Everyone remembers where they were when the 2017 American League Championship Series kicked off. It felt like a collision course between two eras of baseball. On one side, you had the New York Yankees, a "Baby Bomber" squad that arrived a year earlier than anyone expected. On the other, the Houston Astros, a team that had meticulously rebuilt from 100-loss seasons to become a data-driven juggernaut. It was seven games of absolute chaos. Drama. Pitching clinics. Late-inning heroics.
But let’s be real. It’s impossible to discuss the 2017 ALCS today without the giant, trash-can-shaped elephant in the room. What started as a classic tactical battle between Joe Girardi and A.J. Hinch has been reframed by the 2019 sign-stealing revelations. Honestly, it changed how we view every single swing of that series.
A Tale of Two Cities (And Zero Road Wins)
One of the weirdest stats from the 2017 American League Championship Series is the home-field dominance. The home team won every single game. That doesn't happen often. In fact, it was just the fifth time in MLB history that a seven-game postseason series saw the home team sweep every matchup.
Houston took the first two at Minute Maid Park. Dallas Keuchel and Justin Verlander looked untouchable. Verlander’s Game 2 performance was the stuff of legends—a complete game, 13-strikeout masterpiece where he threw 124 pitches. You just don't see that anymore. Modern managers would have pulled him in the seventh, but Hinch let him ride. When Carlos Correa doubled home Jose Altuve in the bottom of the ninth for a walk-off win, Houston felt inevitable.
Then the series shifted to the Bronx.
The Yankees didn't just win; they thrived on the energy of a stadium that felt like it was physically shaking. Aaron Judge, who had struggled mightily in the early part of the postseason, finally found his rhythm. He robbed home runs at the wall and blasted his own into the bleachers. By the time Game 5 ended, the Yankees had a 3-2 lead and were one win away from the World Series. They had outscored Houston 19-5 across three games in New York.
The Verlander Factor and the Game 6 Pivot
Going back to Houston for Game 6, the pressure was suffocating. The Yankees sent Luis Severino to the mound to clinch it. The Astros countered with Verlander again.
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This is where the 2017 ALCS turned. Verlander was a monster. He went seven shutout innings, escaping a massive jam in the seventh with runners on second and third. If the Yankees score there, maybe history is different. But they didn't. Jose Altuve hit a solo shot, and the Astros forced a Game 7 with a 7-1 win.
It's funny how momentum works in baseball. One minute you're the "Team of Destiny," and the next, you're facing a Game 7 on the road against a team that hasn't lost in its own building all week.
Game 7: The Lance McCullers Jr. Curveball Show
Game 7 was tight. Nerve-wracking. Stressful. Charlie Morton started for Houston and was brilliant, pitching five scoreless innings. But the real story was Lance McCullers Jr. coming out of the bullpen.
McCullers did something almost disrespectful. He threw 24 consecutive curveballs to end the game. Think about that. Every single Yankee hitter knew it was coming. They knew the spin, the break, the speed. And they still couldn't hit it. It was a 4-0 shutout that sent Houston to their first World Series as an American League franchise.
For New York fans, it was heartbreaking. CC Sabathia, in what many thought might be his final big moment, kept them in it early, but the offense just vanished. The Yankees went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position in that final game.
The Cloud That Won't Go Away
We have to talk about the controversy. In 2019, Mike Fiers blew the whistle on the Astros’ use of a center-field camera to decode signs and relay them to hitters by banging on a trash can. The 2017 season was the epicenter of this.
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When you look back at the home/road splits in the 2017 ALCS, the numbers are jarring. The Astros hit .273 at home during that postseason compared to a miserable .167 on the road. Specifically, in the ALCS, guys like Altuve and Correa seemed to have a sixth sense for what was coming at Minute Maid Park.
Did it decide the series? Yankees fans will tell you "yes" without blinking. Astros fans point out that the Yankees didn't score a single run in Game 7, and you can't blame a trash can for your own bats going cold. Both things can be true. The Astros were an incredibly talented team that also happened to be cheating. It’s a stain that makes re-watching these games feel "dirty" for a lot of purists.
Key Statistical Leaders of the Series
Looking at the box scores, a few names jump off the page.
- Justin Verlander: 2-0, 0.56 ERA, 21 strikeouts in 16 innings. He was the undisputed MVP of the series.
- Aaron Judge: 3 home runs and 7 RBIs, but he also struck out 11 times. It was a high-variance performance.
- Jose Altuve: Hit .320 for the series with two homers. At the time, he was the darling of the sport.
- The Yankee Bullpen: Tommy Kahnle, David Robertson, and Aroldis Chapman were nearly perfect in the New York wins, showing the "super-pen" blueprint that many teams try to copy today.
Why This Series Changed Baseball
The 2017 ALCS was a turning point for the league in several ways. It popularized the "bullpenning" philosophy where starters were on a short leash (except for Verlander). It also accelerated the use of high-velocity breaking balls—specifically the "spin rate" revolution led by Houston’s pitching staff.
Most importantly, it led to the crackdown on technology in the dugout. Before this series and the subsequent scandal, the "gray area" of sign stealing was wide open. Now, there are MLB officials stationed in video rooms and encrypted communication devices (PitchCom) used by catchers and pitchers. The 2017 American League Championship Series effectively ended the "Wild West" era of electronic sign stealing.
What Most People Get Wrong
A common misconception is that the Yankees were "cheated" out of a World Series ring. While the sign-stealing was real, the Yankees' inability to win a single game in Houston—scoring only 3 runs total in 4 road games—was a massive factor. Their offense bottomed out.
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Another myth is that the Astros' pitching was also part of the "cheating." There has never been credible evidence that Houston's pitchers were doing anything illegal beyond the usual search for "sticky stuff" which was rampant across the league at the time. Their dominance on the mound was largely due to elite talent and a revolutionary approach to pitch tunneling.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Historians
If you’re looking to truly understand the impact of the 2017 ALCS, don't just watch the highlights. Dig into the context.
- Watch the "Full Count" moments: Go back and look at the Game 6 battle between Verlander and Todd Frazier. It perfectly illustrates the high-stakes chess match of that era.
- Compare the splits: Look at the home vs. away strikeout rates for Houston hitters during that series. The discrepancy is a gold mine for data nerds.
- Study the McCullers sequence: If you’re a young pitcher, watch the 24 straight curveballs in Game 7. It’s a masterclass in "trusting your best stuff" even when the opponent knows it’s coming.
- Re-read the 2019 report: To get the full picture, read the MLB Commissioner's report on the Astros alongside the play-by-play of the 2017 ALCS. It provides a sobering perspective on what was happening behind the scenes.
The 2017 American League Championship Series remains one of the most intense, high-level, and controversial playoff rounds in the history of the sport. It featured future Hall of Famers at their peak and a tactical shift that defines the modern game. Whether you view it as a classic or a heist, its influence on how baseball is played and monitored today is undeniable.
To get the most out of this history, start by analyzing the Game 2 film. It’s the purest distillation of the talent on the field before the series moved to New York and the tension reached a breaking point. Pay close attention to the pitch sequencing—it reveals more about the "chess match" than any box score ever could.
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