Triple-A baseball is not always sunshines and rainbows. It is a group of guys with a common goal, but the route to how they got there can be very interesting. Some were signed as minor league free agents, some drafted, some claimed off of waivers. This year, the Astros have moved players up and down between the big league club and Triple-A quite frequently. Sugar Land has also seen some reinforcements from the lower minor league levels come, but also saw some talent get shipped out at the trade deadline.
Despite all of that, manager Mickey Storey was able to rally the players and guide them to Sugar Land Space Cowboys first Pacific Coast League Championship on Wednesday night.
“Special,” Storey said on winning this Championship. “To get these guys back to experiencing this and feeling what it feels like to celebrate winning and be a part of something special.. it’s been an unbelievable year.
“Everybody here wants to be in the big leagues.. players, staff, trainers.. but you got to be here. This is where your job is and this team does a heck of a job being present every day showing up and working.”
The Sugar Land Space Cowboys were resilient. They went 93-56 in the regular season and then swept Reno in the Championship Series. The team has 28 different position players, and 41 different pitchers contribute. Many of them were big leaguers at one point but due to the roster crunch, were sent back down to Triple-A.
“It’s a testament to the culture,” Storey said on the roster turnover but continuing to win. “We did it in the first half with a big offensive unit. We did it in the second half with great starting pitching. We had great bullpen throughout the year. The turnover of players was remarkable and we continue to bring guys in and have buy in that this is a team that is going to win the whole thing and if you don’t get on board with that, then this isn’t the place for you to be.”
That buy in came from experienced players too.
“This is my 9th professional season, keeping that energy in the clubhouse is really important,” Cooper Hummel said. “I love everyone of these guys. I can’t say enough good things. But winning was number one.”
The season is long… 149 regular season games for Sugar Land to be exact. But despite the setbacks, over 40 transactions of players, the team continued winning at a high clip.
“The camaraderie, the guys. We [the staff] set the tone for them and they answered the bell,” Storey said. “This was a special group. I set out from day one to bring back a winning culture and have the players understand that if you want to play in the big league with the Houston Astros, it starts now.”
This team not only made an impact on the young players setting the winning culture. They also left a lasting impact on some of the players that have been around minor league baseball for a while.
“I love being here. This is the most fun I’ve had in a long time,” Cooper Hummel said. “Personally for me, it’s one of my highlights of my minor league career.”
Sugar Land went into this three game Championship series against Reno with one goal in mind…
“We just wanted to make sure everyone knew we were the best team here,” Storey said.
And that they did collecting two dominant wins and outscoring Reno 19-4 in the two games. Sugar Land has had a historic season to this point but there is still one more series to go.
“The job’s not done yet,” Forrest Whitley said with a smile.
Sugar Land will take on Omaha in the Triple-A Championship where with a series win they can definitively say there were the best team in minor league baseball in 2024!
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