1992 Houston Astros season
1992 Houston Astros | ||
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League | National League | |
Division | West | |
Ballpark | The Astrodome | |
City | Houston, Texas | |
Record | 81–81 (.500) | |
Divisional place | 4th | |
Owners | John McMullen | |
General managers | Bill Wood | |
Managers | Art Howe | |
Television | KTXH HSE | |
Radio | KPRC (AM) (Bill Brown, Milo Hamilton, Larry Dierker, Vince Controneo, Bill Worrell, Enos Cabell) KXYZ (Orlando Sánchez-Diago, Rolando Becerra) | |
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The 1992 Houston Astros season was the 31st season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 28th as the Astros, 31st in the National League (NL), 24th in the NL West division, and 28th at the Astrodome, The Astros entered the season as having finished in last place in the NL West with a 65–97 record—tied for the worst record in club history at the time—and 29 games behind.
The season began for Houston on April 7 in which they hosted the Atlanta Braves, and were defeated, 2–0. Pete Harnisch was the Astros' Opening Day starting pitcher. The Astros' first round draft pick in the amateur draft was third baseman Phil Nevin, at first overall. Nevin was the Astros' second number-one overall pick, following Floyd Bannister in 1976.
Pitcher Doug Jones and second baseman Craig Biggio represented the Astros at the MLB All-Star Game, This was the third career selection for Jones, and second for Biggio, who was previously selected as a catcher.
Due to the Republican National Convention being hosted at the Astrodome from August 17–20, the Astros played 26 consecutive road games from July 27 through August 23, going 12–14 on the road trip. The club played in all National League cities except Montreal, New York City, and Pittsburgh.
Following the road trip, the Astros won 25 of their final 38 games to finish at .500 (81–81) and in fourth place in the NL West, an improvement of 16 games from the year before. Hence, the 1992 season was the start of the longest period of consistent regular-season success in franchise history, where they finished at .500 or above in each of 15 of 17 seasons through 2008, and made the playoffs six times.
The Astros won six games on walk-off home runs, the most of any MLB team in 1992.[1]
Offseason
- December 10, 1991: Kenny Lofton and Dave Rohde were traded by the Astros to the Cleveland Indians for Willie Blair and Eddie Taubensee.[2]
- January 27, 1992: Joe Boever was signed as a free agent by the Astros.[3]
- January 27, 1992: Ernest Riles was signed as a free agent by the Astros.[4]
- January 27, 1992: Denny Walling was signed as a free agent by the Astros.[5]
Regular season
Summary
On June 14, outfielder Pete Incaviglia tied a club record with 7 runs batted in (RBI) to lead a 15–7 victory over the San Francisco Giants. He homered twice and hit a run-scoring double.
The Astros' Jones duo of Jimmy and Doug combined to deliver a 1–0 shutout of the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 20. Jimmy tossed the first 8 innings to earn the win, while Doug closed the final three outs for the save.[6] On June 21, Butch Henry and Doug Jones combined on another shutout of Los Angeles, en route to 2–0 win and series sweep. The two contests were the last of 20 consecutive innings in which Houston held Los Angeles scoreless. Incaviglia's two-run home run accounted for all the scoring in the game.[7] On June 28, with the Dodgers hosting the Astros, the Landers earthquake in nearly San Bernadino County struck in the morning of the game. The Astros lost, 8–2. Meanwhile, Ken Caminiti led the Astros with four hits.[8]
Season standings
Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Atlanta Braves | 98 | 64 | .605 | — | 51–30 | 47–34 |
Cincinnati Reds | 90 | 72 | .556 | 8 | 53–28 | 37–44 |
San Diego Padres | 82 | 80 | .506 | 16 | 45–36 | 37–44 |
81 | 81 | .500 | 17 | 47–34 | 34–47 | |
San Francisco Giants | 72 | 90 | .444 | 26 | 42–39 | 30–51 |
Los Angeles Dodgers | 63 | 99 | .389 | 35 | 37–44 | 26–55 |
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 | — | 10–2 | 9–9 | 13–5 | 12–6 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 13–5 | 11–7 | 6–6 | |||||
Chicago | 2–10 | — | 5–7 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 7–11 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 11–7 | |||||
Cincinnati | 9–9 | 7–5 | — | 10–8 | 11–7 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 11–7 | 10–8 | 7–5 | |||||
5–13 | 4–8 | 8–10 | — | 13–5 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 7–11 | 12–6 | 5–7 | ||||||
Los Angeles | 6–12 | 6–6 | 7–11 | 5–13 | — | 4–8 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 9–9 | 7–11 | 4–8 | |||||
Montreal | 8–4 | 11–7 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 8–4 | — | 12–6 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 6–12 | |||||
New York | 5–7 | 9–9 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–12 | — | 6–12 | 4–14 | 4–8 | 10–2 | 9–9 | |||||
Philadelphia | 6-6 | 9–9 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 9–9 | 12–6 | — | 5–13 | 3–9 | 3–9 | 7–11 | |||||
Pittsburgh | 5–7 | 10–8 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 9–9 | 14–4 | 13–5 | — | 5–7 | 6–6 | 15–3 | |||||
San Diego | 5–13 | 7–5 | 7–11 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 9–3 | 7–5 | — | 11–7 | 4–8 | |||||
San Francisco | 7–11 | 4–8 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 11–7 | 7–5 | 2–10 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 7–11 | — | 5–7 | |||||
St. Louis | 6–6 | 7–11 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 12–6 | 9–9 | 11–7 | 3–15 | 8–4 | 7–5 | — |
Notable transactions
- April 2, 1992: Curt Schilling was traded by the Astros to the Philadelphia Phillies for Jason Grimsley.[9]
Roster
1992 Houston Astros | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Other batters |
Manager
Coaches
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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 | Eddie Taubensee | 104 | 297 | 66 | .222 | 5 | 28 |
1B | Jeff Bagwell | 162 | 586 | 160 | .273 | 18 | 96 |
2B | Craig Biggio | 162 | 613 | 170 | .277 | 6 | 39 |
3B | Ken Caminiti | 135 | 506 | 149 | .294 | 13 | 62 |
SS | Andújar Cedeño | 71 | 220 | 38 | .173 | 2 | 13 |
LF | Luis Gonzalez | 122 | 387 | 94 | .243 | 10 | 55 |
CF | Steve Finley | 162 | 607 | 177 | .292 | 5 | 55 |
RF | Eric Anthony | 137 | 440 | 105 | .239 | 19 | 80 |
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pete Incaviglia | 113 | 349 | 93 | .266 | 11 | 44 |
Casey Candaele | 135 | 320 | 68 | .213 | 1 | 18 |
Scott Servais | 77 | 205 | 49 | .239 | 0 | 15 |
Rafael Ramírez | 73 | 176 | 44 | .250 | 1 | 13 |
Juan Guerrero | 79 | 125 | 25 | .200 | 1 | 14 |
Gerald Young | 74 | 76 | 14 | .184 | 0 | 4 |
Chris Jones | 54 | 63 | 12 | .190 | 1 | 4 |
Ernie Riles | 39 | 61 | 16 | .262 | 1 | 4 |
Benny Distefano | 52 | 60 | 14 | .233 | 0 | 7 |
Eddie Tucker | 20 | 50 | 6 | .120 | 0 | 3 |
Mike Simms | 15 | 24 | 6 | .250 | 1 | 3 |
Eric Yelding | 9 | 8 | 2 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
Tuffy Rhodes | 5 | 4 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Denny Walling | 3 | 3 | 1 | .333 | 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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pete Harnisch | 34 | 206.2 | 9 | 10 | 3.70 | 164 |
Butch Henry | 28 | 165.2 | 6 | 9 | 4.02 | 96 |
Jimmy Jones | 25 | 139.1 | 10 | 6 | 4.07 | 69 |
Darryl Kile | 22 | 125.1 | 5 | 10 | 3.95 | 90 |
Mark Portugal | 18 | 101.1 | 6 | 3 | 2.66 | 62 |
Brian Williams | 16 | 96.1 | 7 | 6 | 3.92 | 54 |
Ryan Bowen | 11 | 33.2 | 0 | 7 | 10.96 | 22 |
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Willie Blair | 29 | 78.2 | 5 | 7 | 4.00 | 48 |
Shane Reynolds | 8 | 25.1 | 1 | 3 | 7.11 | 10 |
Rich Scheid | 7 | 12.0 | 0 | 1 | 6.00 | 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 |
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Doug Jones | 80 | 11 | 8 | 36 | 1.85 | 93 |
Joe Boever | 81 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 2.51 | 67 |
Xavier Hernandez | 77 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 2.11 | 96 |
Al Osuna | 66 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 4.23 | 37 |
Rob Murphy | 59 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4.04 | 42 |
Rob Mallicoat | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.23 | 20 |
Farm system
References
- ^ "Team batting event finder: 1992, all teams, home runs, walk-off". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
- ^ Kenny Lofton at Baseball Reference
- ^ Joe Boever at Baseball Reference
- ^ Ernest Riles at Baseball Reference
- ^ Denny Walling at Baseball Reference
- ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 20, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 20". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
- ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 21, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 21". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
- ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 28, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 28". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
- ^ Curt Schilling at Baseball Reference