Facts and broken records by Astros en route to World Series title
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The Houston Astros are first-time World Champions, and they made quite a dent in the record books getting to the mountaintop.
The Astros can claim launching a record amount of home runs getting their goal.
Here are facts of the Astros big title win:
Payroll conquerors
Houston defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox on their way to the championship. The three teams are ranked one, two and three in top payrolls at opening day this year, as reported by Sportrac. The Astros were ranked 18th on that list.
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Drought snapped
Houston snapped a title drought that stretched 55 years, or the entirety of their history. The number of ball clubs that have not won a World Series is now down to seven: Washington Nationals, Seattle Mariners, Colorado Rockies, Tampa Bay Rays, Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, and the Texas Rangers.
Road clinchers
Houston's Game 7 win in Los Angeles is the fourth consecutive title-clinching game on the road and the fifth in the last six World Series.
League MVPs and the World Series
Jose Altuve is considered the likely winner of the American League MVP this past season. If he wins, he would follow Chicago Cubs' Kris Bryant, who won the National League MVP in the same season as his team won the World Series. The last time consecutive league MVPs won the individual award in the same season as their team's World Series is back in 1983 and 1984.
Cal Ripken Jr. was the AL MVP in 1983. His Baltimore Orioles won that season. Willie Hernandez won the AL MVP award in 1984. His Detroit Tigers were world champs that year.
From chumps to champs
Houston is the fourth team in the 100-plus year history of the World Series to lose 100 games and then win a World Series within five years.
Five-home run club
Series MVP George Springer hit five home runs in the World Series, joining Reggie Jackson and Chase Utley as the only players in history to do so. Springer also set marks with 29 total bases, eight extra-base hits and home runs in four straight games within the same Series.
Blast-off!
The Astros and the Dodgers combined to hit 25 home runs throughout the Series, besting the previous mark set by the San Francisco Giants and the Anaheim Angels with 21 back in 2002.
Hit by McCullers
Starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. beaned four Dodgers batters, the most in a Game 7. He also joins Roger Clemens and Orel Hershiser as the only pitchers to hit multiple batters in a postseason Game 7.
First to score wins
Teams who scored first in a winner-take-all World Series game improved to 25-14. The first run plated in Game 7 was by Springer in the top of the first inning.
Multiples of 7
Houston is the fifth team in Major League history to play in multiple Game 7s in a single postseason. The Astros also join the 1985 Royals as the only teams to win both Game 7s.
Samesies
The Astros and Dodgers scored the same amount of runs in the World Series at 34 a piece.
Beltran's best
Despite spending just two total seasons with the Astros, Carlos Beltran leads the franchise in postseason home runs with eight. He is followed by Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa.
Marathon game
The Astros' Game 5 was the second-longest World Series game of all time, clocking in at five hours and 17 minutes. The Astros also played in the longest World Series game back in Game 3 of the 2005 MLB championship.
Comeback kids
By virtue of Game 5, the Astros are the fifth team in World Series history to overcome three deficits to win a game.
Home is where winning is
Houston was 8-1 at home in the postseason, making the Astros the only team in MLB history to win that many home games in the playoff round. The World Series Game 4 was just the third loss in their last 22 home games.
