I did it!

Shortly after kicking off the new year, I received my freelance writing diploma. When I decided all those years ago to forgo traditional college and pursue my passion, I knew I was taking the unconventional route. But, I knew in my heart I was making the right decision for me. Just fifteen months after starting the online program, I completed it. It felt amazing to have some physical form of validation that my dream of being a writer could be a reality. Little did I know, a big storm was coming…literally.

The view from my apartment of the snow-covered ground on the morning of February 15th, 2021. See article: https://faith-it-til-you-make-it.com/2021/02/28/snow-storm-in-the-south/

In February, my state of Texas was in for a big shock when we were hit by a snow storm. My city almost never sees snow so to experience a snowfall of this magnitude was, in part, exciting. What we did not expect was for homes state-wide to lose power for multiple days during the dead of winter, my own home included. We were lucky that we were supplied with all necessities to get through the cold, but for other families many tragedies and financial issues resulted from the prolonged power outage.

See article: https://faith-it-til-you-make-it.com/2021/05/10/turning-twenty/

May was personally one of the greatest month’s of this year. I turned twenty years old on the third of May, and even got a birthday wish from an actress who starred in Selena: The Netflix Series. Also during this month, I posted to my blog the first real interview that I had conducted. A month earlier I had virtually met and conversed with two amazing women with disabilities and got to learn and write about their lives for my blog. This was the greatest opportunity I have gotten in my writing career so far and it garnered me the most exposure to eager readers I’ve ever had this year.

See article: https://faith-it-til-you-make-it.com/2021/05/20/in-conversation-with-shannon-dugdale-and-renee-dollenmayer-living-boundlessly/

Just two months later, I was given another great writing opportunity in which I shared Tammy Le’s story to my blog. When I watched the viral video that showed her heartbreaking reaction to her damaged wheelchair that had been mishandled by airline workers, I felt her pain. I wanted to get her story out so, in a spur of the moment decision, I took a chance and personally reached out to her. She allowed me to conduct my second true interview. That article also reached a wide audience and I will always be grateful to Tammy for allowing me to write for her.

See article: https://faith-it-til-you-make-it.com/2021/07/31/flight-risk-why-we-should-care-about-airlines-mishandling-wheelchairs/

2021 was the year that myself and many of my loved ones contracted Covid. It was in no way easy, but we are so lucky to have overcome the virus. In lighter news, the baby cousin I introduced on my blog last year turned one!

My adorable baby cousin Emily turned one in September!

Also, we learned that she will be a big sister to a little brother coming this Spring!

In late October, we found out the gender with cupcakes! It’s a boy!
Another cousin is being added to the crew!

This year came with many surprises, both good and bad, but that’s all part of growth. Still, there’s always things in life that remain constant no matter what and for me, that is my friendships. In the spirit of keeping my favorite tradition alive, I spent the eighth New Year’s in a row with my best friend!

Eighth new year’s spent together & counting! Here’s to 2022!

Many of the goals I vowed to manifest for myself and for this blog a year ago have already come true. I never expected to get the opportunities that I have so early in my writing career, but it showed me the true power in manifesting what you want for your life. On the other hand, I learned the importance of patience. You can speak your wishes into existence, but just because they don’t all happen immediately doesn’t mean they never will. Whenever I felt discouraged or self-doubt in my capabilities, I had to remember that big opportunities will come to me when they are meant to.

I find that ever since changing my upload schedule to be on a monthly basis, I am more proud of the work that I am putting out. Just as I had hoped, this year I was able to write about a variety of topics from fashion to sports, free-writes that just might be my favorite, and of course disability. In 2022 I hope to challenge myself to work beyond my niche and receive more opportunities in other areas that interest me. A goal of mine still is to reach a larger following someday and while I got a taste of that this year, I will keep speaking it into existence until I have a consistent following on this blog. Also, a dream of mine that I hope will come to fruition in the near future is to write for and see my name recognized under articles for various magazine companies. I feel that the only way I can eventually reach a wider audience is to get my name out there. In honor of the new year and another year writing for this blog site, I’d like to present to you my new custom-made logo!

Thank you to my cousin Brandon for gifting me my custom logo!

If you have been following me on this journey of creative bliss thus far, thank you for sticking with me and I hope you only continue to enjoy my writing. Nothing makes me happier than knowing my writing engages readers. Moving forward, the possibilities of what I could write about on this blog are endless and I am eager for another year on ‘Faith It ’til You Make It’.