Looking Back: First Half Awards for the Houston Astros

Apr 1, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros mascot Orbit waves to the crowd before a game against the New York Yankees at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

It’s been one heckuva ride for the Houston Astros during the first half of 2015. No one expected them to be sitting seven games over .500 and in second place in the American League West division. And that really doesn’t due the team any justice, as they lead the division for 81 days, and just relinquished their grasp to the Los Angeles Angels.

No doubt about it, even with the wild ups and crazy downs, this has been a lot of fun to watch.

And, of course, the Houston Astros needed some strong performances along the way to get them here. Houston hit its halfway mark ten games ago, as they’ve played 91 games to date. But now that we’re at the “official” halfway mark, the Midsummer Classic, it’s time to look back and dole out some awards.

If you follow this blog, you know that we hand out weekly awards to the best pitcher, best hitter, the weekly goat, and a redemption player. The “weekly goat” is the player(s) who stunk it up the worst that week. A redemption award usually goes to someone who really goofed something up but was able to recover, either in that same game or another game. We’ll use these awards, except for redemption player, to see which players made the cut for the team’s first half Cy Young, Offensive MVP, and Least Valuable Player. There’s also a Best Reliever and Best Rookie award, too.

And for a little-added flare, the CTH staff is full of their opinions and we can see if they differ from what we’ve handed out weekly.

Next: First Half Cy Young