Houston Astros: Astroball is a must read for every baseball fan
Anyways
Anyways, Astroball talks about the Houston Astros and how they were built to be champions for 2017. We all knew about what was going down with regards to the methods that Astros GM Jeff Luhnow was using to get there. The idea was simply to blow up the current organization and start fresh with a new team. That’s a common trend amongst teams who decide to start over. But what might not be a common trend until now is the idea that losing can produce winning. In other words, the Astros had to be terrible in order to be good. To do so, they had to secure number one draft picks for good talented players.
The easiest way to do so would be to lose a lot. Henceforth why Minute Maid was pretty much unapproachable to the masses during the two years. Did the Astros tank then? I hate that word taking because it makes it seem like we lost on purpose. I don’t think we did that, but we fielded a team that the odds were against us to win most if not all games.
In a Perfect World
In a perfect world, the Houston Astros would have three incredibly talented number one picks that make them champions by 2017. But what kind of story would that be for Mr. Reiter to write? Two of the Astros number one picks never panned out. Mark Appel struggled in the minor leagues while Brady Aiken’s elbow issue caught up to him afterward. Of course, we know who the third number one pick was. But what’s interesting about that was Carlos Correa was part of a draft class that was said to be one of the worst in history. Other notables from the draft include Byron Buxton (Twins), Addison Russell (A’s, Cubs), Corey Seager (Dodgers), Michael Wacha (Cardinals), Stephen Piscotty (Cardinals, A’s), and Joey Gallo (Rangers).
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The Real Unsung Hero
Everyone believes Jeff Luhnow is the hero in the story of the Houston Astros rise to dominance. But in actuality, the real hero of all this was his analyst Sig Mejdal. He was a former NASA engineer and blackjack dealer at the High Sierra. Mejdal was the one that came up with a formula that was mixed with half-scouts and half-stats. This was a formula that not only applies to baseball, but also in life and in other organizations.
Of course, through all the trouble the Astros endured, they still kept up with the process and it paid off for them. There was never one decision they made that was perfect. But then again, the idea was never to be perfect. Rather, they wanted to be right most of the time. Safe to say when reading this book, you could give them at least an A- on the exam and that’s a good thing.