Houston Astros become the 2017 World Series champions. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
On Aug. 25, 2017, Hurricane Harvey – a Category 4 hurricane – devastated Houston with its 130 MPH winds.
In the four days that Hurricane Harvey hovered over Houston, it dumped more than 60 inches of rain, caused $125 billion in damages and killed 68 people.
Throughout the state of Texas, Hurricane Harvey damaged 204,000 houses and killed 103 people.
A few months later, on April 2, the 2017 MLB season kicked off. The Houston Astros won their first game of the season the next day against the Seattle Mariners.
The Astros continued this winning streak, finishing off the regular season with a 101-61 record. With this impressive record, the Astros won the American League West Division.
From here, the Astros advanced to the American League Division Series, where they faced off against the Boston Red Sox.
Houston defeated the Red Sox 3-1 and headed to the American League Championship Series to play against the New York Yankees.
The Yankees gave the Astros a run for their money, pushing the series to game seven. The Astros played tough defense this final game though, defeating the Yankees 4-0 in the game and 4-3 in the series.
Having won the American League Division, the Astros headed to the World Series to face off against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Again, the series went to game seven, where George Springer carried the Astros to victory with five home runs. Houston won the World Series 4-3 -- their first title in franchise history.
The Houston Astros won the 2017 World Series, but this title was not their biggest success. Instead, their crucial victory came in the form of a healing city.
After Hurricane Harvey rained destruction on Houston, hundreds of thousands of people were left hopeless. But the Astros gave them something to cheer for.
After winning the World Series, Carlos Beltrán – a centerfielder for the Astros – told Bleacher Report “there are a lot of people who are really hurting right now in this city.”
"[Baseball] gives the city something to rally around. It gives people something to cheer for that otherwise may not have a lot to be hopeful for.”
Not only did the Astros bring home a World Series title, they also brought Houston hope – something much more valuable than a trophy.
The Houston Astros’ 2017 MLB season will always be remembered as a successful sporting season, and it will forever be remembered as a story about overcoming adversity for Houston.
As Beltrán told Bleacher Report in his interview, “to be a part of that [a World Series], no matter how big or small it is, whether you're the MVP or the last pitcher in the bullpen, that's something you will never forget."
And Houston will never forget the hope the Astros gave them six years ago.
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