Houston Astros

Houston entered the National League in 1962 as the Colt .45s, part of the league's first expansion. The franchise was renamed the Astros in 1965 to coincide with the opening of the Astrodome, the revolutionary domed stadium that was hailed as the "Eighth Wonder of the World." The Astrodome introduced artificial turf to baseball and represented Houston's space-age ambitions during the height of NASA's presence in the city.

The early Astros were competitive but not contenders, never breaking through to the postseason. Joe Morgan, who would later become one of the greatest second basemen in history with the Reds, began his career in Houston. The franchise's pitching development was its greatest strength, producing arms like Larry Dierker and Don Wilson.

Despite the novelty of the Astrodome and the occasional exciting player, the first two decades were largely about establishing the franchise's identity in a football-dominated Texas sports landscape. The breakthrough was coming, though, as the organization invested in its farm system and scouting infrastructure.

The Astros reached the postseason for the first time in 1980, losing a memorable NLCS to the Phillies. Nolan Ryan arrived in 1980 and delivered nine seasons of dominance, striking out his 4,000th batter in an Astros uniform. Ryan's presence gave the franchise its first true superstar and drew national attention to Houston baseball.

The 1990s and early 2000s were defined by the "Killer B's" - Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio, the dynamic duo who spent their entire careers with the Astros. Bagwell won the 1994 NL MVP, and Biggio accumulated over 3,000 hits while playing with a relentless energy that endeared him to Houston fans. The Astros made six playoff appearances between 1997 and 2005.

The 2005 season was the franchise's NL zenith. Behind Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, and the Killer B's, the Astros reached the World Series for the first time in franchise history. Although they were swept by the White Sox, the pennant represented the culmination of years of near-misses and validated the franchise's two-decade commitment to contending.

After the 2005 World Series appearance, the Astros declined rapidly. The franchise moved from the NL Central to the AL West in 2013, a controversial switch mandated as part of the sale of the team to Jim Crane. The transition coincided with one of the most aggressive rebuilds in baseball history, orchestrated by general manager Jeff Luhnow.

The Astros lost 111, 107, and 92 games from 2012 to 2014, deliberately bottoming out to accumulate high draft picks. Carlos Correa (2012, first overall), Alex Bregman (2015), and other young talents were selected during the tank. The strategy was transparent and divisive - "Earn History" was the slogan - but the pipeline of talent it produced was undeniable.

Minute Maid Park, which had opened in 2000, saw its crowds thin during the rebuilding years. But the organization was building something that would soon make it the envy of baseball.