The annual Major League Baseball World Series was won by the Houston Astros Nov. 1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. This was the first World Series win for the Astros since their founding in 1962. The series went to Game 7, a winner-take-all game, and the Astros came up on top 5-1.

According to art teacher Mike Hall, the Astros made the right moves to get there.

“The trade for [Justin] Verlander was huge, and it was kind of timely,” Hall said. “[It] gave them something to focus on besides the flooding, something to focus on that’s positive.”

The Astros faced the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have not been in the World Series since 1988, when they beat the Oakland Athletics. The Astros’ last time in the World Series was in 2005 when they were swept in four games by the Chicago White Sox. Hall thinks that the difference between this year and 2005 was how the team was built.

“This year, you just had the feeling they were going to do well,” Hall said. “They seemed like they were playing as a team. In 2005, we lost in four games. We weren’t close in any of the games, but this time we’ve been close in every game.”

The Astros started this year’s playoffs by beating the Boston Red Sox in four games. They then faced the New York Yankees and beat them in seven games to clinch a World Series spot. According to junior Renata Boyd, the playoffs were tough for the Astros.

“I didn’t think they would get this far,” Boyd said. “They were very inconsistent. They went through a lot of hardships.”

Nine weeks before the World Series win, Houston was devastated by Hurricane Harvey. However, the World Series has helped people take their minds off the disaster, according to sophomore Ethan Muñiz.

“It gave our city a chance to feel good after everything that’s happened the past couple months,” Muñiz said. “It just helped people get together and gave people reasons to donate to charity.”

The title of World Series MVP was given to Astros right fielder George Springer after his .379 batting average, three doubles, five home runs and seven runs batted in during the World Series. The Astros returned to Houston for the victory parade on Friday, Nov 3. According to Muñiz, the city has been a big supporter of their home team.

“A lot of people have been watching [the games], getting excited and showing city spirit,” Muñiz said. “[I am] excited because it is Houston’s first win in over 20 years. I feel like they worked really hard.”