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HOUSTON – From his position in the stands below the left field line at Minute Maid Park two years ago, James Click could imagine everything changing. The Houston Astros, the dominant American League end-of-season team at the time, were swaying in the ninth inning and Click hoped they would drop.
Click is now the general manager of the Astros, who are trying to get another pennant against the Boston Red Sox in Game 6 of the AL Championship Series on Friday. However, in 2019, he was vice president of baseball operations for the Tampa Bay Rays, who filled the bases one by one in the ninth inning of the second game of the division series. One more hit and Rays could draw or take the lead.
Unfortunately, the hit never came, and while the Rays won twice at home, they lost the tight series in five games.
“If we really go back and win Game 2, the whole narrative of this series and everything else will really change quite dramatically,” Click said in an interview Friday. “It’s always weird to think about the sliding doors and the little things that can transform franchises.”
At that moment, no one knew about the demon lurking behind one of those sliding doors. of the astros illegal sign stealing scheme It would show up after the 2019 season, ruining their reputation and elevating their leadership structure.
General Manager Jeff Luhnow and Manager AJ Hinch have been suspended by Major League Baseball and Fired by the Astros. After Dusty Baker was chosen to replace Hinch, the Astros chose Click to take over Luhnow.
Click took over a team that won a flawed title in 2017, then lost in the ALCS in 2018 and lost in the World Series in 2019. Even as players escaped punishment in exchange for cooperating with MLB’s investigation, the franchise was deeply shaken.
“It is difficult to summarize how turbulent the past year has been for this organization,” Click said. “You go and at least you know what you’re dealing with in terms of the public relations aspect of things and the reputation of the organization and you try to turn it around.
“But all I had to lean on was the fact that this is a very, very, very good baseball team. And almost always when these things are open, it’s because something needs to be fixed and something needs to be addressed. Normally it’s a major league roster, but in this case it wasn’t like that.”
With a record 29-31 in the 2020 season shortened by the pandemic, the Astros have done enough to qualify for an extended playoff zone. They lost to the Rays in the ALCS and came back for the fifth time in a row after easily winning AL West this season.
Click strengthened this year’s bull power with trades for Kendall Graveman and Phil Maton in July. Maton came from Cleveland in exchange for Myles Straw, the Astros regular midfielder. That opened up positions for Chas McCormick, Jake Meyers and Jose Siri, who toured three organizations before the Astros signed him to a minor league contract last December.
Siri, 26, reached the majors in September, hitting .304 and starting two of her first five ALCS games in midfield.
“He has as many natural talents and talents as any player out there – he’s simply a superior athlete,” Click said. “He can run, throw, hit for power. When you have a guy like that, being such a talented minor league free agent who’s already been through several organizations, he sometimes asks questions. We’ve done our homework and tried to get to know him as a person, but ultimately, we’re betting on our talent and ability, hoping to fix a few things and really take advantage of what he has.”
With the Astros core in place when Click came along, he had some decisions to make. He retained two regular players who reached free agency after last season, signing outfielder Michael Brantley for two years and first baseman Yuli Gurriel for one year, as well as a 2022 option. Gurriel won the AL batting title at .319, Brantley finished second at .311.
An even more important addition is short centre-back Carlos Correa, who will be a free agent after the season. Correa will likely try to take on Francisco Lindor’s record contract ($341 million for 10 years with the Mets), and the Astros, who let George Springer go to Toronto last winter, may have flexibility in their salaries. The contracts of the two highest paid players, Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke, expire at the end of the season.
“It’s not something I’ve spent a lot of time on,” Click said of Correa’s contract. “We’re really laser-focused on winning tonight’s game and winning a World Series. We hope to have a very short end of season, but we will achieve it when we have to.”
Correa’s status will have a major impact on shaping the future of the Astros, who lost their first and second-round picks in 2020 and 2021 as part of their punishment for the stealing scandal. But so will Click’s vision, who started his career as a writer for Baseball Prospectus.
There, surrounded by bright young foreigners, many of whom are starting to work for teams, Click said he learned to think critically and challenge conventional wisdom. He spent 14 years with the Rays before joining the Astros and says he hopes to combine his Tampa Bay experience with the still sometimes questionable best aspects of a successful Houston organization.
In theory, another championship could convince fans and rivals that the Astros are a legitimately great team despite their past gimmicks. Click does not wait for such confirmation.
“I still think there’s a big group of people out there, you know, their opinions are probably never going to change,” Click said. “And that’s good. That’s not our focus. We don’t play for it.”
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