After starting off the postseason in loud fashion, mostly thanks to Yordan Alvarez, the Astros have been able to peel off win after win in route to the 2022 World Series, especially with Alvarez and Altuve's bats going quiet in the American League Championship Series.
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That means Dusty Baker's squad depended not just on Houston's untouchable pitching staff, but on the timely hitting of unlauded role players.
One of those individuals is 27-year-old Chas McCormick, whose major league career was mostly him in the background when cameras pointed at the Astros dugout.
McCormick has broken out as one of the unsung stars of Houston's postseason after seeing little action in the last two Octobers. Hitting the first two career playoff homers will do that.
More over, his every-guy demeanor has won over Astros fans who are now seeing him more than the person who won the start in centerfield simply through attrition.
We dug into No. 20's life before MLB, as well as the infectious chomp tied to him.
He's a twin
When the Astros clinched the AL pennant in New York, you may have seen two Chas McCormicks celebrating.
Much like the disbelief of Houston making the Fall Classic for the fourth time in six years, McCormick unbelievably has a doppelganger.
MLB.com's Astros reporter Brian McTaggart snapped a shot of Chas in his celebration apparel with another McCormick in the picture, Jason.
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In fact, Chas and Jason are two of four boys born to Robert and Nancy Jo McCormick. Chas' college baseball bio also states that his two older brothers, Ryan and Sean, played on the diamond collegiately.
He's a Pennsylvanian
And more specifically, Chas McCormick grew up outside of Philadelphia.
The outfielder calls West Chester home, which is almost 40 miles west of Pennsylvania's largest city.
So, his ties with the area and the Phillies, who are Houston's World Series opponents, are deep.
In an article by ABC13's partners at the Houston Chronicle, McCormick recalled getting wrapped up into the excitement of Philadelphia's two World Series runs in the late 2000s.
"I was rooting for the Phillies (in the National League Championship Series), to tell you the truth," McCormick said. "The first time being able to play in Citizens Bank Park in my career, playing in the World Series, it's going to be incredible. I'm going to have a lot of friends and family rooting against me for the Phillies to win, but I couldn't be more excited to play against them."
He added that returning to his childhood major league club's ballpark is a "surreal childhood dream."
He has a chomp
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Yes, his chomp is infectious when he's up to bat inside Minute Maid Park. But its contagiousness is only matched by the mystery behind it.
Houston Chronicle's Matt Young dug into the Chas chomp origin story, which apparently had nothing to do with McCormick's alma mater or an inside joke in the clubhouse.
In fact, McCormick himself didn't even know how it started.
That responsibility falls on an Astros fan Scott Agruso, who told Young that he simply started clapping in a gator bite movement while chanting "Chas! Chas! Chas!" while McCormick was at bat in a May 2021 game.
That invention caught on with his section of the ballpark, he says, and it would be used again in following games.
It also apparently serves as a barometer of how well McCromick is playing. Agruso said McCormick's batting average picked up in the first 16 games that he and a friend did it in person.
"It pumps me up," McCormick told the Chronicle. "I noticed if I'm playing well, you'll start to kind of hear it, but if I'm not playing that well, then you won't hear it."
By all indications, the playoff chomp has worked out pretty well. McCormick has five hits, including two homers, in 20 at-bats this postseason.
If the Chas chomp sounds become louder this World Series, it may mean success for the Astros toward winning their elusive second world championship.
2022 World Series schedule: Astros vs. Phillies
- Game 1: at Houston, Friday, Oct. 28, 7:03 p.m.
- Game 2: at Houston, Saturday, Oct. 29, 7:03 p.m.
- Game 3: at Philadelphia, Monday, Oct. 31, 7:03 p.m.
- Game 4: at Philadelphia, Tuesday, Nov. 1, 7:03 p.m.
- Game 5*: at Philadelphia, Wednesday, Nov. 2, 7:03 p.m.
- Game 6*: at Houston, Friday, Nov. 4, 7:03 p.m.
- Game 7*: at Houston, Saturday, Nov. 5, 7:03 p.m.
* if necessary
More Astros stories during 2022 World Series run:
- Astros pitchers Framber Valdez and Luis Garcia rock hair extensions for MLB postseason hairdos
- Astros' star Yordan Alvarez family sees him play in postseason for the first time
- Rally nuns return to Minute Maid Park to cheer on Houston Astros
- Astros-Yankees predictions: Who will rule the ALCS?
- Houston restaurant's potty humor comes at Yankees' expense
- Bronx Bombers vs. Bayou City: Looking at the Astros-Yankees rivalry
- Major League melting pot: Looking at the demographics of the Houston Astros
- Astros' Yordan Alvarez merchandise flying off shelves in wake of playoff heroics
- Astros fan claims to have quit job to attend ALCS Game 2
- Bizarre moment during ALCS Game 2 after Astros fan storms field to take selfie with Altuve
- Gone with the wind: Yankees manager says Minute Maid Park's roof open 'kind of killed us'
- Houston sweeps for a 4th trip to the World Series
- Astros land in Houston ahead of World Series
- 2022 MLB World Series, 42 years in the making
- World Series tickets already selling out before Houston clinches ALCS
- Houston won't host just 1 Philadelphia team on World Series week
- Astros watch parties return as World Series tickets range $600-$17K
- Jeremy Peña stops by Irma's in downtown Houston after returning from clinching World Series berth
- Cheer on the Astros advancing to the World Series by eating a 25-cent themed doughnut