World Series: You've got to hand it to Astros

 HOUSTON

Cheaters? Still applies. That label is never going away.

But now you have to call the Astros the 2022 world champions, too. And the home base for all this sport’s hatred is getting dangerously close to a dynasty as well after Houston wrapped its fourth trip to the World Series in six seasons with a second title, courtesy of Saturday’s 4-1 victory over the Phillies in Game 6 at Minute Maid Park.

“I’m letting you guys work with that word,” Astros owner Jim Crane said while standing on the outfield grass with blue-and-orange confetti still swirling. “I’m not talking about that. We’ll be ready next year, I’ll tell you that much.”

This is a tough one to swallow for the rest of the baseball world, seeing the Astros finally get their untainted crown, a testament to the sustained greatness happening at Minute Maid Park year in and year out.

There’s no asterisk on what Houston did this season in rolling to 106 wins, sweeping the Yankees in the ALCS and outclassing the Phillies in six games. Not to mention beating them in a longest-drive contest Saturday night, with Yordan Alvarez’s 450-foot missile over the batter’s eye in centerfield giving them the lead for good.

No illegal videotape, no banging trash cans, no forbidden sign-stealing (that we know of, anyway). How ironic that in the first season of PitchCom — the device specifically designed to counter the illicit activity spawned by the Astros (and others) — that Houston would take the title by pitching better than anyone else. That almost felt like the exclamation point.

In Game 4, the Astros hurled a combined no-hitter at Citizens Bank Park. The following night, Justin Verlander gutted his way through a tightrope five innings for the first World Series victory of his 17-year career. In Saturday’s clincher, Framber Valdez held the powerful Phillies to two hits and one run — Kyle Schwarber’s solo homer — through six innings before the airtight Houston bullpen took over.

How devastating was the Astros’ relief corps? In the eighth inning, down three runs, Schwarber — the guy with six homers this postseason — incredibly squared to bunt against Bryan Abreu with two strikes and popped up foul for the strikeout. That felt like a white flag and concession speech wrapped in one.

There was no doubting the championship mettle of this Astros team, but after falling short in their last two trips to the World Series against underdog teams — the Nationals in 2019 and Atlanta last year — Houston’s only ring remained the tarnished jewelry from 2017.

When Crane was asked if the Astros had to win another one, presumably on the level, for the sake of the franchise’s legacy, he didn’t hesitate to answer.

“Of course we did,” he said. “It’s pretty obvious.”

I was among the chorus who felt the Astros should have been stripped of their ’17 title for their trash can-banging crimes, Commissioner Rob Manfred argued against such a radical punishment, and in doing so, marginalized the accomplishment by referring to the trophy as a “piece of metal.”

Well, Manfred was up on the stage late Saturday, handing the Commissioner’s Trophy to Crane. Initially, Manfred was mercilessly booed by the 42,958 fans still in their seats for the presentation. Unlike the Astros, Manfred has no home ballpark to be showered with unconditional love, but the crowd soon switched to cheers once Crane was in possession of the hardware. Shortly afterward, the trophy wound up in the arms of Jose Altuve — he of the alleged chest-buzzer infamy — and the former MVP wrapped it in a bear hug while heading to the clubhouse with his teammates.

Altuve is one of the holdovers from the ’17 team, along with Verlander, Alex Bregman, Yuli Gurriel and Lance McCullers Jr. The cheating scandal claimed the jobs of general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch, but the players went undisciplined, their only penalty levied by angry fans at opposing ballparks. The Astros got a steady dose of “Cheater!” chants in Philly, but that sting must be lessened now to some degree as this group has achieved a measure of vindication.

“We haven’t really ever talked about it,” McCullers said. “But when you’re giving those hugs after winning another one, when I’m hugging guys like Altuve and Bregman and Yuli and JV, you feel a little bit of just like, we earned our place with this one. “

Bregman still wouldn’t go there. Coming off the centerfield stage, he repeatedly was asked about the Astros finally being validated after the ’17 debacle and mostly deflected the questions.

“I think we all believed from Day One this season that we were going to be here and that we were going to have a chance to win,” he said. “I’m just thrilled to be a part of this team.”

How fitting that the Astros won at home, too — the only safe haven for them in the entire MLB landscape in the past several years. When the crowd repeatedly launched into the mocking chant of “We Want Houston!” — deriding the fans in New York and Philly — it felt more about the insular love affair with their outlaw team.

“How ’bout them Astros!” manager Dusty Baker screamed to massive cheers.

It’s going to be a long winter for everyone else.