Unless you have been living under a rock for the past couple of months, you are aware of what is currently going on in Houston. A team that was once praised for building their success from the ground up, has now turned into Major Leagues Baseballs most unlikeable franchise. 

With the 2020 regular season fastly approaching, I thought it would be a fun idea to play a little game. How this game works is that I will present a variety of different scenarios that could happen to the Astros during the season and correlate each instance with a number. You as the reader, have the responsibility to guess if you think these scenarios will happen more, or less, then the number presented. Without further ado, let’s get into our first scenario. 

Total Number of Astros Home Runs at Minute Made Park in 2020 

O/U: 135 

Last season, the Houston Astros clubbed 288 home runs as a team which ranked third in all of baseball. Out of those 288 homers, 150 of them came in the comfort of their own backyard, where they had access to trash cans and state of the art, sign stealing equipment (Allegedly.) You may be wondering to yourselves, why am I placing the O/U number at only 15 numbers lower than what they hit a season ago? Well for starters, the Astros still have one of the best lineups in baseball. Alex Bregman is going to hit 30 homers if he knows what’s coming or not and their lineup is as deep as the hole you would dig at the beach when you were a kid. Also, the Stros only hit for 12 more homers last year at home, then they did on the road. That is not that drastic of a difference. 

Amount of times an Astros player gets hit by a Pitch

O/U: 100

Disclaimer: This is a measure for the TOTAL number of times an Astros player will be hit by a pitch. Intentional HB’s is an immeasurable statistic. 

At the conclusion of last season, the team that led baseball in perhaps the most painful category was the New York Mets. The Mets were hit by a pitch 95 total times in 2019 which equates to one hits batsman for every 16 innings played. If you think the Astros aren’t going to shatter that mark in 2020, then you got another thing coming for ya. Pound the over. 

The total number of times the word “Cheating” or “Stealing” gets brought up during a broadcast 

O/U: 5,862 

Okay, so let me break down this number so you have an understanding of where I’m getting it from. During a typical Astros game this year, you are going to have four broadcasts. You will have your home and away TV broadcasts, to go along with their corresponding radio broadcasts. So let’s just assume that all four broadcasts use the words “Cheating” OR “Stealing” once per game. This would equate to 648 times that either word was said during the duration of the season.

Now, let’s say that all 4 telecasts were to use BOTH the words Cheating and Stealing once per game. This now brings our number up to 1,296. Finally, let’s factor in nationally televised games, division games, or any game where previous history is involved. This number is going to skyrocket and the conversation of cheating and stealing will be the general theme for most games. Once again, pound the over.  

The number of times an opposing fan bangs a trash can 

O/U: 10,000

I don’t know if you guys remember this, but a few world cups ago there was a famous instrument known as the vuvuzela. The vuvuzela was a noisemaking powerhouse that could be heard at every game and if you didn’t have one, you were to be considered as an outsider. 

What I am trying to get at here is that the trash can is going to become to 2020 version of the vuvuzela. Instead of bringing your glove to the game, fans are going to bring metal bins that will be heard across the park. Bobblehead night sound cool? How about Trash Can giveaway day at Yankees Stadium. This loud banging movement is going to become an absolute firestorm and I am 300 percent here for it.