A lot of accolades could be spread around when it comes to the Houston Astros. They finished the 2022 regular season with a 106-56 record that was the best in the American League and second best in the majors behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Astros fans saw the reemergence of starting pitcher Justin Verlander, the frontrunner to be named the AL Cy Young Award winner with 18 wins and a 1.75 ERA. Verlander missed the last two seasons rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. No one but the former 2011 AL MVP knew what to expect as he took the mound as the ace for a pitching rotation that would be without the services of Lance McCullers Jr.

Houston was also surprised by the performance of ironman Framber Valdez, who led the AL in innings pitched with 201 1/3 this season. He set the MLB record for quality starts with 25 and was selected to his first All-Star team.

No one can forget the play of outfielder Kyle Tucker who joined Verlander and Valdez in Los Angeles after being voted an All-Star for the first time. The former 2021 All-MLB Second Team selection became the only player to have 30-plus home runs and 25-plus steals in 2022. He also drove in 100-plus runs while starting 150 games for the Astros.

Add in Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez batting .300 on the season, Alex Bregman’s patience at the plate by drawing 87 walks, rookie shortstop Jeremy Peña’s 22 home runs, and reliever Ryne Stanek finishing the season with a franchise single-season record for the lowest ERA by a relief pitcher. You can see why most baseball analysts picked Houston to win another World Series.

Most outsiders would think that the countless hours the Astros players spend in the hitting cage has sent the team back to the postseason for the sixth year in a row.

Others believe that it is the repetition of perfecting a pitch on the off days that has Houston with one of the most dangerous pitching staffs of the remaining teams left.

All of that is true, but the secret ingredient that has pushed the Astros passed the 100-win mark for the past 5 ½ years (they only played 60 games in 2020 due to COVID) consists of one word.

FAMILY.

“Everyone pulls for each other, and that is the one thing I noticed when I showed up here last year,” said Astros reliever Ryne Stanek who joined the team in 2021 from the Miami Marlins. “It is how close the whole group is and how quickly they welcomed me and all the new guys in, especially the guys we got at the deadline.

“They brought everyone in and integrated us in so flawlessly. I think the closeness of the clubhouse plays such a big factor in everybody just being comfortable and allowing them to be themselves. The more you can be yourself. The more you are going to get out of yourself.”

After Houston completed their regular season with a win over the Philadelphia Phillies, general manager James Click and manager Dusty Baker, who are the architects of the Astros rebrand of the last three years, walked through the clubhouse laughing and joking with players.

If you closed your eyes and just listened to their conversations with the players, it sounded more like a family reunion than the end of a season.

“It is fun, and it is easy to play in front of him,” said outfielder Chas McCormick about Baker. “He is relaxing. He comes and talks to all of us. He is a player’s coach and he enjoyable to be around. He has done a great job.”

The Astros have completed their first task of winning the American League West and gaining home-field advantage throughout the postseason. They will get back to work as they await the winner of the AL Wildcard matchup between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners to arrive in Houston to begin the American League Divisional Series.