Carlos Beltran hit 45 career home runs for the Houston Astros, postseason included. Nineteen of them either tied the game or gave the Astros the lead.
*In the biggest slam dunk in any awards voting ever - even more than Die Hard 3 winning Best Picture - Aaron Judge won the AL Rookie of the Year award. Yuli Gurriel finished 4th.
*Days after having surgery to remove a blood clot in his brain, Astros 1B coach Rich Dauer has retired. Alex Cintron has been promoted to 1B coach. Also:
-Jeff Albert: Promoted from minor-league hitting coordinator to assistant hitting coach
-Doug White: Promoted from minor-league pitching coordinator to bullpen coach
*One baseball insider thinks Shohei Ohtani could wind up with the Astros.
*Luhnow:
For me, personally, the challenges shift from bringing Houston its first World Series championship ever to being the first team to repeat in a long time - the kind of team that could win multiple championships.
*I, uh, I made the Chronicle.
*Carlos Beltran retired after 20 seasons, 1.5 of which were the best 1.5 seasons in Astros history. He announced his retirement in an emotional (for me, anyway) piece in the Players Tribune. Read this over and over again until you don't get goose-bumps.
*Mark Feinsand got the first interview with Carlos Beltran following announcing his retirement. Beltran:
I didn't tell anybody, but I was 100-percent sure that I was going to go home [after the postseason]. There were days when the family was in Houston that I didn't feel like going to the ballpark. I was having such a good time with the family, with the kids. When I started getting those feelings, it made me think.
Richard Justice reflects on what Beltran meant to the 2017 Astros, and what lies ahead for Beltran.
*New York Guy says Carlos Beltran should try being a coach before managing a team. Worth noting that Carlos Beltran has not indicated that he wants to manage next season, so this is some timely advice.
*Reminder that you can read a way-too-long recap of the chase for Beltran following his electric 2004 postseason here.
*The Orioles are now apparently willing to listen on Zach Britton, but the Astros aren't involved (yet?).
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*Check out this dude's sweet new Astros tattoo.
Thank you to the @backstreetboys for everything this weekend and for making my wife's dream come true! 👊🏼 pic.twitter.com/HkFo9XzIUf— Brad Peacock (@BradPeacock41) November 14, 2017
