MLB Showdown Obsession

 The path from mediocrity to pennant contender takes a lot of pieces falling into place from good draft picks, smart trades and the right free agent pickups. Even after all that, it takes a bit of luck. And while the modern day Astros had replaced "luck" with "cheating" it would be unfair to associate every postseason appearance for Houston as underhanded. Aside from steroid allegations on specific people, the National League days of the Astros are considered pretty clean, which means their first ever push into October had them accomplish it the old fashioned way. The Astros had come oh-so-close to the playoffs in 1979, falling just 1.5 games short of the Cincinnati Reds. Seeing a chance to build on some momentum, Houston signed major names Joe Morgan and Nolan Ryan for Manager Bill Virdon to utilize. The results were successful in the early goings, with Houston staking out a lead in the NL West after fending off the Reds, but a late swoon allowed the Los Angeles Do...