Imagining a Houston Astros and Cleveland Indians ALCS
An American League Championship Series between the Houston Astros and Cleveland Indians could be one for the ages.
One of the beautiful parts of baseball is the concept that anything can happen. On any given day a pitcher can go out and shutdown one of the best teams in the league or a batter can step up to the plate and crush a walk off home run even if his batting average is horrendous.
The Cleveland Indians have done something that no one in their right mind would have predicted. If you’re an Indians fan and you disagree, and you simply think to yourself, “I totally knew we could do it,” well you’re wrong.
The Indians have won 28 of their last 30 games, and have shocked everyone taking over the overall spot in the American League. The Houston Astros utterly dominated everyone prior to the All Star Game, and even though they have suffered through untimely injuries they are still sitting here at 95-59 heading into the final games of the regular season.
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These two teams honestly shouldn’t even be in this position. The Astros were arguably the worst team in baseball for a couple years running, and the Indians fell apart in Game 7 last season losing to the Chicago Cubs in a classic. But, as I said before anything can happen in baseball, which is why a potential playoff matchup between the Indians and Astros would be a baseball lovers dream.
You have the Houston Astros. A city that was left devastated following the events of Hurricane Harvey. A team that has been counted out for the last decade as they lost one of their only World Series appearances in 2005 to the Chicago White Sox, and have been irrelevant until now.
Then there are the darlings out of Cleveland, Ohio. A team that has fought tooth and nail to overcome their own World Series drought as they haven’t won a title since 1948. The story writes itself between these two ball clubs.
With the American League being wide open this season these two teams seized the opportunity dominating everyone in their path. While both teams have played one another this season it came at a time when both teams were discovering themselves. In May, the Indians walked into Minute Maid Park and swept the Astros, but is that really a measuring stick?
The Astros have since added Cameron Maybin and Justin Verlander who have added a certain kind of swag back to this team. Verlander has found his form, and will ultimately serve as a huge boost to this Houston team heading into the postseason. As for the Indians, they’re coming off of one of if not the best winning streaks in baseball history, winning 22 straight.
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The pitching matchups and the electricity inside of both ballparks will serve as one of the best playoff series in recent memory. Houston and Cleveland have a lot at stake heading into October, and I for one cannot wait to see if baseball gives us one hell of a postseason for the ages.