Luhnow’s successor, James Click, keeps a lower profile; he declined an interview request after the Astros’ no-hitter in Game 4, saying that he doesn’t talk after games because he doesn’t play. But Luhnow praised Click for keeping a good thing going.
“The day he took over the team, that was his team,” Luhnow said. “And he could have very easily done what a lot of general managers do and trade away the guys that aren’t yours, and bring in guys that you can say, ‘OK, these are my guys, this is my team.’ He didn’t do that. Why? Because he’s smart and he realizes that there was a lot of talent on the team.”
Click — whose contract is expiring — presided over contract extensions for starter Justin Verlander, first baseman Yuli Gurriel and closer Ryan Pressly, and he has made important in-season moves. Luhnow said he had enjoyed following from afar, but he conceded that nothing the team did now will change the minds of many fans about the Astros’ legitimacy.
As for his own role, Luhnow has maintained a nuanced stance. He has never been shamed into saying he is sorry for a transgression he insists he never made. A qualified apology may never satisfy his critics, in and out of baseball, but it is authentic to an executive who has always followed his own path.
“I was in charge of the organization, and I should have known — and had I known I would have stopped it,” Luhnow said. “That’s as far as I will ever go, because that’s the truth. I’m not going to admit I knew something I didn’t know, and I’m not going to apologize for something I didn’t do. I was punished because I was the general manager, and I understand that
“Life’s not fair, and this wasn’t fair to me. But it is what it is, and I’ve moved on. I’m very satisfied with what I’m doing right now, and I’m very happy to see the Astros having success.”