Latest Houston Astros News

    Houston Astros Franchise Information

    Have a read on below at some quick stats and facts on the Houston Astros to get you started: 

    Established:1962
    Stadium:Minute Maid Park 
    Colors:Dark blue, orange & white
    Hall of Famers:Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Jimmy Wynn, Don Wilson, Jim Umbricht, Mike Scott, Nolan Ryan, J.R. Richard, Shane Reynolds, Joe Niekro, Joe Morgan, Larry Dierker, Jose Cruz & Bob Aspromonte
    Hall of Fame General Managers:  Leo Durocher
    Rivals:Texas Rangers & St Louis Cardinals
    Legends:Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Nolan Ryan, Jimmy Wynn, Roger Clemens, Lance Berkman, Brad Ausmus, Larry Dierker, Dickie Thon, Jose Cruz, Roy Oswalt & Mike Scott
    Retired Numbers:9: 5, 7, 24, 25, 32, 33, 34, 40 & 49 
    League: American League
    Division:West Division
    World Series Championships: 2: 2017 & 2022

    Houston Astros History

    The Houston Astros or the Colt .45s as they were known at the time, entered the MLB a year after the Texas Rangers joined, as an expansion side along with the New York Mets. The Colt .45s, couldn’t have asked for a better start to their era in the MLB when they played the Chicago Cubs and won 11-2.

    However, for the rest of the time it wasn’t exactly a very warm welcome as they finished eighth in their first season with 64 wins, and then finished ninth in the next two years with 66 wins. 

    After the Colt .45s finished their 1964 season, by December that year, the organization renamed the team to the Houston Astros, paying homage to the Johnson Space Center (now renamed to NASA) which is based in Houston.  

    By the time the 1965 season started, the Astros moved from Colt Stadium (where they played from 1962 to 1964) to the Astrodome which opened up its doors three years after they started construction. The Astrodome became the world’s first multi-purpose dome and was also an NFL ground for the Houston Oilers as well as sharing many other tenants. 

    While the New York Yankees played against the Houston Astros in the first baseball game under the Astrodome with Mickey Mantle becoming the first player to hit a home run in the stadium, the first official MLB regular-season game occurred against the Philadelphia Phillies on April 12, with the Astros losing 2-0. 

    The next few years didn’t provide many highs for the Astros as they finished in the bottom half of the National League. Despite the team not performing as well there were a few standout performances that should be noted. 

    In 1966, 50, 908 people went to the Astrodome to see the Los Angeles Dodgers take on the Astros mainly to see Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax. From an Astros highlight, pitcher Mike Cuellar had a 2.22 ERA. 

    The next year another pitcher took the headlines as Don Wilson struck out Hank Aaron in a performance which saw him provide a no-hitter when the Astros defeated the Atlanta Braves 2-0. Jimmy Wynn also had a season to remember when he hit 37 home runs, an Astros record at the time. 

    Despite the Astros finishing in 10th place of the National League, there were another few highlights most notably from the pitchers as Wilson once again continued his magnificent form when the Astros were playing the Cincinnati Reds, he struck them out 18 times. 

    Wilson, Larry Dierker, Dave Guisti, and Denny LeMaster all combined as they helped the Astros win 10 games, as Wilson struck out (13 times), Dierker (12), Guisti (11) and LeMaster (10). 

    By 1969, the league introduced four new teams with the Kansas City Royals, Montreal Expos, San Diego Padres and the Seattle Pilots entering the MLB, with the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos heading into the National League. 

    With two new teams coming in it meant the league introduced divisions, it saw both the American League and the National League introduce an East Division and West Division. The Astros were based in the National League West Division. 

    The Astros moved up on the standings and they were no longer the cellar dwellers as they finished the 1969 season in fifth place (they were 10th in the 1968 season), and ended the 1970 season in fourth spot. 

    By 1971, the Astros entered a blockbuster trade with the Cincinnati Reds in which they traded out Joe Morgan, Denis Menke, Jake Billingham, Cesar Geronimo and Ed Armbrister for the Reds Lee May, Tommy Helms, and Jimmy Stewart, which left many wondering why the Astros would let go off so many talented players. 

    However, it could have been the players the Astros needed as by 1972, the Astros finished the season tied in second place and had their best ever season winning 84 games, and the new signing May finished with 20 home runs. Tragedy struck the team three years later in 1975 when star pitcher Wilson died, and as a result, they retired the number 40 jersey. 

    After finishing in fourth place for two years in a row, tough calls had to be made as the Astros traded away Lee May to the Baltimore Orioles for Rob Andrews and Enos Cabell, however, they strengthened their roster when they acquired Joe Niekro and Jose Cruz from the Atlanta Braves and the Arizona Cardinals.

    Even with the new acquisitions, the Astros didn’t deliver on the expectations and they finished the 1975 season in sixth place where they won 64 games with a win percentage of .398 (their worst since they were in the MLB). 

    The 1976 season saw the end of Dierker’s career as an Astros player (he would come back to be a general manager from 1997-2001), after he was traded to the St Louis Cardinals for the 1977 season. 

    Three years later, Morgan returned to the Astros and with his inclusion, the Astros built their game plan around pitchers as they had one of the most fearsome bullpens in the MLB. It proved dividends as for the first time in the franchise’s history they won the National League West Division, by winning 93 regular-season games and made it to the playoffs. 

    The Astros faced the Philadelphia Phillies in their maiden National League Championship Series (NLCS), but it proved to be one game too many as they fell to the Phillies. The 1981 MLB season as filled with controversy, as they split the season into two halves, due to a mid-season strike.

    That mid-season strike did more good to the Astros than harm, as before the strike occurred they were third and were on the brink of missing a postseason appearance, while in the second half of the season they ended up in first place. 

    They faced the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first National League Division Series (NLDS) (they introduced the division series due to the strike), but the Dodgers proved too good for the Astros as they won the NLDS 3-2.  

    Five years later in 1986, the Astros finished first in the National League West but only made it as far as the NLCS with a defeat to the New York Mets. With the defeat, it capped off a pretty decent seven years for the Astros. 

    The Astros began rebuilding from 1987 as they traded out fan-favorite Nolan Ryan and Jose Cruz, however, future Astros legend Craig Biggio would lead the new generation and he got handed a debut in 1988.

    Two years later the Astros arguably made their biggest trades when they signed Jeff Bagwell for Larry Anderson, as well as trading away Glenn Davis for Curt Schilling, Pete Harnisch and Steve Finlay. 

    Even with the new artillery coming in, it wasn’t enough and the Astros finished the season tied in fourth spot, four years later Bagwell proved why the Astros invested in him as he became the first Houston Astro player to win the Rookie of the Year award in 1994 with a batting average of .368. 

    Three years after Bagwell won the Rookie of the Year, the Astros began a pretty dominant nine years, they made the postseason in 1997 (where they would crash out in the NLDS due to a defeat of the Atlanta Braves) and 1998 where they lost to the San Diego Padres in the NLDS. 

    A year later they made the NLDS for the third year straight, as they met the Braves. Houston took out game 1 of the series before the Braves responded by winning the next three games, but game 4 would always be in the memory of Astros fans, as that was the last baseball game they would play in the Astrodome as the Astros bid farewell to the stadium. 

    By 2000 the Astros moved to their own ballpark (they shared the Astrodome with the NFL team Houston Oilers), and they began somewhat of a new era at Enron Field (currently called Minute Maid Park), where they have been since. 

    While the Astros hadn’t seen any postseason since their 2001 NLDS defeat to the Braves, they returned in 2004 where they would finish second in the regular season, handing them a shot at the NLDS. 

    The Astros claimed their maiden postseason win in 2004, when they finally defeated the Braves in the NLDS with a 3-2 series win, however, they couldn’t produce another miracle and they fell to the St Louis Cardinals in the NLCS, despite the defeat it was a season to remember. 

    The previous season was the benchmark and by 2005 they set the standard and they made it all the way to their first-ever World Series despite finishing second in the National League Central. 

    They produced their second consecutive NLDS win over the Braves, and they even produced their first NLCS win over the Cardinals however, the highs of the NLCS win seemed a long time ago as the Astros lost the World Series against the Chicago White Sox. 

    After joining the National League as an expansion side in 1962, the Astros left the league in 2012 and would begin the 2013 season in the American League. After spending a decade without any postseason action, the Astros returned in 2015, where they won the ALWC over the New York Yankees, but lost the ALDS to the Kansas City Royals. 

    Two years later, the Astros would have a season to remember. The Astros finished first in the American League West with 101 wins and a winning percentage of .623. They met the Red Sox in the ALDS in which they won the series 3-1. 

    They faced an arm wrestle in the ALCS against the New York Yankees, which saw the Astros win the first two games while the Yankees responded by winning the next three to have a 3-2 lead in the ALCS heading into game 6. 

    Luckily the Astros held their nerve and won the next two games, as they defeated the Yankees 4-3 to advance to their second World Series, where they would face the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

    The Astros must have been fearing the worst when the Dodgers won the opening game of the World Series before the Astros took out games 2 and 3 for a 2-1 overall lead. From there they traded blows as the Dodgers levelled the series with a win in game 4, before the Astros regained the lead in game 5, while the Dodgers hit back in game 6 forcing a game 7. 

    The Astros though took out the final game of the series to hand them their maiden World Series title, as they claimed the series 4-3. They somewhat had a hangover the next year as they made it to the ALCS but were knocked out by the Red Sox. 

    The Astros responded to the ALCS defeat when they made it to their third World Series appearance a year later following wins in the ALDS over the Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees in the ALCS, but those wins were the only joy as they fell to the Washington Nationals in the World Series, falling 4-3. 

    Despite losing the series, the Astros did make it hard work for the Nationals as they lost the opening two games but hit back by winning games 3,4, and 5, but the Nationals evened the series with a win in game 6 and won game 7 to clinch the series. 

    Despite going down in the World Series, the Astros had their best ever season since their introduction to major league baseball in 1901, as they finished the regular season with 107 (their best-ever win tally). 

    The Astros were once again a team to beat in the 2020 season (even in a shortened season) as they made it to their fourth consecutive ALCS after they finished second in the American League West with 29 wins (the 2020 MLB season played 60 games), however, their season ended with a defeat to the Tampa Bay Rays. 

    The team made the playoffs in 2021 with a regular season record of 95-67. They faced off against the White Sox in the ALDS, and won that series 3-1. Next cab of the rank were the Red Sox in the ALCS, and the Astros won that series 4-2. The Astros then faced the Braves in the World Series, but couldn’t seal the deal, and lost the series 2-4.

    The Houston Astros finished the 2022 Major League Baseball season with a record of 106-56, which put them in first place in the American League West Division. They did qualify for the playoffs in 2022. They would go on to win their second World Series championship in the last 7 years after defeating the Philadelphia Phillies in six games.

    Expert 2023 Picks & Preview on Houston Astros

    If you are a fan of the Houston Astros, then you know that the only thing that matters right now is how they are expected to perform in the 2023 season. Do the Houston Astros have the star power to make it all the way to the World Series in 2023?

    The 2023 season of MLB is here, and our experts have gone through the Houston Astros and found some key picks to note. Have a read below as we preview the Astros upcoming season.

    Preview on the Houston Astros’ Manager: Dusty Baker

    Coming into his 25th season as a Major League Baseball manager, Dusty Baker currently has a 1987-1734 regular season win-loss record in charge of the San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds and now the Houston Astros.

    Baker wrapped up his 18 year playing career in 1986, retiring as a two time All-Star, Golden Glove Award recipient and World Series Champion with a .278 batting average, 242 home runs, and 1,013 RBIs

    In 1988 Baker began his coaching career as a first base coach for the San Francisco Giants. After serving for four years as the hitting coach, Baker finally became the manager of the team in 1993.

    In his first season in charge, Baker led the team to a 103–59 record, which was the second-best record in the league. He was subsequently named  the NL Manager of the Year.

    Baker’s Giants went on to win division titles in 1997 and again in 2000, which resulted in a further two NL Manager of the Year awards.

    After losing the 2002 World Series, the Giants did not renew Baker’s contract. He left the club with a record of 840 wins and 715 losses in the regular season and 11 wins and 13 losses in the postseason.

    Baker has since managed the Cubs between 2003 and 2006, the Reds between 2008 and 2013 and Nationals between 2016 and 2017, collecting five division titles and making six trips to the postseason in that time.

    In January of 2020, Baker was announced as the new manager of the Astros in the wake of Houston’s sign stealing scandal. This was Baker’s first time managing an American League franchise.

    When the Astros clinched a playoff spot in September of the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season, Baker became the first baseball manager to lead five teams to the postseason. As a result, the Astros picked up the 2021 option on Baker’s contract.

    However, he has already found the most success in this latest stint with the Houston Astros, and he will be going into his third season leading the club. He is an accomplished manager, and he was an accomplished player in his own right as he is a former MVP and a three time manager of the year award winner and in 2022 he won the World Series with the club.

    Preview on the Houston Astros’ Key Player: Jose Altuve

    Jose Altuve is coming into his 13th season with the Houston Astros and he is still undeniably one of the most damaging players in the league.

    Since making his debut in 2011, Altuve has been named a six time All-Star (2012, 2014-2018), five time Silver Slugger Award recipient (2014-2018), three time AL batting champion (2014, 2016-2017), two time AL stolen base leader (2014-2015), AL Hank Aaron Award recipient (2017), Golden Glove Award recipient (2015), ALCS MVP (2019), AL MVP (2017), as well as being a member of the Astros 2017 World Series Championship team.

    Altuve is certainly the heart and soul of this franchise. He is one of the best middle infielders in the league and 2022 will show why. Altuve should put together a great 2022 campaign as he still tries to scrub the reputation of 2019 off of his image. With or without the scandal, Altuve is still one of the best hitters in baseball.

    He hit for .300 last season as well and swatted 28 homeruns out of the park for the Astros in route to his second World Series victory. If his numbers mirror last season’s performance at all, Houston could easily repeat as champions of baseball.

    Preview on the Houston Astros’ Next Best: Jose Abreu

    Jose Abreu will be entering his first year with the Houston Astros after spending the entirety of his career with the Chicago White Sox. If he can give Houston the same type of production that he gave Chicago it will only elevate this already solid Astros team heading into the 2023 season. He hit over .300 last season, and will be looking to continue that type of production at the plate this season as well despite being 35 years old and already entering his tenth year in the league. He was the 2020 AL MVP, and has three silver slugger awards to his name as well. He has also made three All-Star game appearances over his nine year career.

     

    Houston Astros Betting & Odds Preview 2023

    The Houston Astros were given -190 odds to win the 2023 American League West division this season. Their odds to win the American League Pennant were +300 prior to the season starting. 

    While their odds to take home the Commissioner’s Trophy and win the World Series were set at +600. Their total over/under for victories this season is set at 95.5, With odds of (-105) for both the over and (-115) for the under. Last season they managed to finish the season with a record of 106-56.

    Their odds to win their division are the highest odds in the division out of the five teams in the division. While their odds to win the American League pennant are the first out of 15 teams. They rank first in total odds among the entire league to win the World Series this season out of thirty teams.

    Houston Astros FAQ

    Still got some burning questions about the Houston Astros? Well, we have answered some of the most common questions people have, hopefully, you will find the answer you are looking for below! 

    Where do the Houston Astros play?

    The Houston Astros play their games at Minute Maid Park.

    Who owns the Houston Astros?

    The Houston Astros is owned by Jim Crane. 

    Have the Houston Astros won an MLB World Series?

    The Houston Astros have won the World Series twice, which occurred in 2017 and 2022.

    Who is the Houston Astros general manager?

    James Click is the general manager of the Houston Astros.  

    Do the Houston Astros play tonight?

    Are you wondering if the Houston Astros are playing tonight? Well, SportsTips has all the details you need about upcoming Houston Astros games! Make sure you check this page at the top for all the details you are looking for.

    What is the Houston Astros record?

    The Houston Astros had a 106-56 win-loss record for the 2022 MLB season. 

    Did the Houston Astros win last night?

    Fans of the Houston Astros are all wanting to know if they won the game last night. You can find more information in relation to the team’s recent form in games on the page at the top.

    How much are the Houston Astros worth?

    According to Forbes Magazine, the Houston Astros are worth $1.98 billion. 

    Who do the Houston Astros play tonight?

    Like a lot of things in the MLB, things change pretty quickly. So, if you are looking for more information about who the Houston Astros play tonight, you have come to the right place. We have all this information for you in detail, you can find these details for upcoming games at the top of the page.

    How to watch the Houston Astros?

    You can watch the Houston Astros games on AT&T SportsNet Southwest and on MLB.TV. 

    Will the Houston Astros make the playoffs this year?

    The Houston Astros did make the playoffs in the 2022 MLB season as they finished in first place in the American League West with a 106-56 win-loss ratio. 

    When do the Houston Astros play?

    Houston Astros fans are always looking for more information about when their team plays the next game. For all the information you have been craving and more, be sure to check the top of this page. Here at SportsTips, we list all the information you need like the time of the first pitch, location of the game, and the all-important MLB odds.

    Where did the Houston Astros finish the season?

    The Houston Astros finished the 2022 MLB season in first place in the American League West. 

    How many games did the Houston Astros win?

    The Houston Astros won 106 games during the 2022 MLB season.