Astros Fans Have Reached the End of Their Decade-Long Party

Houston has enjoyed plenty of recent postseason success, but the boos that rang out Tuesday were indicative of the team’s golden era drawing to a close.

The Astros were defeated 6–3 by the White Sox in Game 1 of the AL wild-card series. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Astros got a tough taste of reality on Tuesday when they dropped Game 1 of the AL wild-card series against the White Sox. Despite having home-field advantage in the series, fans in Houston didn’t rally behind the team after it fell into an early deficit. Quite the opposite, in fact. Fans at Daikin Park made abundantly clear that they weren’t pleased with the performance on the field, as boos rung out across the stadium as early as the first inning.

For a franchise that’s enjoyed a phenomenal decade with plenty of postseason success, it’s never been more apparent that the Astros’ golden era is drawing to a close. Since 2017, Houston has been to the postseason nine times in 10 seasons, only missing out last year. They’ve made four trips to the World Series in that span and won two championships. And throughout their successful decade, their fans have been a constant, cheering them on loudly as they fought through the gauntlet that is the MLB postseason, and even standing by them during the infamous sign-stealing scandal that made the organization a pariah in the sport—and thus made its fans easy punching bags for their peers.

Things changed this year, however. There were plenty of empty seats at Daikin Park on Tuesday, with attendance sitting just over 34,000 fans. With more than 7,000 vacant seats, it wasn’t the environment players had envisioned for Astros postseason action. Of course, a 4:00 p.m. local start time isn’t ideal to pack a stadium. But the performance on the field throughout the season also hasn’t inspired the crowd to believe in this team and give it their all. This isn’t the same dominant Astros team that fans have grown accustomed to over the last decade-plus. Far from it. The elite squads of the past decade set a high standard for baseball in Houston, and the displeasure from the fan base on Tuesday evening was a glaring indicator that they’re beginning to experience a proverbial hangover as the decade-long party begins to simmer down.

Houston limped into the postseason, making MLB history in the process by becoming the only team to ever make the playoffs in a 162-game season without a winning record. The performance they put on in Game 1 is exactly what this year’s Astros team is—unconvincing and substandard.

Opting for a bullpen game in the series opener, Houston dug itself into an early hole. Walks, like they so often were during the regular season, were the culprit early. Astros pitchers led the American League with 668 walks, and opener AJ Blubaugh issued three of them in the the first inning Tuesday. That kickstarted the boo birds from the crowd, which only heightened after Bryan King entered in relief and proceeded to allow five consecutive White Sox hitters to get on base in the second inning.

Astros pitcher AJ Blubaugh (left) didn’t make it out of the first inning in Game 1. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The boos returned in full force during the seventh inning after a pair of sliders in the dirt from Bennett Sousa got past catcher Yainer Diaz, including one that Braden Montgomery swung and missed at, but still reached first base on the dropped third strike.

For a team that just narrowly made the postseason, the Astros needed all the help they could get from their home crowd. They didn’t receive the kind of support they expected, and that didn’t sit too well with some members of the team.

Sousa was one of a few Astros players to voice his disdain over the booing from the crowd at Daikin Park.

“The fans here are definitely spoiled with a lot of ALCS and World Series runs, and we have to earn that right to bring this team back to that position,“ Sousa said, via The Athletic. “That being said, when this team was in their first [playoff] series 10 years ago, Minute Maid Park was probably packed. It makes a big difference. If we were in Chicago, it’d probably be loud as s—.

“As a team and as a staff, we know how we feel about our guys. And if that’s felt differently from the outside—that’s O.K. We can live with that. But as a team, we know that we lay it on the line every day. We’ve been working our ass off. We’ve been playing hard. We got in the playoffs. We just really need the support of our fans.”

“It’s extremely frustrating as a home player,” said veteran first baseman Christian Walker. “We’re here, playing at home; we need cheers. We need energy. We don’t need boos. What purpose does that serve in that moment? Whatever fans are feeling, we’re feeling it tenfold. We’re the ones out there. We’re the ones in the fight. We worked our butts off this whole season to put ourselves in this spot, and for guys to get booed, it’s frustrating.”

It’s not out of line for Astros players to want a more positive reception from the fan base. But it’s equally fair for fans in Houston to feel frustrated over a poor performance on the field, something they’ve seen far more of this year than they have throughout the last decade. And if the Astros want their home stadium to be behind them, they’ll need to prove they’re worth supporting. Their play in Game 1 was not.

Even if Houston does win this series, all signs indicate its championship window is just about shut—and with one of the worst farm systems in the game, a long rebuild could be ahead. Will the lasting memory of this season be about the play on the field, or the reaction from the stands?

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