Throughout the offseason the CBS Sports MLB experts will bring you a weekly Batting Around roundtable breaking down pretty much anything. The latest news, a historical question, thoughts about the future of baseball, all sorts of stuff. Last time we discussed surprise teams in the postseason. This time we're going to tackle the Astros' success after they won their second title in franchise history on Saturday night, taking out the Phillies in six games.
Houston's win leads us to our Batting Around question...
Are the Astros a dynasty?
Matt Snyder: Absolutely not. End of discussion.
OK, I guess I should say more. There were four different champions between just two titles. If they win next year, we can talk about it, but two in six years isn't dynasty material and would be far too liberal a manner in which to apply the label. They are an American League Dynasty, having won the league four of six times and gotten to the finals of the league tournament all six years, but that isn't a thing. There aren't conference or division or league dynasties in sports.
R.J. Anderson: It's a no for me because of how the term "dynasty" tends to be used. I think we need a new word that signifies a team one step below, or, "really good and consistent team with a couple titles." I agree that two titles in six years isn't what you think about when you think about the word "dynasty." Six consecutive trips to the LCS round is impressive, however, and should be celebrated. With constant postseason expansion, we're less likely to see teams reel off three or four more championships in short order. So, ultimately, I think we just need a new term to use to label these Astros, or the Dodgers -- that, or, perhaps we just need to redefine what exactly makes a dynasty.
Matt: I agree with R.J. that we could come up with another term to separate teams that are truly great over longer periods of time from teams that just one have title run. As to what makes a dynasty, the one we've seen in baseball in my lifetime is the Yankees. They won four titles in five years. A lot of people like to use the phrase, "when you see it, you know it." You knew that was a dynasty.
Mike Axisa: No. Come on. The Astros are 2-2 in the World Series during this run and 13-13 in World Series games. Two titles in six years is not enough -- are the 2006 and 2011 Cardinals a dynasty? -- and you don't get credit for going to the World Series and losing. If the Astros win the World Series next season, we can ask the dynasty question a little more earnestly. For now, this is a great run by a great team. We can enjoy it without forcing the dynasty debate.
Dayn Perry: I'm not really entirely sure if there's a consensus around what a dynasty means in MLB, but two titles in six years does not a dynasty make. I'm not even sure the 2017 title, because it was in, you know, 2017, has relevance to whether the 2022 team will one day be a part of a dynasty. No is the easy answer here.
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