Brent Strom is officially out of retirement and back with the Houston Astros as a pitching consultant, and it couldn’t come at a better time. This ain’t just some casual coaching change either. The Astros’ pitching staff has been struggling for much of this season, and they’ve been screaming for a jolt. Strom’s return? It’s exactly that, a veteran presence trying to right a ship that’s been listing hard.
“This Retirement Job Is the Worst Job I’ve Ever Had”
Turns out, living the quiet life wasn’t all it was cracked up to be for Strom. The 77-year-old coaching fixture was grinning at Citi Field when he dropped this truth bomb: “I know one thing, this retirement job is the worst job I’ve ever had.” You gotta love that blunt honesty! Just 48 hours before that gem, his phone lit up. It was Jeff Bagwell, the Astros’ senior advisor, who’s been holding down baseball ops after the team parted ways with general manager Dana Brown earlier this week. Bagwell asked if Strom would be interested in rejoining the squad as a pitching consultant for the rest of this season. Strom looked at his wife, she gave the green light, saying “Do it,” and just like that, the golden era coach was back in Houston gear by Saturday, ready to observe the pitchers he’ll be working with for the next month-plus.
A “Fresh Set of Eyes” Diving Deep Into Ugly Numbers
Manager Joe Espada is clearly stoked to have him back, calling Strom a “fresh set of eyes” who will complement pitching coach Josh Miller and assistant Ethan Katz through the final stretch of the season. Espada is already picking his brain, saying, “He’s already working. He’s already got some things that we can all discuss. And again I’m just excited to have him around and his experience and I think the players will really benefit.” Listen, Strom wasn’t shy about it either, making it clear this isn’t some “nostalgia tour” for him, as he put it. He immediately went online and did “a deep dive as quickly as I could” into the Astros’ pitching metrics. What he found immediately? Straight-up concerning stuff. Their first-pitch strike percentage is sitting at the seventh-lowest in the majors. And get this: they’re tied with the Angels for the sport’s highest walk rate. Yikes, right? Strom even hinted at possibly altering “pitch sequencing” because, he thinks, the league might’ve “caught up” to what the Astros have been doing successfully for so long.
The stakes are absolutely sky-high. The Astros entered Saturday with a two-game lead in the American League West, but their 4.64 ERA ranked a dismal sixth-highest in the majors. Their starters had an even uglier 5.11 ERA, landing them third-highest, and they were eighth-fewest in innings pitched. With only 27 games left in the regular season, Strom’s return is all about helping “this team get in the playoffs.” He was their pitching coach from 2014-21, a legendary run that saw them hit three World Series and produce two Cy Young winners, with their staff ranking second in baseball in ERA from 2015-21. So the big question on everyone’s mind has gotta be: can he work that magic again, bringing that championship-level stuff back to the mound?
With just 27 games left for the Astros to lock in that lead and make the postseason, every single pitch matters. Keep an eagle eye on those first-pitch strikes and walk rates, because if Strom can tweak those, it could mean everything for their playoff hopes right now.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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