Houston Astros Team History

Construction of the domed building was finally completed in late 1964. In honor of Houston’s significance to the country’s space program, it was appropriately named the Astrodome, and to maintain the theme, the Colt .45s were proudly renamed the Astros.

The 2000 season saw a move to a new stadium. Originally called Enron Field, the stadium was to feature a functional retractable roof, a particularly useful feature with unpredictable Houston weather. The ballpark also featured more intimate surroundings than the Astrodome. In 2002, naming rights were purchased by Houston-based Minute Maid, after Enron went bankrupt. The park was built on the grounds of the old Union Station. A locomotive moves across the outfield and whistles after home runs, paying homage to a Houston history which had eleven railroad company lines running through the city by 1860. The ballpark also contains quirks such as “Tal’s Hill”, which is a hill in deep center field on which a flagpole stands, all in fair territory. A similar feature was located in Crosley Field.

On November 15, 2011, it was announced that Crane had agreed to move the franchise to the American League for the 2013 season. The move was part of an overall divisional realignment of MLB, with the National and American leagues each having 15 teams in three geographically balanced divisions. Crane was given a $70 million concession by MLB for agreeing to the switch; the move was a condition for the sale to the new ownership group. Two days later, the Astros were officially sold to Crane after the other owners unanimously voted in favor of the sale. It was also announced that 2012 would be the last season for the Astros in the NL. After over fifty years of the Astros being a part of the National League, this move was unpopular with many Astros fans.

The 2017 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball’s (MLB) 2017 season. The 113th edition of the World Series, played between October 24 and November 1, was sponsored by the internet television service YouTube TV and officially known as the World Series presented by YouTube TV. It was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the American League (AL) champion Houston Astros.

The Astros defeated the Dodgers, four games to three, to win their first World Series in franchise history, and the first Texas-based MLB team to do so. Both teams set a World Series record with a combined total of 25 home runs throughout the entire series, including a team record 15 home runs by the Astros, and hit a combined total of eight home runs in Game 2 to set the single game World Series mark. Houston outfielder George Springer was named as the World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) after hitting five home runs in the series to tie a World Series record with Reggie Jackson in 1977 and Chase Utley in 2009.

This was the first World Series in which home-field advantage was decided by regular season record. From 1903 to 2002, home-field advantage alternated between the AL and NL, and from 2003 to 2016, it was determined by results from that season’s All-Star Game, when it was awarded to the team from the winning league. With 104 regular-season wins, the Dodgers earned home-field advantage over the Astros, who had 101 regular season wins. This was also the first time since the 1970 World Series that both World Series teams won 100 or more games in the regular season. The series was played in a 2–3–2 format, with the Dodgers hosting Games 1, 2, 6, and 7; and the Astros hosting Games 3, 4, and 5.