2003 Houston Astros season

2003 Houston Astros
LeagueNational League
DivisionCentral
BallparkMinute Maid Park
CityHouston, Texas
Record87–75 (.537)
Divisional place2nd
OwnersDrayton McLane, Jr.
General managersGerry Hunsicker
ManagersJimy Williams
TelevisionKNWS-TV
FSN Southwest
(Bill Brown, Jim Deshaies, Bill Worrell)
RadioKTRH
(Milo Hamilton, Alan Ashby)
KXYZ
(Francisco Ernesto Ruiz, Alex Treviño)
Seasons

The 2003 Houston Astros season was the 42nd season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 39th as the Astros, 42nd in the National League (NL), tenth in the NL Central division, and fourth at Minute Maid Park. The Astros entered the season having finished in second place in the NL Central division with an 84–78 record.

On April 26, Jeff Bagwell collected his 2,000th career hit, joining teammate Craig Biggio as the second Astro to reach the milestone. On June 11, six Astros pitchers combined to hurl a no-hitter against the New York Yankees, establishing a major league record for most pitchers contributing to a no-hitter. The six were Roy Oswalt, Pete Munro, Kirk Saarloos, Brad Lidge, Octavio Dotel and Billy Wagner.

Wagner represented the Astros and played for the National League at the MLB All-Star Game, his third career selection.

The Astros concluded the season with an 87–75 record, missing the playoffs by one game. They ranked second in the NL Central, one game behind the Chicago Cubs. In the NL Wild Card race, Houston also ranked second, trailing the eventual World Series champion Florida Marlins by 4 games. This was the 10th winning season in the previous 11 for Houston, and the ninth time in 10 seasons since moving to the NL Central that they had finished in either first or second place.

Regular season

Summary

During a 3–2 loss to the Montreal Expos on April 26, first baseman Jeff Bagwell hit an infield single for his 2,000th career hit—all as a member of the Astros—joining teammate Craig Biggio as the only players to achieve this feat.[1]

In his return from the disabled list (DL) on June 7, Richard Hidalgo connected for a game-winning three-run home over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays which resulted in a 5–4 score. Part of a 3-hit night, Hidalgo had been hospitalized with tonsillitis just one week prior. Meanwhile, Lance Berkman hit a ballpark-record 464 feet (141 m) home run, and Billy Wagner converted the 199th save of his career to tie a franchise record.[2]

Following an injury scare to starter Roy Oswalt on June 11, his effort and five Astros relievers combined to throw a no-hitter against the New York Yankees, establishing a major league record for most pitchers contributing to a no-hitter. After Oswalt left the game in the second inning, Pete Munro, Kirk Saarloos, Brad Lidge, Octavio Dotel and Wagner each followed to deliver this history contest. The was the first time since 1958 that the Yankees had been no-hit.[3][4]

Playing the Cincinnati Reds on July 20, Bagwell hit two home runs for the 400th of his career off Danny Graves, becoming the 35th player in MLB history to do so.[5]

On August 6, shortstop Adam Everett hit the first-ever inside-the-park home run at Minute Maid Park, one of four Astros home runs against the New York Mets.[6]

ESPN's "The List" ranked Bagwell and Biggio as the second- and third-most underrated athletes of the top four North American professional sports leagues in an August publication.[7]

Standings

National League Central

NL Central
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Chicago Cubs 88 74 .543 — 44‍–‍37 44‍–‍37
87 75 .537 1 48‍–‍33 39‍–‍42
St. Louis Cardinals 85 77 .525 3 48‍–‍33 37‍–‍44
Pittsburgh Pirates 75 87 .463 13 39‍–‍42 36‍–‍45
Cincinnati Reds 69 93 .426 19 35‍–‍46 34‍–‍47
Milwaukee Brewers 68 94 .420 20 31‍–‍50 37‍–‍44


Record vs. opponents

2003 National League record

Source: MLB Standings Grid – 2003

Team AZ ATL CHC CIN COL FLA HOU LAD MIL MTL NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL AL
Arizona — 2–5 2–4 7–2 10–9 2–5 5–1 10–9 3–3 4–2 4–2 4–2 3–3 9–10 5–14 3–3 11–4
Atlanta 5–2 — 4–2 3–3 6–0 9–10 5–1 4–2 4–2 12–7 11–8 9–10 7–2 6–1 2–4 4–2 10–5
Chicago 4–2 2–4 — 10–7 3–3 4–2 9–7 2–4 10–6 3–3 5–1 1–5 10–8 4–2 4–2 8–9 9–9
Cincinnati 2–7 3–3 7–10 — 4–2 2–4 5–12 2–4 8–10 2–4 2–4 5–4 5–11 3–3 3–3 9–7 7–5
Colorado 9–10 0–6 3–3 2–4 — 4–2 2–4 7–12 5–1 3–4 2–5 2–4 3–6 12–7 7–12 4–2 9–6
Florida 5–2 10–9 2–4 4–2 2–4 — 1–5 2–5 7–2 13–6 12–7 13–6 2–4 5–1 1–5 3–3 9–6
1–5 1–5 7–9 12–5 4–2 5–1 — 4–2 9–8 3–3 2–4 2–4 10–6 3–3 2–4 11–7 11–7
Los Angeles 9–10 2–4 4–2 4–2 12–7 5–2 2–4 — 4–2 4–2 3–3 2–5 5–1 8–11 6–13 4–2 11–7
Milwaukee 3–3 2–4 6–10 10–8 1–5 2–7 8–9 2–4 — 0–6 6–3 4–2 10–7 5–1 1–5 3–13 5–7
Montreal 2–4 7–12 3–3 4–2 4–3 6–13 3–3 2–4 6–0 — 14–5 8–11 3–3 4–2 7–0 1–5 9–9
New York 2–4 8–11 1–5 4–2 5–2 7–12 4–2 3–3 3–6 5–14 — 7–12 4–2 3–3 4–2 1–5 5–10
Philadelphia 2–4 10–9 5–1 4–5 4–2 6–13 4–2 5–2 2–4 11–8 12–7 — 2–4 4–3 3–3 4–2 8–7
Pittsburgh 3–3 2–7 8–10 11–5 6–3 4–2 6–10 1–5 7–10 3–3 2–4 4–2 — 4–2 2–4 7–10 5–7
San Diego 10–9 1–6 2–4 3–3 7–12 1–5 3–3 11–8 1–5 2–4 3–3 3–4 2–4 — 5–14 2–4 8–10
San Francisco 14–5 4–2 2–4 3–3 12–7 5–1 4–2 13–6 5–1 0–7 2–4 3–3 4–2 14–5 — 5–1 10–8
St. Louis 3–3 2–4 9–8 7–9 2–4 3–3 7–11 2–4 13–3 5–1 5–1 2–4 10–7 4–2 1–5 — 10–8


Notable transactions

  • May 1, 2003: Julio Lugo was designated for assignment, and then released 10 days later after "hitting his wife in the face and slamming her head on a car hood" outside of Minute Maid Park.[8]
  • June 3, 2003: Josh Anderson was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 4th round of the 2003 amateur draft. Player signed June 13, 2003.[9]
  • August 21, 2003: Gregg Zaun was released by the Houston Astros.[10]

Roster

2003 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

Manager

Coaches

Players 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 Brad Ausmus 143 450 103 .229 4 47
1B Jeff Bagwell 160 605 168 .278 39 100
2B Jeff Kent 130 505 150 .297 22 93
SS Adam Everett 128 387 99 .256 8 51
3B Morgan Ensberg 127 385 112 .291 25 60
LF Lance Berkman 153 538 155 .288 25 93
CF Craig Biggio 153 628 166 .264 15 62
RF Richard Hidalgo 141 514 159 .309 28 88

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
Geoff Blum 123 420 110 .262 10 52
Orlando Merced 123 212 49 .231 3 26
José Vizcaíno 91 189 47 .249 3 26
Gregg Zaun 59 120 26 .217 1 13
Brian Hunter 56 98 23 .235 0 13
Julio Lugo 22 65 16 .246 0 2
Eric Bruntlett 31 54 14 .259 1 4
Raúl Chávez 19 37 10 .270 1 4
Colin Porter 24 32 6 .188 0 0
Jason Lane 18 27 8 .296 4 10
Mitch Meluskey 12 9 1 .111 0 2
Dave Matranga 6 5 1 .200 1 1
Tripp Cromer 3 4 1 .250 0 1

Pitching

Starters

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Wade Miller 33 187.1 14 13 4.13 161
Tim Redding 33 176.0 10 14 3.68 116
Jeriome Robertson 32 160.2 15 9 5.10 99
Roy Oswalt 21 127.1 10 5 2.97 108
Ron Villone 19 106.2 6 6 4.13 91
Jonathan Johnson 4 15.1 0 1 5.87 7
Brian Moehler 3 13.2 0 0 7.90 5
Rodrigo Rosario 2 8.0 1 0 1.13 6

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
Jared Fernández 12 38.1 3 3 3.99 19
Scott Linebrink 9 31.2 1 1 4.26 17

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
Billy Wagner 78 1 4 44 1.78 105
Brad Lidge 78 6 3 1 3.60 97
Octavio Dotel 76 6 4 4 2.48 97
Ricky Stone 65 6 4 1 3.69 47
Peter Munro 40 3 4 0 4.67 27
Kirk Saarloos 36 2 1 0 4.93 43
Mike Gallo 32 1 0 0 3.00 16
Dan Miceli 23 1 1 0 2.10 20
Nate Bland 22 1 2 0 5.75 18
Rick White 15 0 0 0 3.72 17
Brandon Puffer 13 0 0 0 5.14 10
Bruce Chen 11 0 0 0 6.00 8
Kirk Bullinger 7 0 0 0 6.75 5

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA New Orleans Zephyrs Pacific Coast League Chris Maloney
AA Round Rock Express Texas League Jackie Moore
A Salem Avalanche Carolina League John Massarelli
A Lexington Legends South Atlantic League Russ Nixon
A-Short Season Tri-City ValleyCats New York–Penn League Iván DeJesús
Rookie Martinsville Astros Appalachian League Jorge Orta

References

  1. ^ "Bagwell reaches 2,000 career hits". ESPN.com. Associated Press. April 26, 2003. Archived from the original on February 25, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  2. ^ Schwartzburg, Seth (June 7, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 16". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  3. ^ Lilly, Brandon (June 12, 2003). "Astros seem a bit baffled by their odd no-hitter". The New York Times. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  4. ^ "Astros vs. Yankees - Game Recap - June 11, 2003 - ESPN". June 11, 2003. Archived from the original on August 8, 2003.
  5. ^ "Bagwell belts way to 400". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. July 21, 2003. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  6. ^ Hermoso, Rafael (August 7, 2003). "Astros hit 4 home runs in chugging past the Mets". The New York Times. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  7. ^ Marron, Jim (August 20, 2003). "The List: Underrated current athletes". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  8. ^ "Houston shortstop Julio Lugo arrested". May 2, 2003.
  9. ^ "Josh Anderson Stats".
  10. ^ Gregg Zaun Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
1st Half: Houston Astros Game Log on ESPN.com
2nd Half: Houston Astros Game Log on ESPN.com
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