3 Things Houston Astros Are Looking Forward to About Being in American League

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Last November, it was decided that the Houston Astros would make the move to the American League.

According to Erik Matuszewski of Businessweek.com, the Astros are the first team since 1998 to switch leagues, and up until the switch, they had been in the National League for 51 years.

Also according to Matuszewski, the switch came with the sale of the Astros to Jim Crane. With the switch, both leagues will have an equal amount of teams.

We are going to look at a few things the Astros are looking forward to for the 2013 season as a part of the American League. 

New League, New Uniforms

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Of the many changes to come with the transition, new uniforms will be one of them.

According to Brian McTaggert of MLB.com, the Astros will be getting new uniforms to "look the part." He also quoted Astros outfielder Brian Bogusevic comments on the new threads.

"There's so much change that's already gone on here and so much change that seems like is going to take place, it's almost like 'Why not change the uniforms?'"

Bogusevic seemed optimistic as Crane talked about the new plans for the uniforms back in February, and what he expects from the team for next season.

Potential New Rivalry?

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With the switch to the AL, Astros fans may be able to look forward to the start of a new rivalry between Houston and the Texas Rangers.

Also according to Matuszweski of Businessweek.com, the Astros had the worst record this past season and the Rangers tied for third best. This potential rivalry could be enjoyable for baseball lovers in Texas seeing as how both are Texas teams and not that far off from each other.

It will be interesting to see the two teams duke it out for the division title if it came down to it especially because Dallas/Arlington and Houston already have a rivalry as cities in general.

Fresh Start to a Sloppy Ending

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Houston has had quite a disappointing season, having the worst record in the league and low attendance rates at home games.

The late starts of the games is one reason why crowd turnout is so low. However, with the move to the AL, they expect this will change.

Their games will still start late, but they will be playing teams such as the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. Tyler Kepner of the New York Times said this could definitely draw a much bigger crowd.

Coming off of the worst record, the Astros have a lot to look forward to in the 2013 season, including a new and fresh start.