1989 Houston Astros season
| 1989 Houston Astros | ||
|---|---|---|
| League | National League | |
| Division | West | |
| Ballpark | The Astrodome | |
| City | Houston, Texas | |
| Record | 86–76 (.531) | |
| Divisional place | 3rd | |
| Owners | John McMullen | |
| General managers | Bill Wood | |
| Managers | Art Howe | |
| Television | KTXH HSE | |
| Radio | KTRH (Bill Brown, Milo Hamilton, Larry Dierker, Bruce Gietzen, Bill Worrell, Enos Cabell) KXYZ (Orlando Sánchez-Diago, Rolando Becerra) | |
| ||
The 1989 Houston Astros season was the 28th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 25th as the Astros, 28th in the National League (NL), 21st in the NL West division, and 25th at The Astrodome.
The season was best remembered for the Astros winning 16 of 17 games in late May through mid June.
Offseason
- December 4, 1988: The Astros traded a player to be named later to the Minnesota Twins for Mark Portugal. The Astros completed the deal by sending Todd McClure (minors) to the Twins on December 7.[1]
- December 21, 1988: Bob Forsch was signed as a free agent by the Astros.[2]
- January 10, 1989: John Fishel, Mike Hook (minors), and Pedro DeLeon (minors) were traded by the Astros to the New York Yankees for Rick Rhoden.[3]
- January 30, 1989: Dan Schatzeder was signed as a free agent by the Astros.[4]
- February 16, 1989: Roger Mason was signed as a free agent with the Houston Astros.[5]
- March 31, 1989: Dave Johnson and Victor Hithe (minors) were traded by the Astros to the Baltimore Orioles for Carl Nichols.[6]
Regular season
Summary
A 22-inning context on June 4 against the Los Angeles Dodgers lasted seven hours, 14 minutes. This ended with a 5–4 Astros win when Rafael Ramírez' single grazed the glove of first baseman Fernando Valenzuela for the game-winning RBI.[7]
On June 13, right fielder Terry Puhl played his 1,403rd game to pass Jack Graney for most all-time in the major leagues among Canadian-born players.[8]
Reliever Dave Smith established an Astros club record by converting each of the first 21 save opportunities to start the season. This record stood until 2025, when Josh Hader extended his streak to 22.[9]
Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco Giants | 92 | 70 | .568 | — | 53–28 | 39–42 |
| San Diego Padres | 89 | 73 | .549 | 3 | 46–35 | 43–38 |
| 86 | 76 | .531 | 6 | 47–35 | 39–41 | |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 77 | 83 | .481 | 14 | 44–37 | 33–46 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 75 | 87 | .463 | 17 | 38–43 | 37–44 |
| Atlanta Braves | 63 | 97 | .394 | 28 | 33–46 | 30–51 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MTL | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | |||||
| Atlanta | — | 5–7 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 6–10 | 6–6 | 2–10 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 7–11 | 6–12 | 3–9 | |||||
| Chicago | 7–5 | — | 7–5 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 10–8 | 10–8 | 10–8 | 12–6 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 11–7 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 10–8 | 5–7 | — | 8–10 | 8–10 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 8–4 | |||||
| 10–8 | 7–5 | 10–8 | — | 10–8 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 7–5 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 7–5 | ||||||
| Los Angeles | 10–6 | 5–7 | 10–8 | 8–10 | — | 7–5 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 6–12 | 10–8 | 3–9 | |||||
| Montreal | 6–6 | 8–10 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 5–7 | — | 9–9 | 9–9 | 11–7 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 5–13 | |||||
| New York | 10–2 | 8–10 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 9–9 | — | 12–6 | 9–9 | 5–7 | 3–9 | 10–8 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 4–8 | 8–10 | 8–4 | 3–9 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 6–12 | — | 10–8 | 2–10 | 4–8 | 7–11 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 8–4 | 6–12 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 7–11 | 9–9 | 8–10 | — | 3–9 | 5–7 | 13–5 | |||||
| San Diego | 11–7 | 4–8 | 9–9 | 10–8 | 12–6 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 10–2 | 9–3 | — | 8–10 | 2–10 | |||||
| San Francisco | 12–6 | 6–6 | 10–8 | 10–8 | 8–10 | 5–7 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 10–8 | — | 7–5 | |||||
| St. Louis | 9–3 | 7–11 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 9–3 | 13–5 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 5–13 | 10–2 | 5–7 | — | |||||
Notable transactions
- April 5, 1989: Greg Gross was signed as a free agent with the Houston Astros.[10]
- April 6, 1989: Troy Afenir was traded by the Astros to the Oakland Athletics for Matt Sinatro.[11]
- June 5, 1989: Jeff Juden was drafted by the Astros in the 1st round (12th pick) of the 1989 Major League Baseball draft. Player signed June 30, 1989.[12]
Roster
| 1989 Houston Astros | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Craig Biggio | 134 | 443 | 114 | .257 | 13 | 60 |
| 1B | Glenn Davis | 158 | 581 | 156 | .269 | 34 | 89 |
| 2B | Bill Doran | 142 | 507 | 111 | .219 | 8 | 58 |
| 3B | Ken Caminiti | 161 | 585 | 149 | .255 | 10 | 72 |
| SS | Rafael Ramírez | 151 | 537 | 132 | .246 | 6 | 54 |
| LF | Billy Hatcher | 108 | 395 | 90 | .228 | 3 | 44 |
| CF | Gerald Young | 146 | 533 | 124 | .233 | 0 | 38 |
| RF | Terry Puhl | 121 | 354 | 96 | .271 | 0 | 27 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Bass | 87 | 313 | 94 | .300 | 5 | 44 |
| Craig Reynolds | 101 | 189 | 38 | .201 | 2 | 14 |
| Alex Treviño | 59 | 131 | 38 | .290 | 2 | 16 |
| Glenn Wilson | 28 | 102 | 22 | .216 | 2 | 15 |
| Eric Yelding | 70 | 90 | 21 | .233 | 0 | 9 |
| Greg Gross | 60 | 75 | 15 | .200 | 0 | 4 |
| Mark Davidson | 33 | 65 | 13 | .200 | 1 | 5 |
| Alan Ashby | 22 | 61 | 10 | .164 | 0 | 3 |
| Eric Anthony | 25 | 61 | 11 | .180 | 4 | 7 |
| Louie Meadows | 31 | 51 | 9 | .176 | 3 | 10 |
| Steve Lombardozzi | 21 | 37 | 8 | .216 | 1 | 3 |
| Harry Spilman | 32 | 36 | 10 | .278 | 0 | 3 |
| Carl Nichols | 8 | 13 | 1 | .077 | 0 | 2 |
| Ron Washington | 7 | 7 | 1 | .143 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Scott | 33 | 229.0 | 20 | 10 | 3.10 | 172 |
| Jim Deshaies | 34 | 225.2 | 15 | 10 | 2.91 | 153 |
| Jim Clancy | 33 | 147.0 | 7 | 14 | 5.08 | 91 |
| Bob Knepper | 22 | 113.0 | 4 | 10 | 5.89 | 45 |
| Mark Portugal | 20 | 108.0 | 7 | 1 | 2.75 | 86 |
| Rick Rhoden | 20 | 96.2 | 2 | 6 | 4.28 | 41 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Forsch | 37 | 108.1 | 4 | 5 | 5.32 | 40 |
| José Canó | 6 | 23.0 | 1 | 1 | 5.09 | 8 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Smith | 52 | 3 | 4 | 25 | 2.64 | 31 |
| Juan Agosto | 71 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2.93 | 46 |
| Danny Darwin | 68 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 2.36 | 104 |
| Larry Andersen | 60 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1.54 | 85 |
| Dan Schatzeder | 36 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4.45 | 46 |
| Brian Meyer | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4.50 | 13 |
| Roger Mason | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20.25 | 3 |
| Greg Gross | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18.00 | 1 |
| Craig Reynolds | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27.00 | 0 |
Farm system
References
- ^ Mark Portugal at Baseball Reference
- ^ Bob Forsch at Baseball Reference
- ^ Rick Rhoden at Baseball Reference
- ^ Dan Schatzeder at Baseball Reference
- ^ "Roger Mason Stats".
- ^ Carl Nichols at Baseball Reference
- ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 4, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 4". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
- ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 13, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 13". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
- ^ Youung, Matt (June 27, 2025). "Astros win fifth straight, clubbing their way past NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
- ^ "Greg Gross Stats".
- ^ Troy Afenir at Baseball Reference
- ^ Jeff Juden at Baseball Reference
- ^ "1989 Houston Astros Roster by Baseball Almanac".