Jim Crane On Astros’ Title Window Truths, His Yainer Diaz Excitement & Pitching Belief — The Astros Owner Reveals His 2024 Approach

Jim Crane does not believe in windows. Not when it comes to the Houston Astros’ ability to contend for championships. The Astros owner thinks the idea that sports franchises only have a specific amount of time to take advantage of favorable talent and circumstances is largely a sportswriter invention. One that has little to do with the reality he’s determined to keep going around Houston’s most successful professional sports franchise.

“I’m not worried about the window,” Crane tells PaperCity in a one-on-one interview. “I made a statement the other day that as long as I’m here the window’s open. So I’ve got to live up to that.”

Crane is excited about this upcoming Astros season, particularly seemingly getting to watch young power hitting catcher (and potential future star) Yainer Diaz get to play almost every day. “We think we’re in good shape,” Crane says. “We’ve got a backup catcher. We’re going to play our young catcher a lot. He didn’t get a lot of action this past season.

“We’ve got a big-time closer (free agent signee Josh Hader). We’ve got some young kids who could make the team.”

Crane sounds as into it as he was when he first envisioned the Astros winning multiple world championships. Getting back to the World Series for the fifth time and winning a third ring in this golden era of Houston baseball remains as strong a driver for this self-made business tycoon as ever.

Jim Crane is very aware of the potential legacy of these Astros. That reality made extending Jose Altuve, The All-Time Greatest Astro, for five more seasons, locking him up through his age 39 2029 season, even more of a priority for the owner.

“Extending Altuve was big,” Crane tells PaperCity. “He’s a main guy who still can play well. And getting him into the Hall of Fame would be a big deal for us. So we’ve got to keep him around until he retires.”

Crane first declared that the Astros’ window would remain open for as long as he’s around to Houston sports media legend Mark Berman, who is still breaking some news in his retirement from Fox 26. Crane spent the day before Astros spring training officially began with pitchers and catchers reporting this Valentine’s Day at the First Tee Of Greater Houston’s 20th anniversary luncheon. Crane, who saved the Houston Open and kept the nation’s fourth largest city from falling off the PGA Tour’s map, was honored at the luncheon for the support of the First Tee which far predates his involvement in the Houston Open. (Stay tuned to PaperCity for a full story on the luncheon and some surprising changes coming to the Open this year as it settles into its new coveted pre-Masters March date).

“I’m not worried about the window. I made a statement the other day that as long as I’m here the window’s open. So I’ve got to live up to that.” — Astros owner Jim Crane

The Jim Crane Way

Making a difference in the community matters to Crane — and so does the responsibility he feels towards dedicated Astros fans.

“Listen, you’ve got 22,000 season tickets sold,” Crane tells PaperCity. “And that’s a lot of season tickets. I always tell people the fans are paying the bill. I’ve just got to administrate it properly. So I take it very seriously. Without the sponsors and the fans, we wouldn’t be where we’re at. We’ve got to always remember those people first.

“I tell the players, the fans are paying it, not me.”

For Crane, administrating this Astros franchise properly means not overreacting in the moment. And understanding which moment is really at hand. The Astros owner knows that some fans are anxious over the fact that Golden Era foundational third baseman Alex Bregman will be a free agent after this season. Crane understands that others are already fixating on the free agencies of should be ace Framber Valdez and star outfielder Kyle Tucker, who are under contract for the next two seasons.

“I think the reporters are like ‘Well, they’ve got to extend this guy,’ ” Crane says. “I mean listen, there’s a time for everything. We focus on one thing at a time and try to knock them out as we see the priority. You know you’re not going to always be able to sign everyone. Because your payroll would be so high, you’d be broke.

“So we’ve prioritized things. And we think we make good decisions when we make them. You’re always under a lot of scrutiny. But I’m not worried about the window.”

“We’re going to play our young catcher a lot. He didn’t get a lot of action this past season.” — Astros owner Jim Crane on Yainer Diaz

With spring training here, Crane is focused on pitching — and the advantage he thinks the Astros could have there. The owner, a former college pitcher himself, has long understood how important good arms are. And even with last season’s prized trade re-acquisition Justin Verlander revealing on this first day of spring training that a shoulder issue has him behind schedule — and perhaps not on track to be available when the Astros open the regular season — Crane feels good about Houston’s pitching depth. Like with money and good friends, pitching is something you can really never have enough of.

“Solid team top to bottom,” Crane says of how he looks at these 2024 Astros. “We like our chances. We’ve got a lot of pitching. Get (Lance) McCullers and (Luis) Garcia back and we’ll have eight starters. Nobody else really has got eight Major League starters at the moment. I always tell people if there’s one thing in baseball, you need enough pitching, pitching, pitching.

“When you’ve got good pitching, you can go a long way.”

Jim Crane is used to his Astros going a long way. Those World Series-sized expectations will not change anytime soon. What window?