Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston.
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62 Facts About Houston Astros
2.
The Houston Astros compete in Major League Baseball as a member club of the American League West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after spending their first 51 seasons in the National League .
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3.
The Houston Astros played in the NL West division from 1969 to 1993, then the NL Central division from 1994 to 2012, before being moved to the AL West as part of a MLB realignment in 2013.
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4.
Houston Astros posted their first winning record in 1972 and made the playoffs for the first time in 1980.
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5.
Under Crane's ownership, the Houston Astros embraced sabermetrics and pioneered new analytical technologies in their transition to the American League, and by the mid-2010s has transformed from a poor franchise into one of MLB's most dominant and successful clubs, winning over 100 games in three straight seasons.
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6.
Houston Astros was so well liked by players and fans that the team retired his jersey number, 32, in 1965.
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7.
Houston Astros would be traded late in the season and Doug Rader would be promoted to the big leagues.
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8.
However, Clendenon refused to report to Houston Astros, electing to retire and take job with a pen manufacturing company.
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9.
The Houston Astros asked Commissioner Bowie Kuhn to void the trade, but he refused.
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10.
Houston Astros was just 24 years of age and was second to only Sandy Koufax for career no-hit wins.
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11.
The Houston Astros dominated the season series against their expansion twins, the New York Mets.
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12.
In 1970, the Houston Astros were expected to be a serious threat in the National League West.
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13.
In 1971 the Houston Astros made some changes to their uniform: they kept the same style they had in previous seasons, but inverted the colors.
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14.
The Houston Astros got off to a slow start and the pitching and hitting averages were down.
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15.
Houston Astros fans had hoped for more of the same in 1973, but it was not to be.
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16.
The Houston Astros run production was down, even though the same five sluggers the year before were still punching the ball out of the park.
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17.
The Houston Astros again finished in fourth place the next year under new manager Preston Gomez.
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18.
Two biggest moves the Houston Astros made in the offseason were the acquisitions of Joe Niekro and Jose Cruz.
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19.
One of the big problems the Houston Astros had in the late 1970s was that they were unable to compete in the free-agent market.
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20.
Now with an investor in charge, the Houston Astros would be more likely to compete in the free-agent market.
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21.
The rumors of the Astros moving out of Houston started to crumble and the Astros were now able to compete in the free-agent market.
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22.
Houston Astros had suffered a stroke after a blood clot in the arm apparently moved to his neck and cut off blood flow to the brain.
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23.
The Houston Astros won the first two games of the series to tie the Dodgers for the division lead.
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24.
The Houston Astros went on to win a third game and take the lead- with three games against the Dodgers left.
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25.
An Houston Astros lead was lost when Bob Boone hit a two-out single in the second, but the Houston Astros tied the game in the sixth with an Alan Ashby single scoring Denny Walling.
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26.
The Houston Astros came back against Tug McGraw with four singles and two two-out runs.
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27.
The Houston Astros finished fourth in the west, but new talent was starting to appear.
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28.
The Houston Astros kept pace with the NL West after the All-Star break.
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29.
The Houston Astros would get the run back in the bottom of the 14th when Hatcher hit one of the most dramatic home runs in NLCS history, off the left-field foul pole.
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30.
Houston Astros would be replaced by Gerry Hunsicker, who until 2004 would continue to oversee the building of the Astros into one of the better and most consistent organizations in the Major Leagues.
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31.
Houston Astros had nearly finalized a deal to sell the team to businessman William Collins, who planned to move them to Northern Virginia.
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33.
The Houston Astros lost the first game in St Louis, but would win the next three games.
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34.
The Houston Astros renewed the contract with Clemens and traded two minor league prospects to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for left-handed hitter Aubrey Huff.
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35.
On October 31, the Houston Astros declined a contract option on Jeff Bagwell for 2007, ending his 15-year Houston Astros career and leading to his retirement.
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36.
Houston Astros debuted that night, getting a hit and scoring a run.
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37.
In January and February 2008, the Houston Astros signed Brandon Backe, Ty Wigginton, Dave Borkowski and Shawn Chacon to one-year deals.
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38.
The Houston Astros struggled throughout a season that was marked by trade-deadline deals that sent longtime Houston Astros to other teams.
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39.
McLane stated that because the Houston Astros were one of the few franchises in Major League Baseball with only one family as the owners, he was planning his estate.
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40.
In 2012, the Houston Astros were eliminated from the playoffs before September 5.
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41.
On September 27, the Houston Astros named Bo Porter to be the manager for the 2013 season.
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42.
Houston Astros entered the 2016 season as the favorites to win the AL West after a promising 2015 season.
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43.
The Houston Astros finished the 2016 season 11 games behind the Rangers.
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44.
Houston Astros clinched their first division title as a member of the American League West division, and first division title overall since 2001.
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45.
On September 29, the Houston Astros won their 100th game of the season, the second time the Houston Astros finished a season with over 100 wins, the first being in 1998.
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46.
The Houston Astros defeated the Red Sox three games to one, and advanced to the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees.
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47.
The Houston Astros won the ALCS four games to three, and advanced to the World Series to play against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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48.
The Houston Astros defeated the Dodgers in the deciding seventh game of the World Series, winning the first championship in franchise history.
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49.
The Houston Astros were alleged to have used scouts watching catchers' signs in real time behind the dugout at Minute Maid Park to crack the signs and banging a trash can loudly to indicate what kind of pitch was coming.
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50.
The Houston Astros would be hampered by injuries to players such as Justin Verlander, Yordan Alvarez, and Roberto Osuna, who each would suffer season-ending injuries.
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51.
The Houston Astros beat the Chicago White Sox in the American League Division Series to advance to their fifth consecutive ALCS, a feat matched by only two teams in LCS history and the first since the Atlanta Braves of the 1990s .
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52.
In 1971 the Houston Astros made some changes to their uniform: they kept the same style they had in previous seasons, but inverted the colors.
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53.
The uniform was so different from what other teams wore that the Houston Astros wore it both at home and on the road until 1980, though it underwent a few minor modifications with the navy star and number style.
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54.
Also in 1980, the Houston Astros debuted a significantly cleaner uniform, relegating the rainbows to the sleeves.
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55.
The Houston Astros never wore grey uniforms with this design, opting for white at home and cream on the road.
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56.
The Houston Astros wore midnight blue alternates with "Houston Astros" in white with gold trim.
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57.
In 2013, the Houston Astros returned to the classic navy and orange look of previous eras.
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58.
The Houston Astros wore navy uniforms with the orange rainbow stripes along the side; the front originally featured the "H" star before replacing it with "Houston Astros" in orange in 2016.
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59.
Until 2015, the Houston Astros wore all-orange caps with the home uniforms, and from 2016 to 2018, the navy alternates were paired with an orange cap with navy brim.
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60.
In 2022, the Houston Astros were one of seven additional teams to wear Nike's "City Connect" uniforms.
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61.
Houston Astros have held their spring training at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Florida since 2017.
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