HOUSTON ASTROS

The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of theThe Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after spending their first 51 seasons in the National League (NL).The Astros were established as the Houston Colt .45s and entered the National League as an expansion team in 1962 along with the New York Mets. The current name, reflecting Houston's role as the host of the Johnson Space Center, was adopted three years later, when they moved into the Astrodome, the first domed sports stadium and the so-called "Eighth Wonder of the World." The Astros moved to a new stadium called Minute Maid Park in 2000. The Astros played in the NL West division from 1969 to 1993, then the NL Central division from 1994 to 2012, before being moved to the AL West as part of an MLB realignment in 2013. The Astros posted their first winning record in 1972 and made the playoffs for the first time in 1980, and they won three division titles in the 1980s. Spearheaded by the Killer B's, a collection of prominent hitters that included the Astros' only Hall of Fame members Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell, the Astros began reaching major prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s with four further division titles and two Wild Card appearances, culminating in their first World Series appearance in 2005 where they were swept by the AL’s Chicago White Sox. After a major slump throughout the next decade, the team was purchased by business owner Jim Crane in 2011 for $680 million. Under Crane's ownership, the Astros embraced sabermetrics and pioneered new analytical technologies in their transition to the American League, and by the mid-2010s has transformed from a poor franchise into one of MLB's most dominant and successful clubs. Since then, the Astros have won over 100 games in four seasons, appeared in a record six consecutive American League Championship Series, and won four of the last six American League pennants. During this time, the Astros won the 2017 World Series, their first championship, against the Los Angeles Dodgers; they made later appearances in 2019 against the Washington Nationals, 2021 against the Atlanta Braves, and 2022 against the Philadelphia Phillies, winning their second title in the latter series. They are the only team to win a postseason series in six straight seasons. Their fifth pennant in 2022 made them the second team created in the expansion era to win five league pennants (after the Mets), and they are the fifth expansion team to have won two World championships. During the 2019–2020 off-season, the Astros became the prime suspect in an MLB-wide sign stealing scandal that took place during the 2017 and 2018 seasons, resulting in the suspensions of manager A. J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow, with Crane later firing both. The Astros' roles in the scandal, as well as what were believed to be minimal punishments for its players, have caused the Astros to become one of the most maligned baseball teams in the modern age. Despite this, many have noted the Astros' continued success, and they are widely seen as the most dominant team in the American League today.From 1962 through the end of the 2022 season, the Astros' all-time record is 4,831-4,820 (.501). In addition to having the most postseason appearances by an expansion team, they are the only expansion era team with an all-time winning record.

CHICAGO WHITE SOX

The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member clubThe Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and plays its home games at Guaranteed Rate Field, located on Chicago's South Side. The White Sox are one of two MLB teams based in Chicago, the other being the Chicago Cubs of the National League (NL) Central division. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the White Sox were established as a major league baseball club in 1900 as the Chicago White Stockings, before shortening their name to the White Sox in 1904. The team originally played their home games at South Side Park before moving to Comiskey Park in 1910, where they played until 1990. They moved into their current home, which was originally also known as Comiskey Park like its predecessor and later carried sponsorship from U.S. Cellular, for the 1991 season. The White Sox won their first World Series, the 1906 World Series against the Cubs, with a defense-oriented team dubbed "the Hitless Wonders", and later won the 1917 World Series against the New York Giants. Their next appearance, the 1919 World Series, was marred by the Black Sox Scandal in which eight members of the White Sox were found to have conspired with gamblers to fix games and lose the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds. In response, the new MLB Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis banned the players from the league for life. The White Sox have only made two World Series appearances since the scandal. The first came in 1959, where they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, before they finally won their third championship in 2005 against the Houston Astros. The 87 years it took the White Sox to win the World Series stands as the second longest MLB championship drought of all time, after the Cubs' 107 seasons. The White Sox have an overall record of 9,411–9,309 (.503).