MLB Network’s Robert Flores, a graduate of Dobie High School and the University of Houston, begins his fourth season as a co-host of the morning show “MLB Central” this week. He discussed the Astros’ upcoming season, other MLB topics and what it’s like being a Houston sports fan with Chronicle staff writer Greg Rajan.
This conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Q: If you look at last year’s Astros regular season, is that an aberration or is that a possible warning sign of things to come?
A: I think it’s so difficult to make any kind of judgments on what happened last year. Are the Astros as uneven as they showed in the regular season or are they as good as they showed in the postseason? I think when you consider what this group has done in full seasons and in previous postseasons, I would be shocked if we saw a team come out that did not contend for a division title and did not contend for an American League pennant. Are they the favorite to come out of the American League and represent the American League in the World Series? I don’t know; that’s going to be tough. But I feel confident that this team is going to contend for a division title and contend for a deep run in the postseason.
Q: How much differently would we view this era of Astros baseball if they’d won the 2019 World Series?
A: That’s a good question. So if this current collection of stars, you have Carlos Correa, there’s a very good chance that he hits free agency and doesn’t return to this team. There’s a chance that Justin Verlander does not pitch for this team again. So there’s a real chance that going forward past 2021 that this franchise looks different. If they had won that Game 7 — heck, if they had won any of the home games in that World Series — I think you look at this collection of players as extra special. I mean, that 2017 World Series, yes, it does come with some caveats and there’s been a lot of things written and said about that group. But if they had won in 2019, I think it puts them on a whole different plateau, a whole different stratosphere, a whole different level.
Q: Obviously, Carlos Correa’s status is going to be a big storyline this year. Why should we believe that he won’t follow Dallas Keuchel, Gerrit Cole and George Springer out of Houston?
A: This is pure speculation on my part that if Correa hits free agency, he’s gone. I think if he hits free agency, I think he will be playing elsewhere. You still have a couple more days before the deadline that he and his camp have imposed on having an extension done. So I just think that if he does hit free agency, he will follow Keuchel and Springer. That’s just the nature of the business, right? He will have earned that right to become a free agent. If he doesn’t decide to sign an extension and decides to play through the 2021 season, he has earned that right. That’s just the business of baseball. So it’s my belief that if he does hit free agency, he will not return.
Q: It didn’t take A.J. Hinch long to land another managerial job once his suspension ended. Do you see a future for Jeff Luhnow to be working again in MLB or has that ship sailed?
A: That’s a really good question. I would never say never to anything after what we’ve seen and what has transpired over the last couple of years. I think Jeff is brilliant. I think he’s extremely smart, extremely intelligent. I think he knows how to run an effective organization, how to build one from the ground up, so I would never say never. Jeff can do just about whatever he wants to do. So, whether or not that future includes a return to Major League Baseball, I don’t know. Maybe in a couple years, who knows if that’s something that he would like to do and something he would like to bring back into his life and all it takes is one team to give him that chance. So it wouldn’t shock me. Would it surprise me if it was, say, next season? Yeah, I’d be a little bit surprised, but beyond that, I wouldn’t be shocked.
Q: In a macabre way, the Astros inadvertently benefited from the pandemic because there were no fans in attendance last year. Fans will be back this season. How much vitriol do you see coming the Astros’ way even though it’s been nearly 18 months since news of the cheating scheme came out?
A: Oh, I imagine wherever they play on the road wherever there are fans, they will get booed and they will get booed heavily. Obviously, it will sound differentas opposed to 100 percent capacity to what you may have depending on the jurisdiction or state that they’re in; it could be 25 percent, it could be 50 percent, but make no mistake — they are going to get booed and they’re going to get booed heavily whenever they go on the road. And I’m sure that will continue probably for this season, 2022 and 2023. That’s just the nature of fans.
I do think that the players on this team are better equipped to face the kind of vitriol that they’re going to face just because there’s been enough time, the initial shock of that whole investigation, and the things that came out and the punishment. I think enough time has passed where the players on this team are like, ‘Okay, we’ve accepted it, we know we’re going to get booed.’ So I think that they are in a better position now than this time last year.
Q: As this 2021 season begins, what storyline or team most intrigues you?
A: There’s so many. For me, before Eloy Jiménez got hurt, it was going to be the Chicago White Sox. They were my pick to come out of the American League and represent the AL in the World Series. The Eloy Jiménez injury, I think that changes it a little bit.
I think the New York Mets, they made so many changes they got a new owner (Steve Cohen), Francisco Linor is on their team, are they going to sign him to an extension? They still have Jacob deGrom, who I think is the best pitcher in the game. I think that whole National League East Division and how many playoff teams come out of that division, I think that’s going to be a very, very interesting storyline and the division that we’re going to be watching for the rest of the season.
Q: Is there a player or two that in your eyes, doesn’t get enough recognition from fans and or the media?
A: Trea Turner. I’m watching the Astros and Nationals (spring training game), and Trea Turner at the top of that (Washington) lineup. I have the Nationals as a dark horse favorite in the National League East. I think the rotation is fantastic, I love Trea Turner. I think he’s a player.
There’s so many elite level players that play the shortstop position. Correa, obviously, Lindor, Corey Seager, Javy Baez and coincidentally enough, all four of those guys are scheduled to become free agents right now at the end of the season. But I think Trea Turner is a guy that doesn’t get talked about near enough. I mean, elite-level athleticism, defense, he can hit for power and he can hit for average. And I think he definitely doesn’t get enough pub.
Q: No team has repeated as World Series champs since the Yankees from 1998 to 2000. That’s the longest stretch in history. What makes it so hard to go back to back these days?
A: I think it just takes a grind, it just takes so much out of you, that postseason. You know, the amount of innings, stress level, high-leverage situations. And there are so many good players, so many elite-level players spread across Major League Baseball. So, even though the Astros have at this point only won one World Series in this current window, just the fact that they made it to two World Series, made it to four straight League Championship Series in this day and age? I think that’s a remarkable achievement. I think it’s one that maybe we’ll appreciate as we get further and further away from it.
But yes, if this current collection of Astros only comes away with one World Series, there’s going to be a sense especially among Astro fans of, “Man, we should have one more than one, right?” But you can also kind of say the same about the Chicago Cubs. When the Cubs won in 2016, they had (Kris) Bryant, they had (Anthony) Rizzo, Jon Lester. But they only won one, as we sit now. So it just shows that, no matter how big or wide you think the window is for your current team, it is very difficult (to win).
It is such a grind, I mean you’ve got 162 games of a regular season, then you have the playoffs, and it just takes so much out of you. I remember talking with some Astros after 2018 and you know, a couple of them were like, “Man, we were just, I think we were just exhausted.” It is a grind, so it just shows you just how difficult it is to repeat in this day and age.
Q: What do you think of the Dodgers’ chances to repeat?
A: I think this might be the best opportunity for us to get a repeat champion. As loaded and talented, as, say the Astros were after 2017, the Red Sox in 2018 and then, of course, the Nats really didn’t have a true chance to kind of defend their title just given the unusual circumstances. I think this is the best chance we have for a repeat champion.
The Dodgers, it’s almost like they have two separate teams. They are so deep and so talented. They have more than enough pitching, be it starters or bullpen pieces. So I think they are the prohibitive favorite. I’m trying to think when was the last time we had this big of a favorite going into the season. That’s how big I think the gap is between the Dodgers and everyone else.
Now they’re going to get a big challenge from the San Diego Padres. I’m interested to see what that rivalry looks like this season. But make no mistake, the Dodgers, are the prohibitive favorite.
Q: There’s a vaccine being distributed but the specter of COVID-19 is still a big part of everyday life. How realistic do you think it is to play a 162-game schedule during a pandemic?
A: I think it is realistic. Both the players’ union and the league, they’ve been working in partnership to make sure that they have all the health and safety protocols buttoned up. The players take it very seriously. And the support staffs for the league and the teams, they are doing their best to make sure that they have everything under control, that they’re doing all the right things. But look, we are dealing with a very, very contagious disease. Hopefully, the lessons learned last season and the practices and the things that were done last season can be applied and used going forward. But it is one of those things where you’ve just got to cross your fingers, and if you get through opening day, and all the games have been played, you’re like, “Great, now let’s get to game two.”
And that’s just the way you have to keep thinking about it. You can’t look and predict because it is so unpredictable and we are dealing with things that are just unprecedented. But I do feel optimistic that all the things are being done correctly, all the correct protocols and practices are being applied where we can have a full season as uninterrupted as possible.
Q: You’re pretty candid about your Houston sports fandom on Twitter (@RoFlo). Where does 2021 rank among the worst times to be a Houston sports fan?
A: Oh gosh, whenever there is — and maybe I could produce it — a definitive documentary on Houston sports in 2020, it’s going to really start with the Texans blowing a big lead against the Chiefs in Houston Oilers-esque fashion. That kicked off what was just a terrible run for Houston sports. It’s bad — it’s really bad. I mean you have the Astros, who I said, I think are going to be very competitive. I think they’re going to be in the playoffs. And you have the University of Houston Cougars basketball team, who (did) something that hasn’t been done in decades.
So there are some silver linings there. But man, when you consider the Astros investigation, and then the Rockets, James Harden, the Texans and all the drama that goes on surrounding that franchise, it’s been a rough run, man. It has really been rough. We can’t have nice things as Houston sports fans!
Q: As a UH alum, what was it like watching them end their long Final Four drought?
A: I thought about my dad. He and my mom would take us to Hofheinz to watch the Cougars and Phi Slama Jama. To see how much apathy was around the program prior to Coach Sampson’s arrival and then to see it get to the Final Four, it’s remarkable. This doesn’t make up for 1983, but man, it sure is sweet
Q: You’ve been at MLB Network for five years and hosted MLB Central for three. How has that experience hyper-focusing on one sport been after your long run at ESPN covering multiple sports?
A: It’s been challenging, but it’s also been gratifying to really get to know and understand the sport in a way that I didn’t really have access to. Our analysts are the best in the business, and just learning from them has been really gratifying. You mentioned MLB Central that returns this Thursday at 9 a.m. Houston time (with) Lauren (Shehadi) and Mark DeRosa. DeRo is the best analyst I’ve ever worked with — no matter the sport, no matter the network. He just is able to explain and break down things to a viewer in a way that is so unique, so entertaining and so refreshing. That’s why I call him the best. Getting a chance to really understand the game from a different perspective has been really, really cool.
Q: You talked about the grind for players during a 162-game season, but what is it like for an MLB Network host, going through a season from late March through the end of October?
A: You know, it is kind of a grind. But it’s fun. I love doing our show. I love the people I work with both in front of the camera and behind the scenes, we have a really good group. So it’s been great to get a chance to work with them and try to bring baseball and make our show entertaining but yet informative. But yeah, it can be a grind. You’re up in the morning kind of early and you’re doing a three-hour show more often than not, so it is a little bit of a grind. But look, let’s be honest, it is TV. It’s not like we’re breaking a sweat out there but yeah, it’s a little bit of a grind. But I love it and I can’t wait to get started on Thursday.