The state of the ‘Stros is that they’ve managed to launder their organization’s reputation and redeemed themselves before most of the public by hiring Dusty Baker to manage the team and then winning the World Series without cheating* with him as the manager.
Oh, what? You thought I would forget about The Most Famous Thing the Astros Will Ever Be Known For? Not on my watch.
Anyway, of the last five World Series winners whose winning season and subsequent season weren’t affected by scheduling changes caused by the pandemic (which hasn’t ended*) — this means not the Nationals, who were impacted by 2020, and not the Dodgers, who were the 2020 champions — only the 2018 Astros didn’t start off the season after winning it all a little bit sleepy.