Mike Scott’s no-hitter in 1986. The Killer B’s of the 1990s. And of course, the 2017 World Series. All fond memories for Astros fans.
Houstonian Ray Martinez knows those moments. Standing outside of Minute Maid Park on Monday, he said he’s watched the team his entire life with friends and family, sneaking in to the Astrodome.
But along with those cherished moments came the the doldrums of a decade ago. Those were the years before Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, and other young talent boosted the team to its first World Series in franchise history, a feel-good ending for a city still reeling from Hurricane Harvey.
But the catharsis of that win was soon replaced by scandal: An investigation later revealed the team had been stealing signs during that Cinderella run.
Now, with that hanging over their heads, Martinez said he believes the Astros will show the Atlanta Braves — and baseball fans everywhere — that 2017 was no fluke.
“I think they can redeem themselves,” he said. “Maybe the whole country can forgive them, because everybody has fallen some way or another. But you just dust yourself off, get up and move on. That’s in the past. We don’t live in the past.”