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Houston Astros: The franchise all-time bracket

By Bill Felber

JUPITER, FL - MARCH 07: The Houston Astros logo on the arm of their jersey during a spring training baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on March 7, 2020 in Jupiter, Florida. The Cardinals defeated the Astros 5-1. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
JUPITER, FL - MARCH 07: The Houston Astros logo on the arm of their jersey during a spring training baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on March 7, 2020 in Jupiter, Florida. The Cardinals defeated the Astros 5-1. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /
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Some of the Houston Astros most successful teams have also been some of the game’s least admired. Let’s take a closer look

On the theory that every good tournament requires an antihero, we present the Houston Astros bracket challenge.

Based on recent history alone, the Astros will load up the bracket with candidates for the role of Snidely Whiplash. The scandal-tinged 2017, 2018 and 2019 teams, three of only four 100-game winners in franchise history, are all obvious bracket candidates.

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Since the franchise’s creation in 1962, 14 Astros teams have played at least one post-season game, although five did so as wild cards.

The current stretch of success, which really began in 2016, is the most dominant period in franchise history.

So we begin with the 2017 through 2019 bloc, and add the 1998 team, the only other 100-game winner.

The 1980 and 1986 division winners are also obvious choices, getting us down to two available spots.

Among the remaining post-season clubs, the 1999 and 2001 teams have the best resumes. They won the most games and both also won division titles…or in the case of the 2001 team tied the Cardinals for the NL Central lead.

Related Story. Houston Astros preview and predictions for 2020. light

The format is identical to previous bracket challenges. Each matchup in the tournament is decided based on seven criteria. You can think of each as a ‘game,’ the winner of four games advancing. The seven criteria are:

  1. Game 1: Regular season winning percentage.
  2. Game 2: Post-season winning percentage
  3. Game 3: Team OPS+
  4. Game 4: Team ERA+
  5. Game 5 (if necessary): Team WAR
  6. Game 6 (if necessary: Fielding percentage above the league average for the season in question.
  7. Game 7 (if necessary): Hall of Famers or likely future Hall of Famers
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