The city of Los Angeles has not forgotten about the controversial 2017 World Series in which the Houston Astros defeated the Dodgers. The Astros are not safe from ridicule anywhere in L.A., even when the Kings are playing.
During their game against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena, the Kings flashed several Dodgers on the jumbotron and identified look-alikes in the crowd. Eventually, Astros second baseman Jose Altuve appeared — to a chorus of boos — and the camera cut to a trash can in the arena as his ‘look-alike.’
Of course, that is a reference to that 2017 MLB postseason when the Astros were retroactively caught using a trash can to signal upcoming pitches to batters. Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch were both suspended for a year, and the franchise was fined $5 million and forced to forfeit draft picks. However, the World Series was not vacated, and the players themselves avoided discipline.
In that 2017 postseason run by the Astros, Altuve batted .310 with seven home runs and 14 RBI.
With the 2022 MLB playoffs going on now, the Dodgers and Astros might be on a collision course to meet in the World Series again. In the NLDS, the Dodgers are tied 1-1 with the San Diego Padres. In their ALDS matchup, the Astros are up 2-0 on the Seattle Mariners.
