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Astros fans will always have 2017.
A day after MLB commissioner Rob Manfred expressed regret about letting sign-stealing Astros players off the hook, ESPN released the nominations for next month’s ESPY Awards, which will not include the 2022 World Series champions, the Houston Astros, in the best team category.
The 2017 ‘Stros won the category back in 2018 but before the cheating scheme during their first World Series championship season was exposed.
The snubbing is curious and might be grounds for recency bias. This year’s best team nominees include the most recent champions from the NBA, NHL, and NFL – the Denver Nuggets, the Vegas Golden Knights, and the Kansas City Chiefs. The remaining four nominees include other recent titleholders the Georgia Bulldogs, LSU Tigers women’s basketball, Oklahoma Sooners softball, and the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces. All of these teams clinched their titles within this calendar year.
For comparison sake, the 2022 best team category included the World Series winner from the year before, the Atlanta Braves.
All wasn’t lost for the 2022 Astros team in this year’s award show. Houston’s former pitching ace, Justin Verlander, garnered nominations for best comeback athlete and best MLB player.
Elsewhere, other athletes with Houston ties were nominated. Channelview native Jalen Hurts is among the four “best NFL player” nominees, and Tomball’s Jimmy Butler earned a nod in the “best NBA player” category.