The Houston Astros are 2017 World Series Champions after a long, hard-fought battle with the Los Angeles Dodgers through seven games. This was the Astros’ second World Series appearance in franchise history, with the first one being a four-game sweep on the losing side against the Chicago White Sox in 2005.
Every Astros player contributed to their championship win, but most notable was World Series MVP and right fielder, George Springer. Springer became the first MLB player to hit a .379 average, with three doubles, five home runs, and seven RBIs during a World Series. He essentially clinched the MVP title early in Game Seven for the Astros, putting his team up 5-0 in the second inning after hitting a three-run home run off of Dodgers starting pitcher Yu Darvish. The Dodgers were never able to recover from that deficit, leading to the Astros’ 5-1 victory.
Coming into the series, there was a lot of speculation about how this was going to be a low-scoring series because of how strong both pitching staffs were. It turned out to be just the opposite, with a variety of records being broken on the offensive side. The Astros hit 15 home runs through seven games, passing the previous record of 14 by the 2002 Giants. The Astros and Dodgers combined to hit 25 home runs, beating the record of 24 from that same 2002 World Series between the Giants and Angels.
The Astros proved they are very strong at home by going 8-1 during the postseason, which ties the record set by the 2002 Angels. They even captured their first eight-game winning streak at home, before losing Game Four at Minute Maid Park vs. the Dodgers.
Freshman catcher for the PLNU Men’s Baseball team, Jarrett Lindsay, took a lot away from the World Series that he feels he can use in his own game. “Since I’m a catcher, I was specifically looking at (Austin) Barnes, the Dodgers’ catcher, because he’s one of the best in the league at getting strikes for his pitcher, so that was just something I was looking at, like his glove movement,” he said.
Lindsay, an Anaheim native, was rooting for the Astros to win it all. “I’m from Anaheim, so I’m an Angels fan, so naturally I hate the Dodgers. I just like the Astros and how young they are and how much fun they have; they’re fun to watch,” he said.
This record-breaking World Series won’t be forgotten anytime soon. With so many lead changes the excitement grew each game. Game Five was a roller coaster, with the Astros winning 13-12 in 10 innings on a walk-off hit by their third baseman, Alex Bregman. Seven home runs were hit in that game alone. Some have said that this was the most exciting World Series ever, but that is up for debate among baseball fans.
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