Back in 2014, Sports Illustrated writer Ben Reiter wrote a cover story about the Houston Astros, and it came 100 percent true Wednesday night.
It featured outfielder George Springer on the front with a blurb, “The Astros are headed for a fourth straight last-place finish, but a front office that has seamlessly woven old-fashioned scouting (Nolan Ryan!) with modern metrics (a director of decision sciences!) is hoarding young championship-caliber talent.”
It also guaranteed a World Series championship for the Astros in 2017. It’s a bit creepy how accurate it was.
THE JINX IS DEAD pic.twitter.com/d4OVj1BFcR
— Ben Reiter (@BenReiter) November 2, 2017
And not only did the Astros go on to win the 2017 World Series with a decisive finish last night, but George Springer was awarded MVP.
The only person as happy as the Astros was SI writer Ben Reiter himself.
The guy behind the SI article. @BenReiter predicted the Astros would be 2017 #WorldSeries Champs and he was right. pic.twitter.com/yBtVoTggHD
— Julia Morales (@JuliaMorales) November 2, 2017
When it came out in 2014, Reiter’s piece was controversial because the Astros were garbage. ESPN’s Peter Burns reminds us that the Astros were 53-111 at the time of the article.
Mind you, when this cover & story by @BenReiter came out, the Astros were coming off a 53-111 season 2013 season.
Just incredible. https://t.co/5gtlfeLv6y
— Peter Burns (@PeterBurnsESPN) November 2, 2017
Some are saying this is the greatest Sports Illustrated cover of all time, topping even the miracle on ice one from 1980.
Sports Illustrated Magazine vintage March 3 1980 Miracle on Ice Olympic Hockey:… https://t.co/ns2CaAAGts #sports #collectibles #sale #ebay pic.twitter.com/E3bQCM1p10
— Enjoy Life (@enjoylifebili) May 16, 2017
Copies of the 2014 Astros issue is selling for north of $500 on eBay currently.
People are listing that mag for crazy prices on eBay tonight. Saw one north of $500
— Bernie Augustine (@BernieAugustine) November 2, 2017
Some people kept their issues and made for a pretty solid photo op.
Had this under my coffee table for 3 years, waiting to see if @BenReiter knows his stuff. Any stock tips, Ben? #WorldSeries2017 pic.twitter.com/3uqr7R5GYJ
— russnelligan (@russnelligan) November 2, 2017
A big congrats to the Astros and the entire Houston area. The win was well deserved, and a long time coming.