The Astros are headed back to the ALCS, and a familiar face got to give the victory speech inside the team clubhouse.
In a speech that may go down as one of the greatest — or at the very least the one with the most expletives — pitcher Justin Verlander cursed seven times as he got the party started for the Astros after a 3-2 Game 4 win over the Twins to clinch the ALDS.
Houston manager Dusty Baker had Verlander do the victory speech, and when someone suggested that Baker do it, he responded, “Nah, I’m doing the World Series.”
“Alright, s–t. Boys, this is one of those seasons nothing went our f–king way early,” Verlander said when he took over speaking duties. “We battled through injuries. We f–king grinded. I wasn’t even f–king here. I’m happy to back. The seventh f–king time. Seventh f–king time. Alright, don’t take that for granted. On seven, everybody pop these motherf–kers.”
It was somewhat surprising that FS1 aired the speech without any delay or censoring, but since FS1 is a cable network, it doesn’t follow the same stringent restrictions of the Federal Communications Commission.
“Over-the-air broadcasts by local TV and radio stations are subject to certain speech restraints, but speech transmitted by cable or satellite TV systems generally is not,” according to the FCC Website.
Verlander rejoined the Astros at the trade deadline after things in a short tenure with the Mets went far differently than anyone had envisioned.
“We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the bond that we have and the relationships that we have in this locker room, and we hold each other accountable in a good way,” Verlander said after his expletive-filled celebration. “Obviously, this team is built different. These guys are built different. When it’s time to step up, we play our best baseball.”
The right-hander then went 7-3 in 11 starts following the trade back to Houston, and he picked up an additional win during ALDS Game 1.
The Astros are back in the ALCS for the seventh consecutive time, but it will mark the first time that the Rangers and Astros will ever meet in the postseason.
Games 1 and Game 2 will take place on Sunday and Monday at Minute Maid Park before the series shifts to Arlington for Game 3 and Game 4.
