These Ten Ex-Capital Region Baseball Stars are 2022 World Series Champions!

The Houston Astros are World Series Champions in 2022. That's all fine and good, but why would sports fans in the Capital Region really care about that?

The Astros' championship-winning roster had a number of players who were drafted, or signed, and developed within the Houston organization. One of the first stops on the metaphorical ladder in the Astros' minor league system used to be Joe Bruno Stadium, home of the Tri-City ValleyCats.

A number of current Astros players are also former members of the ValleyCats, and now, every player in that group is officially a World Series champion.

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Former Capital Region Baseball Players Crowned WS Champs in Houston

From 2002 through the 2019 season, the Tri-City ValleyCats served as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Houston Astros, playing in the New York Penn League. As such, the ValleyCats were one of the first stops for newly-drafted and signed players on their journey to Major League Baseball.

On the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic hitting in 2020, Major League Baseball made the choice to cut ties with 40 Minor League Baseball teams, in an effort to condense their minor league system. The ValleyCats were caught in the crossfire of that decision, and have not had an MLB affiliation since.

Despite that, the impact of the ValleyCats' organization is still being felt at the MLB level, especially with their former MLB affiliate, the Houston Astros. Countless members of the Astros spent time at Joe Bruno Stadium, and clearly seemed to benefit from the experience.

Let's go back through the Capital Region sports history books, and take a look at ten former Tri-City ValleyCats players who were recently crowned 2022 World Series champions.