I was given a subscription to Sports Illustrated for my 15th birthday and have read the magazine with varying degrees of regularity in the 50-plus years since. In that time, perhaps the most startling cover I recall was that of the June 30, 2014, issue. The tagline read “Your 2017 World Series Champs” and featured a photograph of George Springer, the Houston Astros’ rookie right fielder. What made the claim so striking was that, at that time, the Astros were one of the worst baseball teams in half a century. The 2013 Astros had finished in last place with a 51-111 record—the team’s third season in a row with more than...