Astros playoffs tickets are in high demand for the ALDS

The Astros sellout ALDS tickets at a record time.

With the excitement of the Astros winning their first division title for the first time in 16 years. Orange Fever has hit Houston. Everyone is now an Astros fan, even those who were opposed to moving to the American League. Remember how some fans were patient during the process, while the rest just ignored the team altogether? They are all back.

When my family deep cleans the house for birthday parties, we typically make a bigger mess. You find all the items that are not needed, in the wrong place, or needs to be replaced. This is similar to what happened through the process for the Astros, a team that lost three straight seasons of 100 plus games.

It took time.

The product that you see in front of you is the results of Jeff Luhnow and Jim Crane sticking to a plan. It was a plan that caused many fans to look for other ways to spend their money. Things changed in 2015 when the Astros shocked the nation by making the playoffs and almost beating the Royals. The Royals went on to win the World Series, but the hype surrounding the Astros was rising.

While the hype was there in 2016, the Astros didn’t seem ready to take the next step. Luhnow and his staff saw the benefits of having younger players, but they needed some veterans as well. This is why they sought out Carlos Beltran, Josh Reddick, Brian McCann, Nori Aoki, and Charlie Morton. Except for Aoki, most of these guys have had an impact this season.

Fans were also critical for the team not trading for a big-time pitcher at the trade deadline. That changed when the Astros traded for Justin Verlander on August 31st. While Verlander is not at the Randy Johnson level yet, his arrival to Houston has generated much excitement. This team is not built just to make the playoffs. It’s built to go all the way.

Ticket, please!

With all this excitement, fans couldn’t wait for the sale of playoff tickets on Monday. The pre-sale started at 10 am for some fans who were given passwords for their time slots. Some people were able to use those codes. Others were not. The noon public on sale arrived, but only the early bird gets the worm. By the time the Astros were able to Tweet out that tickets were on sale, they sold out.

Most of the tickets were probably scooped up during the pre-sale by season ticket holders, Astros Buddies, and other fans who have purchased tickets through their site. No matter the situation, Brian McTaggart and the Astros tweeted that tickets for the ALDS were sold out in two minutes. According to ABC 13, this was the quickest that tickets were sold out in the history of the Astros.

I’m not naive enough to believe that fans wanting to go to the games got those tickets. There are a lot of people who buy tickets and mark them up for resale for desperate fans. At this point, there is nothing to do. As an Astros fan, I hope those tickets get into the hands of fans who will come cheer on the team.

Orange fever is contagious.

Remember the playoffs games in 2005? This can be a great baseball town. Devastating floods hit the city during Hurricane Harvey and baseball has become a big distraction from the destruction. As Morgan Ensberg suggested back in 2015, Astros fans need to get hopped up on Red Bull and rock Minute Maid Park.

Next: Astros: Josh Reddick has quietly put together a notable 2017 season

Astros fever has struck, will you be there? If you didn’t get tickets, I’m sure that you can find some on the online ticket sites. You could also possibly get some by signing up for 2018 season tickets. Good luck getting to the playoff games hopefully starting October 5th. Don’t forget to tune into Talking Stros on SportsTalk 790 after each playoff game. Go Stros!

***Stats from Baseball-Reference***