Not long after the Houston Astros secured the 2022 World Championship title Saturday, team owner Jim Crane candidly talked to KPRC 2 Sports Director Randy McIlvoy about winning after the cheating scandal, the impact Dusty Baker’s had on the team, the fans, and the first phone call he plans to make now that the World Series is done.
THE CALL
That call he said is going to be to pitcher Justin Verlander. Crane credits Verlander with being a part of the team’s transition into a powerhouse program that appeals to fans.
“Verlander’s a big piece of that. Hopefully we can keep him for next year,” said Crane. “My first phone tomorrow will be to him, see what he wants to do.”
“He was pretty reasonable when we signed up. We had a 130-inning threshold, and he exceeded it, so he earned the option and hopefully he wants to stay here. I think he likes it here.”
“He wants to win 300 games. This is a good place to do it. We’ve got a good team. You don’t want to go somewhere where you can’t do that.”
THE SCANDAL
Crane said when it comes to baseball scandals like steroids and sign-stealing, the reach is probably wider than those who get punished. The only thing the Astros could do after the scandal broke in 2019 was move forward.
“We owned it, and the guys recovered from it. We didn’t argue about it. We paid the fine. We dropped picks, we fired some people, and so and we recovered from it. We just kept our head down and I give the guys a lot of credit for doing that.”
DUSTY BAKER
“Dusty came in and handled a lot of that and did a great job with it and kept the guys united. And the guys like playing for them and he kept it light, and he was firm, and he ran the ball club really well from start to finish,” said Crane. “You can’t win 106 games. You can’t win a World Series without a great manager.”
THE FANS
“It was fun to get on that stage and see that crowd out there and do it in Houston, Texas on the stage. We’ve given a couple away that weren’t ours here, and so I’m just so happy for the city and the fans and all the support we get and so it was spectacular.”
“Without the fans, we’re not here. I tell the players, I’m not paying you, the fans are paying you.”
“It’s a great night for the city and the guys played great all series from start to finish.”