<br><div><aside class="gnt_em gnt_em__fp gnt_em_vp__tp gnt_em__el" aria-label="Video - Astros win second World Series title in six seasons, cement dynasty status"/><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">HOUSTON – For five years, they reestablished a standard of excellence in Major League Baseball, making the World Series their near-annual playground yet earning well-earned scorn off the field and heartbreak on it.</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">Yet with one mighty swing from Yordan Alvarez, the Houston Astros – after scandal, organizational tumult, free-agent defections and a maddening series of near-misses – returned to the baseball summit Saturday night, defeating the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1 in Game 6 of the World Series, earning their first championship since a now-sullied 2017 title.</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">That electronic sign-stealing scandal, revealed two years after the Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games, threatened to frame every movement of the organization, and certainly its protagonists, in a disputed light. For some, that may always be the case.</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">But rather than chafe at their detractors, or wallow in guilt, the Astros simply went back to the work of building and sustaining excellence.</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">And in winning just the second championship in franchise history, they left no doubt.</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">"You can’t say it didn’t bother them," Astros owner Jim Crane said of the sign-stealing scandal and the aftermath, "but they worked their way through it and played hard and you got a result tonight that’s pretty spectacular."</p><figure class="gnt_em gnt_em_img"><img class="gnt_em_img_i" style="height:440px" data-g-r="lazy" data-gl-src="https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2022/11/06/USAT/010672a7-de8e-4ead-8f53-67906eb77d2e-USATSI_19371877.jpg?width=660&height=440&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp" data-gl-srcset="https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2022/11/06/USAT/010672a7-de8e-4ead-8f53-67906eb77d2e-USATSI_19371877.jpg?width=1320&height=880&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp 2x" decoding="async" alt="Astros players celebrate on the field after winning Game 6."/></figure><p class="gnt_ar_b_p"><strong>ASTROS: </strong><a target="_blank" href="/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2022/11/05/dusty-baker-world-series-houston-astros-champions/8283019001/" rel="noopener" data-t-l=":b|e|inline click|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a">Baker finally wins elusive World Series ring after 25 years as a manager</a></p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p"><strong>NEVER MISS A MOMENT:</strong> <a target="_blank" href="https://profile.usatoday.com/newsletters/sports/" rel="noopener" data-t-l=":b|e|inline click|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a">Follow our sports newsletter for daily updates</a></p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">The Astros won 11 of 13 games this postseason,...</p></div> <style> .wrapper { text-align: center; } </style> <div class="wrapper"> <a class="button" href ="https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMidmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnVzYXRvZGF5LmNvbS9zdG9yeS9zcG9ydHMvbWxiLzIwMjIvMTEvMDYvYXN0cm9zLXdpbi13b3JsZC1zZXJpZXMtdGl0bGUtcGhpbGxpZXMteW9yZGFuLWFsdmFyZXovODI4MjkxMzAwMS_SAQA?oc=5">Read more <span>➤</span></a> </div>
