Former Astros outfielder heading back to Fall Classic -- as a coach

This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart’s Astros Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

HOUSTON -- Monday marked the 21st anniversary of what was at the time the biggest moment in Astros history. A fly ball off the bat of Yadier Molina of the Cardinals landed into the glove of right fielder Jason Lane for the final out of Game 6 of the National League Championship Series in St. Louis, clinching Houston’s first and only National League pennant.

The Astros, in the 44th season of the franchise’s existence, were finally headed to the World Series, where they were swept in four close games by the White Sox in 2005. Houston, of course, has reached much bigger heights since with nine trips to the postseason in the past 10 years, including eight AL West titles, seven AL Championship Series appearances, four pennants and two World Series titles.

Lane not only made the final out of the pennant clincher in '05, but he had a big home run in that game to back a strong pitching performance from Roy Oswalt. Lane left the Astros in '07, played three games for the Padres and didn’t appear in another big league game until he had reincarnated himself as a pitcher with the Padres in '14.

A year and two decades after making the final out to clinch the Astros’ first trip to the Fall Classic, Lane, 49, is back in the World Series. He’s the offense and strategy coordinator for the Brewers, who swept the Dodgers last week in the NLCS and are awaiting their opponent for the World Series, which begins Friday in Milwaukee. It’s the Brewers’ first trip to the World Series in 44 years.

“It’s a very similar feeling to '05,” Lane said. “Houston had never been to the World Series [prior to '05]. And even when we got back from L.A., when the plane landed, there were people lined up around the airport. And I remember when we got back from St. Louis to Houston [in '05], I remember people being lined up around the stadium and all that. It just brought me back to that team. It’s the same feeling with this team as we had with that clubhouse there.”

The biggest difference, Lane said, is the prevalence of social media, which wasn’t as much of a thing in '05. The number of people that have reached out to him in the past few days to congratulate him has greatly surpassed anything from 21 years ago.

“Back then, it was only whoever had your phone number,” he said. “Now it’s like people can reach out from all different avenues, and so much of it is out there. It seems so much more magnified like that. But it’s a very similar feel for the city, and the people are so thankful they get to witness the World Series after waiting that long.”

Lane received messages from all walks of his life, from former classmates at his elementary school to former Astros teammates. A retired friend from his home in California texted him from China and said he ran into someone who worked with former Astros president Tal Smith’s arbitration firm that knew Lane very well.

“It was so random,” Lane said. “He said in the 2005 World Series I threw his daughter a ball. I’m like, ‘No way you ran into a person who has that kind of ties with me in person in China!’”

The experience of playing in the World Series and prepping players as a coach in the Fall Classic is another difference between his trips to the Fall Classic. As a player, Lane had some control in the outcomes of games (he was 4-for-18 in the World Series with a homer). As a coach, his impact is minimal when the game starts.

This year marks Lane’s 11th on the Brewers’ staff, after serving as assistant hitting coach (2016-19), first-base coach (2020) and third-base coach ('21-25). In his current role, he sets up the offensive strategy and goes over game-planning with the hitting coaches. During the game, he prepares players to pinch-hit and other offensive strategies.

“All the attention and stuff going on was a lot, but I remember I couldn’t wait to get to the first pitch,” Lane said of '05. “Once we got to the first pitch, it was just a baseball game. As a coach, even when you get to the first pitch, you still don’t have control of anything. … You want to win just as bad a player.”