*Photo by Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press
This year’s Major League Baseball’s World Series concluded on the 5th of November, the Houston Astros having been declared the champions. Winning their second World Series title in history since 2017, the final of a best of seven playoff series between the Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies, ended on a Saturday night of Game six. The final score was 4-1.
Philadelphia emerged as National League (NL) champions, after beating the 2021 champion Atlanta Braves in the National League Division Series and the San Diego Padres in the National League Championship series. Likewise, Houston emerged as the American League (AL) champions, fulfilling people’s high hopes and expectations for the team. The Houston Astros swept the New York Yankees out of the American League Championship series, and before that, the Seattle Mariners.
The Phillies appeared in this series first as the underdog, and soon shocked the baseball world with their sweeping of teams in the National League. In the eyes of all the baseball fans, the Astros were always more likely to go to the World Series over the Phillies.
Game 1 of this year’s series took place at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. The Astros at first with a 5-0 lead, with 2 home-runs from Kyle Tucker. However, Game 1 continued into extra innings when the Phillies marched back to beat them 6-5. Which gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead in the Series. The World Series would then be tied to one win per team when the Astros came back to win 5-2 during the second game. Game 3 would occur in Philadelphia, though that would be after the postponement due to inclement weather.
Houston notched up to take the win in Game 4, both teams having 2 wins at that point. Houston’s momentum would then continue into Game 5. When Yordon Alvarez hit Jose Alvarado’s pitch in the bottom of the sixth inning, the celebratory roar of fans was unleashed. Their victory over the Philadelphia Phillies under their very own roof. The Boston Red Sox were the last team before the Astros to win the World Series title in their home park, and that was in 2013. With a game ending fly ball catch by Kyle Tucker, the Houston Astros ended up as 2022 World Series champions, with rookie shortstop Jeremy Pena named as the MVP (Most Valuable Player). Another notable player winning a ring was Trey Mancini, who after a winning battle against cancer and a trade to the Astros in the middle of the 2022 season, got to hold the trophy for the first time in his career.
“That’s what motivated them,” said Dusty Baker (manager, alumni of Del Campo High School in Fair Oaks, CA) “The boos and jeers we got all over the country, it bothered these guys, but it also motivated them at the same time. And it wasn’t an us against the world thing. It was more of a ‘come together even closer’ type of thing."