Time to end the hate of the Houston Astros

The Houston Astros have not done themselves any favors in terms of public perception. AstroGate, and their subsequent lack of remorse, remains fresh in the minds of baseball fans, with the franchise continuing to be vilified. Boos, trash can jokes, and a stream of vitriol towards the players have been constant over the past two years.

Major League Baseball certainly has a hand in this. Their laughably light penalties, lack of discipline for any players, and slap on the wrist to the franchise helped make an already messy situation worse. As a result, that hatred is continuing.

Time to end the hatred towards the Houston Astros

But it is time that ends. The Astros of today are not even close to the same team they were in 2017. And, once Carlos Correa leaves in free agency as he is expected to, they will be even further removed from that championship squad.

Once Correa departs, only four members of that 2017 team will remain. As Lance McCullers is a pitcher, he may not even count towards the animosity as his three plate appearances that season all came in Miami. It is not as though he was getting the benefit of a trash can in that game.

This leaves Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, and Yuli Gurriel as the three position players that would be left on the Astros roster from that team. Altuve has certainly taken his share of criticism and has been the face of AstroGate. The players that benefited have largely left the franchise, either through trades or free agency.

At this point, the animosity towards the Astros is a disdain for the laundry. It makes sense to hold that dislike for the players left who directly benefited from the cheating scandal, but to hold on to the vilification of the entire franchise is wrong. This is not even close to being the same Astros team.

The Houston Astros are still reviled due to AstroGate. As the vast majority of those players are no longer on the time, it is time to end the hatred.