Endure, Learn, and Move On

I apologize in advance to all of you haters out there.  I am an Astros fan.  Still am.  Let me explain.

I live in The Woodlands, Texas.  It is a suburban utopia just north of Houston.  As the name suggests, there are lots of trees.  It is a master-planned community with excellent schools and great amenities. Like me, many people who get transferred to Houston for their work choose to move here and commute because it is more like where they came from than sprawling Houston and its lack of zoning restrictions.

However, it doesn’t take you long to appreciate Houston for its vibrant, diverse, and inclusive culture.  And, after you survive one of our disasters, you consider yourself a Houstonian.  Disasters shape the culture of this city.  We have weather disasters of all sorts—hurricanes, floods, and now crippling winter storms.  We have economic disasters caused by the boom-and-bust nature of the energy business.  We had Enron. 

These disasters, and not to mention the humid summers and awful traffic, make those who live here strong and resilient.  There is a sense of “we are all in this together” here.  People from other places don’t understand Houston and how we are different from Dallas or Austin.  We hunker down and endure each disaster, learn from it, and move on.  Our summers are oppressive, and the Astros provide a welcome distraction and an excuse to stay inside.

Unfortunately, each of our sports teams recently has demonstrated cultures far less healthy and resilient than the town they represent.  Like a bad hurricane season, last year presented one disaster after another for Houston.  Several of them were related to our sports franchises, and the Astros cheating scandal was the worst of these.  The announcement of the MLB investigation was heartbreaking.  They failed to represent our city with honor and were exposed.  Like many who break the rules, they took risks that probably were not necessary.  Their arrogance and short-term, win-at-all-cost mindset were in stark contrast to our expectations.

Unlike a hurricane, there were no real victims—it is just a sport.  This storm damaged the Astros’ reputation, and their fans were left to question their allegiance.  Unfortunately, repairing a reputation can take longer than rebuilding the damage from a storm.  If we choose to stay fans, we must wait it out.  I love following the Astros on road trips.  I enjoy visiting other ballparks and observing other teams’ cultures.  How long will it be until I can safely walk into Yankee Stadium wearing an Astros jersey?

However, I am happy with how the team responded last season.  The players endured resentment from opposing players but focused on what they could control.  They answered the questions from the media and were humble.  Dusty Baker was a calm presence.  Carlos Correa and Alex Bregman, who were both just 23 during the 2017 season, emerged as leaders and represented the team well.  The Astros and its fans moved on.

So has AJ Hinch.  He served his suspension and is managing the Tigers.  Last week, I read an outstanding article on him in The Athletic.  I had never heard the stories about losing his father and the tornado that destroyed his childhood home.  It is pretty easy to see how AJ was an excellent fit for the Houston culture.  Everybody here loved him, and we miss him.  Add him to the long list of people wearing other uniforms that we have to watch come through town playing against us while we shake our heads.

The article helped me understand how Hinch’s approach with his players conflicted with the Astros front office’s analytics-driven culture.  We do not know everything that happened, but the stories of his monitor bashing episodes make me believe he was fighting a losing battle.  It seems to me he was trying to show his team the importance of playing the game the right way, as he had done.  At the same time, upper management was promoting a toxic culture of seeking every edge to win.  As any manager would do, you act as a buffer and balance management objectives while protecting your team from negative influences.  This never works out well for the manager when trouble happens.  Consequences are necessary, and someone has to be held accountable.  Unfortunately, you can’t fire the owner, and it is not practical to fire all of the players.  In sharp contrast to former general manager Jeff Lunhow, Hinch was embarrassed and ashamed.  I suspect he will be received well in Detroit and around the league.

The Astros finally appear to have alignment between team ownership, the front office, the managers, the players, and the fans.  Jim Crane has survived such blowups in the past and responded decisively, and set clear expectations for the future.  James Click brings an employee-first culture and a more pragmatic style to modern baseball analytics, making more sense for Houston’s place in the MLB hierarchy.  Dusty is loveable to all and engaging with the media.  He helps everyone put things in perspective. The few players from 2017 who remain are those who emerged from the scandal as leaders.  These days, it is rare for potential free agents like Correa and McCullers to publicly state that they want to stay with their team, especially ones tainted with a legacy of being cheaters.  And, by their actions last year, they have quickly rebuilt their connection with Houston’s fans.  These are the same fans who now feel abandoned by the Rockets and the Texans. The Astros have fooled us before, and there is no guarantee that they have it right this time.  But it seems better now.  As fans, we see the efforts and take them in good faith. Trust is earned, but we are willing to give them a shot. This is sports, not real life. We are not victims but fans of our hometown team.

My plea to Cody Bellinger, Tyler Bauer, Jomboy, and the rest of the haters is simple.  Look inward and ask what you would do if you were in the shoes of the remaining Astros or its fans.  Would your team have responded better than the Astros did?  Is it productive to go carry on about how you were robbed four years ago and prop up unproven conspiracy theories about buzzers?  Would you evacuate, or would you hunker down? 

I’m not asking that you all like Astros.  The scandal was awful and unforgivable. I agree. But can you treat the current Astros as hated rivals rather than criminals?  Turning down the volume a couple of notches would give the team space to continue their cultural transformation and allow Astros fans to come back out from the dark.

There is always another storm coming.  And, sometimes, the storms come from the north instead of the south.  In the meantime, I hope we can all move on and get ready to enjoy the upcoming baseball season.  We need the diversion.  And, when it is safe to do so, let’s go to the park and root on our team.  If the Astros are in your town, maybe I’ll see you there.  I’ll be the guy in the number 27 Altuve jersey.