The Houston Astros capped off a thrilling World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night, winning the franchise’s first title in its 56-year history with a subdued (for this matchup) 5-1 victory — and in doing so, validating SI’s 2014 cover story proclaiming the ‘Stros the 2017 champs.
That’s right, the magazine called it three years in advance with its “Your 2017 World Series Champs” headline, and even pegged the right guy for the cover. Center fielder George Springer spent the last week tormenting L.A. pitchers, pelting five home runs during the seven game series — tying “Mr. October” Reggie Jackson and now seldom used Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley for the most dingers in a World Series.
Still, SI didn’t stick with Reiter’s bold call, even on the eve of the 2017 championship: Eight out of nine writers picked the Dodgers to win the series before it started. Reiter was the one scribe still willing to stand by H-Town.
So why did the magazine make such a prediction years ahead of its time? The magazine’s editor-in-chief Chris Stone told USA Today’s “For The Win” writer Ted Berg about it:
“I spoke to Ben and said, ‘What does the future hold for this program? Do you believe in their plan?’ And from what I could understand, he did. To sell it, we needed to say something, so we came up with ‘Your 2017 World Series champions,’ which seemed plausible in light of some other transformations we had seen in the previous decade. Remember how quickly the Rays pivoted in 2008? It didn’t seem implausible that a team with smart people running it, with a plan, could turn things around in three years.”
Wednesday night’s World Series win was the culmination of Houston’s investment in home-grown talent, with shortstop Carlos Correa and likely American League MVP Jose Altuve helping form one of the best offensive arsenals in MLB history. Oh yea, and adding ace pitcher Justin Verlander and his fiancé Kate Upton at the trade deadline didn’t hurt, either. I’m now obligated to include an Instagram picture of Upton cheering on the Astros.
It was a long way back from baseball hell for the Astros, who were drawing a 0.00 Nielsen rating only four years ago due to their dreadful play. Now they can blast all the Geto Boys and Travis Scott they want, because they’re the champs. The city announced on Thursday morning it’ll hold its championship parade on Friday afternoon.
(If you got through this entire post without thinking it was written by an emo Dodgers fan, mission accomplished.)
Sports and Politics Don't Mix? History Says Otherwise (Photos)
With President Donald Trump's grousing over recent protests in the NFL, the debate over whether athletes should express their political views through the platform of sports has heated up once again. But contrary to what some might believe, the phenomenon of athletes protesting didn't begin with Colin Kaepernick. Read on as TheWrap delves into the long-term relationship between sports and politics.
At the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Tommie Smith and John Carlos -- who'd taken the gold and bronze medalists in the 200-meter dash -- took to the winners podium and raised their fists above their heads in a silent protest against discrimination against African-Americans in the United States. "If I win I am an American, not a black American. But if I did something bad then they would say 'a Negro.' We are black and we are proud of being black," Smith said of the protest.
Boxing legend Muhammad Ali famously refused to serve in the U.S. military during the Vietnam war, noting, “Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go ten thousand miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs?" In 2005, President George W. Bush awarded Ali the Presidential Medal of Freedom, calling him "a fierce fighter and a man of peace."
Following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the United States led a boycott of the Summer Olympic Games in Moscow. The boycott would grow to 65 nations who refused to participate in the games.
Four years later, the USSR would return the favor, boycotting the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. "Chauvinistic sentiments and anti-Soviet hysteria are being whipped up in this country," the Soviet government said of the boycott, which 13 other communist countries would also join.
At the beginning of the 1995-1996 NBA season, Denver Nuggets point guard Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf decided that he wouldn't salute the American flag during the playing of the national anthem prior to games. The decision went unnoticed for some time; when NBA commissioner David Stern handed down a one-game suspension to the player. The NBA later reached a compromise, mandating that Abdul-Rauf stand for the anthem, but allowing him to close his eyes and face downward.
In 2014, following the death of Eric Garner after a confrontation with police in New York, Cleveland Cavaliers stars LeBron James and Kyrie Irving wore shirts emblazoned with the phrase "I Can't Breathe" -- Garner's reported last words -- while warming up for a game against the Brooklyn Nets. Nets players Jarrett Jack, Alan Anderson, Deron Williams and Kevin Garnett also donned the shirts.
In 2016, then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick opted not to stand during the national anthem, saying, "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color ... To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."
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From Muhammad Ali to Colin Kaepernick, a timeline of protesting athletes
With President Donald Trump's grousing over recent protests in the NFL, the debate over whether athletes should express their political views through the platform of sports has heated up once again. But contrary to what some might believe, the phenomenon of athletes protesting didn't begin with Colin Kaepernick. Read on as TheWrap delves into the long-term relationship between sports and politics.
