Houston Astros

Team information

• Inaugural season: 1962
• Home ballpark: Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas
• Owner: Jim Crane
• Team colors: Dark blue, orange, and white

Overview

The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball (MLB) team playing in the American League West division. Formed as the Colt .45s in 1962, the Astros later changed their name as a nod to the US space program, which had a significant presence in Houston. A longtime member of the National League (NL), the Astros switched over to the American League (AL) in 2013 to help balance out MLB’s six divisions. Houston did not enjoy sustained success in its first quarter century of existence, but the few playoff appearances the team did make were memorable. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Astros built one of the better teams in the NL, winning four division titles and advancing to the World Series in 2005. The franchise was even better as a member of the AL. Houston made two World Series appearances in the late 2010s and won its first championship in 2017. However, that title later fell under a cloud when the team was implicated in a sign-stealing scandal in 2019. The Astros returned to the World Series in 2022, where they ultimately defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in six games.

History

In the early 1960s, MLB was looking to expand for the first time since the American and National Leagues merged in 1903. The AL added franchises in Washington, DC, and Anaheim, California, in 1961, while teams in Houston and New York joined the NL in 1962. The Houston franchise was called the Colt .45s, a reference to the popular revolver used on the American frontier in the nineteenth century. Like most expansion teams, Houston struggled in its first few years, losing ninety or more games from 1962 to 1968. Among the few notable games played by the team, Colt .45 pitcher Ken Johnson became the first player in history to lose a nine-inning no-hitter in 1964, allowing a run on two errors in a 1–0 loss.

In 1965, the team moved into a new home, a state-of-the-art indoor stadium known as the Astrodome. The facility was the world’s first domed stadium and the first to use an artificial surface that became known as AstroTurf. The stadium was named in honor of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Manned Spacecraft Center, which had been built in Houston in 1961. The center served as the main control facility for NASA’s astronaut program. In keeping with the space flight theme, the Colt .45s decided to change their name to the Astros for the 1965 season.

The Astros spent most of the next fifteen seasons near the bottom of the NL West standings, until breaking through in 1979 with eighty-nine wins and a second-place finish. In 1980, Houston won the NL West and advanced to the National League Championship Series (NLCS) against the Philadelphia Phillies. After the Phillies won the opener, the next four games went into extra innings, with the Astros winning Games Two and Three. Needing one win to advance to the World Series, Houston held the lead in the eighth inning of Games Four and Five, only to see Philadelphia rally both times to win the series.

The Astros made the NL Division Series in 1981 but lost the best-of-five series to the Los Angeles Dodgers after winning the first two games. In 1986, Houston again won the NL West and faced off against the New York Mets in the NLCS. In an epic Game Six, the Mets scored three runs in the ninth inning to tie the game 3–3 and force extra innings. The teams traded single runs in the fourteenth, and New York scored three in the sixteenth to seemingly put the game out of reach. The Astros fought back, scoring twice in their half of the inning but ultimately falling short. The victory clinched the series for New York.

The Astros fell out of contention in the late 1980s and early 1990s but laid the foundation for future success with two key moves during the period. In 1987, the team drafted catcher/infielder Craig Biggio, and three years later, traded for young first baseman Jeff Bagwell. Led by Biggio and Bagwell, Houston won four division titles from 1997 to 2001and advanced to the NLCS in 2004. A year later, the Astros finally made their first World Series but lost to the Chicago White Sox in a four-game sweep.

After Biggio and Bagwell retired, the Astros’ fortunes quickly turned and the team spiraled downward, losing more than one hundred games from 2011 to 2013. In 2011, MLB announced that it was adding two wild card playoff teams to the postseason mix. To do this, both the National and American Leagues would need to have three divisions of five teams each. Since 1998, the NL had consisted of sixteen teams while the AL had fourteen. Houston was chosen as the team that would be moved and in 2013, began playing as a member of the AL West.

The Astros’ years of losing had one silver lining, as the team was able to turn its high draft picks into a young core of talented players. From 2007 to 2015, Houston either signed or drafted second baseman José Altuve, outfielder George Springer, shortstop Carlos Correa, and third baseman Alex Bregman. The team’s rebuilding effort caught the attention of Sports Illustrated magazine, which proclaimed that the Astros “Your 2017 World Series Champs” on a 2014 cover.

A year later, the Astros made a surprising run to the playoffs, defeating the New York Yankees in the AL Wild Card game before falling to the Kansas City Royals in the AL Division Series. In 2017, Houston won 101 games to capture the AL West title and eventually advanced to the World Series. In a hard-fought seven-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers—punctuated by two nail-biting extra-inning victories—the Astros fulfilled Sports Illustrated’s prophecy and captured their first championship.

The Astros returned to the playoffs in 2018, losing to the Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series (ALCS) and made another World Series in 2019, only to fall to the Washington Nationals in seven games. Just weeks after losing the series, a published report accused the Astros’ players of using an illegal video system to steal opponents’ signs during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. While stealing signs is not against MLB rules, using electronic equipment to do so is, and the sign stealing scandal soon caused major controversy. After an investigation, MLB fined the team $5 million and stripped it of draft picks in 2020 and 2021. The league also suspended Houston’s manager and general manager for 2020; however, both were later fired by the team.

The Astros hired manager Dusty Baker in 2020 and quickly began an effort aimed at distancing themselves from the sign stealing controversy. Under Baker, the Astros made it to the 2020 ALCS but lost to the Tampa Bay Rays in seven games. Despite facing continued criticism from the sign stealing controversy, the Astros progressed to the 2021 World Series after an incredibly successful regular season. However, the team lost to the Atlanta Braves in six games. In 2022, the Astros returned to the World Series, this time successfully clinching the title after defeating the Philadelphia Phillies in six games.

Notable players

Ten former players associated with the Houston Astros have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as of 2022. Second baseman Joe Morgan began his career with the Colt .45s in 1963 and played in Houston until 1971 and again in 1980. Morgan found his greatest success with the Cincinnati Reds from 1972 to 1979, winning two NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards and two World Series titles. Fireballing right-hander Nolan Ryan pitched with the Astros from 1980 to 1988, striking out a franchise record 1,866 batters. Over his twenty-seven-year career, Ryan struck out 5,714 batters, the most in MLB history. Joining Ryan in the 1980 Astros’ rotation was fellow right-hander J.R. Richard who was as equally feared as Ryan for his strikeout ability. Richard began his career with Houston in 1971 and struck out more than three hundred batters in 1978 and 1979. His career also seemed headed for the Hall of Fame until he suffered a stroke during the 1980 season and was forced to retire.

Craig Biggio was a seven-time All-Star who played his entire career with the Astros from 1988 to 2007. Biggio led the NL in doubles three times and finished his career with a franchise record 3,060 hits. He is also the Astros’ all-time leader in runs scored with 1,844 and is second in runs batted in (RBIs) with 1,175. Jeff Bagwell was also a lifelong Astro, playing in Houston from 1991 to 2005. Bagwell won the NL rookie of the Year Award in 1991 and the NL MVP in 1994. He finished his career as the franchise leader in home runs with 449 and RBIs with 1,529. Biggio was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015, while Bagwell followed in 2017.

Pitcher Roy Oswalt twice won twenty games with Houston from 2001 to 2010. Oswalt’s 143 career wins with the Astros are one short of the team record—144 by Joe Niekro from 1975 to 1985. José Altuve has made eight All-Star games and won three AL batting titles since beginning his career in Houston in 2011. He was also named the 2017 AL MVP and the MVP of the 2019 ALCS. Carlos Correa won the 2015 AL Rookie of the Year award and was named to his first All-Star team in 2017. He ultimately left the Astros for the Minnesota Twins in 2022. Alex Bregman has evolved into one of the game’s best hitters and made two All-Star teams since entering the league in 2016. George Springer made three All-Star teams and was named the MVP of the 2017 World Series before joining the Toronto Blue Jays in 2021. Houston’s success in the 2020s was built on the continued excellence of Altuve and Bregman, along with young sluggers Kyle Tucker and Yordan Álvarez.

Bibliography

“Astros History.” MLB.com, 2024, www.mlb.com/astros/history. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Dator, James. “The Astros Sign-Stealing and Cheating Scandal, Explained.” SB Nation, 13 Jan. 2020, www.sbnation.com/mlb/2020/1/13/21064250/astros-sign-stealing-suspensions-fines-mlb. Accessed 19 May 2020.

Faour, Fred. “Ranking the 10 Greatest Players in Astros History.” SportsMap, 21 Oct. 2019, houston.sportsmap.com/ranking-the-10-greatest-players-in-astros-history?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1. Accessed 19 May 2020.

Hlavaty, Craig. “When the Colt .45s Became the Astros and the Origins of Other Houston Sports Team Names.” Houston Chronicle, 1 Dec. 2016, www.chron.com/sports/article/When-the-Colt-45s-became-the-Astros-and-the-10647526.php. Accessed 19 May 2020.

“Houston Astros.” Baseball Almanac, 2024, www.baseball-almanac.com/teams/astr.shtml. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

“Houston Astros Team History.” Sports Team History, 2020, sportsteamhistory.com/houston-astros. Accessed 19 May 2020.

“Houston Astros Team History & Encyclopedia.” Baseball Reference, 2024, www.baseball-reference.com/teams/HOU/. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

“Houston Astros Win Second World Series in 6 Years.” CBS News, 5 Nov. 2022, www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/houston-astros-win-world-series-defeat-philadelphia-phillies/. Accessed 8 Nov. 2022.

McTaggart, Brian. 100 Things Astros Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. Triumph Books, 2018.