Simply earlier than the highest of the ninth, with the Astros trailing the Tigers, 5-2, within the second recreation of the AL Wild Card collection, one thing caught my eye. A number of somethings, really. Will Vest, who regardless of his greater than 200 profession appearances has simply 5 saves, was taking a second on the again of the mound to rub the baseball and breathe. The low third base digicam discovered him, and it was laborious to distinguish between the routine, meditative acts that Vest at all times makes use of to calm himself earlier than an look, and the twitches and tics which may solely be surfacing now, throughout the greatest second of his profession.
When Vest decided that the ball had been sufficiently rubbed, he put his glove again on and tossed the ball into it. He adjusted the left shoulder of his jersey, then his hat, then the best shoulder. He rubbed his fingertips in opposition to his thumb and his palm to disperse the sweat, after which rubbed his entire hand in opposition to his pants leg. He took shallow breaths as he gently labored his foot into the grime in entrance of the rubber. He dumped the ball from his glove again into his pitching hand, then pressed it in opposition to his proper hip to be able to wedge it securely right into a changeup grip. He introduced his glove to his stomach and briefly touched the again of his hand to his butt earlier than nesting it in his glove. He got here set, then lifted his left leg ever so barely and got here set once more.
I didn’t catch all that the primary time; my consideration was targeted on the background. These a number of somethings had been flickering in gold, setting off tiny lens flares throughout the display, however as a result of Vest was the hero of the shot, they had been out of focus and blurred. I puzzled over what they may be, questioning at first whether or not the Houston followers had been shining their mobile phone flashlights, holding some kind of vigil for the crew’s flatlining season. It took me a second to recollect the King Tuck crowns.
Astros followers, particularly these in proper discipline, began sporting gold crowns to honor Kyle Tucker throughout the 2022 season. Tuck, you see, virtually sounds a bit bit like Tut. It’s unclear why Friar Tuck, which makes a lot extra sense, by no means caught on, or why the play on King Tut bears no traces of its historical Egyptian roots. The crowns haven’t endured due to the doubtful wordplay, however relatively as a result of they’re enjoyable and since Tucker actually does play like somebody blessed with the divine proper of kings. They’ve proliferated as he’s ascended from rising star to perennial All-Star to MVP candidate. With the afternoon solar pouring in from left discipline, the crowns glinted mesmerically within the background whereas Vest, within the foreground, centered himself for the 1-2-3 inning that will finish Houston’s season.
Gold, as you absolutely know, is the toughest hue to carry. Even after two championships, seven straight ALCS appearances, and one more division title, it’s truthful to marvel what’s going to occur to the Astros dynasty. Jose Altuve continues to be hitting like a star, however he’ll be 35 subsequent yr and he graded out because the worst defensive second baseman in baseball. Carlos Correa has already left, and Alex Bregman and Justin Verlander are actually getting into free company. Key items like Framber Valdez, Ryan Pressly, and naturally Tucker will enter free company following the 2025 season. Proprietor Jim Crane has waded into participant acquisition choices, and whereas spending cash at all times helps, that type of process-circumvention not often works out as supposed in the long term.
Retaining Tucker looks like the surest technique to maintain the championship practice on the tracks. This yr, whilst he missed about half the season due to a foul ball that fractured his shin in June, Tucker authored arguably his most interesting marketing campaign but. His 4.2 WAR wasn’t a profession excessive, however it was sufficient to make him a top-30 place participant in baseball regardless of being restricted to only 78 video games. Whereas taking part in above-average protection in proper discipline, Tucker ran a 180 wRC+, which tied him with Juan Soto for the third-best mark amongst gamers with at the very least 300 plate appearances, behind solely Aaron Choose (218) and, by one level, Shohei Ohtani (181). Tucker had a 176 wRC+ earlier than the harm, and he was one way or the other even higher after, as soon as once more, breaking his leg. He completed September with a 193 wRC+.
I hate to confess it, however as good as Tucker is, his type has at all times left me considerably chilly. There’s one thing stilted, virtually mechanical about his perfection. At house in Houston, his top permits him to rob house runs whereas barely leaving his feat, within the course of turning what needs to be some of the thrilling performs within the recreation into simply one other humdrum fly ball.
On the plate, he by no means fairly appears to be like settled, waving the bat and his inflexible arms round in a circle and repeatedly lifting his entrance foot as he waits for the pitch. As soon as the pitch is coming, he shuts down the mechanical hum, executing a fast toe faucet earlier than unleashing a brief, highly effective swing with no holes and loads of pull-side energy. It’s jarring, this anxious pre-swing whirligig reworking immediately right into a cold-blooded, maximally-efficient energy stroke that appears prefer it was designed by Bain & Firm. He’s not a lot a one-man wrecking crew as he’s a one-man hostile takeover. Watching your crew attempt to comprise Tucker elicits all the enjoyment of taking part in chess in opposition to the pc with the issue turned too excessive.
And but within the brief, brutal Wild Card collection, Tucker went 0-for-7 with a stroll. His final plate look got here within the seventh, when he grounded into an inning-ending double play. The Astros wouldn’t attain base once more. So daybreak goes right down to day. Because the crowns behind Vest splashed the nice and cozy October daylight across the park, Tuck was nonetheless six batters away. He’d by no means make it to the on-deck circle.
