Astros’ early playoff exit fills Angels fans with both elation and hope

Angels fans, pop the champagne!

Nothing major happened, just finally some regression from the division's boogeyman. Their streak of seven straight ALCS appearances is mercifully over. They won seven of the last eight American League West division titles. So yeah, the one year Houston was a wild card team they still made a deep playoff run (2020, they went 29-31 in the shortened regular season). The Angels have missed the playoffs in 10 straight seasons, so the Astros making the ALCS for an eighth consecutive season would have made 2024 even worse than it already was for Angels fans.

The Astros were improbably swept by the Detroit Tigers during the wild card round. In the second game, they held a 2-1 lead in the 8th inning. Their preeminent bullpen arms, Ryan Pressly and Josh Hader, could not hold off the ragtag group from Motown. Josh Hader allowed a bases-clearing, three-run double to Andy Ibáñez as part of a four-run inning. The Tigers held on to win 5-2.

You just hate seeing videos like this. You really, truly do.

Astros fans largely exited the premises after Ibáńez's go-ahead double. The shock and awe in Minute Maid Park was palpable following the sweep. The players, coaches, staffers, and fans were dumbfounded. The Tigers had a 0.4% chance of making the playoffs at the beginning of August. Many MLB insiders picked the Astros to either make or win the World Series, viewing them as the safest option in an American League with no clear-cut favorite. Additionally, they were playing an inexperienced (to say the least) Tigers team who could have just been happy to be there. The Tigers will play the Cleveland Guardans in the ALDS.

Angels fans were rooting for this on many levels. For one, it's great to see a franchise whose made your lives miserable be miserable themselves. Secondly, fans can talk themselves into potentially narrowing the gap moving forward. Not necessarily in 2025, but maybe in 2026? Alex Bregman, via Scott Boras, will command a new contact in the range of $200 million, while Yusei Kikuchi (who never made an appearance in the wild card round) will also draw heavy interest on the open market. The Astros already spend a ton of money on their roster, and their farm system is severely lacking due to a multitude of win-now moves and lack of an amateur scouting infrastructure.

Angels fans see a lot of themselves in Tigers fans. A franchise that has been around for a long time, but has underachieved for the duration of its existence. Both teams had not made the playoffs since 2014, but have a ravenous, supportive fanbase. Both fanbases demand far more spending, and overall competence, from their ownership.

For what it's worth, if any Astros fans are reading this -- it's not just Angels fans celebrating your downfall. It's the whole league.