The Houston Astros are a professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. They compete in the Western Division of Major League Baseball's (MLB) American League (AL). The Astros began play during the 1962 MLB season as an expansion team and were known as the Houston Colt .45s for their first three years of existence. They played in the National League prior to 2013. The team's list of records includes individual single-season records set by Astros players for both batting and pitching.
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José Cruz Dilan nicknamed Cheo, is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player, coach and baseball front office executive. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from 1970 to 1988, most prominently as a member of the Houston Astros.
Jeffrey Robert Bagwell is an American former professional baseball first baseman and coach who spent his entire 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) playing career with the Houston Astros.
Craig Alan Biggio is an American former second baseman, outfielder and catcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career from 1988 through 2007 for the Houston Astros. A seven-time National League (NL) All-Star often regarded as the greatest all-around player in Astros history, he is the only player ever to be named an All-Star and to be awarded Silver Slugger Award at both catcher and second base. With longtime teammates Jeff Bagwell and Lance Berkman, he formed the core of the "Killer B's" who led Houston to six playoff appearances from 1997 to 2005, culminating in the franchise's first World Series appearance in 2005. At the end of his career, he ranked sixth in NL history in games played (2,850), fifth in at bats (10,876), 21st in hits (3,060), and seventh in runs scored (1,844). His 668 career doubles ranked sixth in major league history, and are the second-most ever by a right-handed hitter; his 56 doubles in 1999 were the most in the major leagues in 63 years.
William Lance Berkman, nicknamed "Fat Elvis" and "Big Puma", is an American baseball coach and former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman, who is the current head baseball coach of the Houston Christian Huskies. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers. Berkman is a six-time MLB All-Star and won a World Series championship and the National League Comeback Player of the Year Award with the Cardinals in 2011. He stands 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m), and weighs 220 pounds (100 kg). Berkman spent various seasons of his career as a regular at all three outfield positions.
Kenneth Gene Caminiti was an American third baseman who spent 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Houston Astros, San Diego Padres (1995–1998), Texas Rangers (2001) and Atlanta Braves (2001). He was named the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) with San Diego in 1996, and is a member of the Padres Hall of Fame. He died of a cocaine and heroin drug overdose on October 10, 2004.
Yulieski Gourriel Castillo, commonly known as Yuli Gurriel and nicknamed "La Piña", is a Cuban professional baseball first baseman for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for Sancti Spiritus in the Cuban National Series (CNS), the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and the Houston Astros of MLB. Gurriel is a former member of Cuba's national team, and an Olympic Games gold medalist in 2004. Always a versatile infielder, he has also played shortstop, second base, and third base in the major leagues.
Sean Robert Berry is an American former professional baseball third baseman and current coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for several teams from 1990 to 2000.
The 2007 Houston Astros season was the 46th season in team history. After finishing 1½ games behind for the NL Central to the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals, the Astros elected to a select amount of subtractions and additions to compete. Jeff Bagwell retired after the Astros declined to pick up his $18 million club option for 2007, instead buying it out for $7 million. Pitchers Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens both filed for free agency on November 6 and re-joined the New York Yankees. To make up for losing those key players, they signed pitcher Woody Williams, and traded with the Colorado Rockies for Jason Jennings and Miguel Asencio. The largest offseason move the Astros made was signing outfielder Carlos Lee to a 6-year contract worth $100 million, the most in franchise history. On June 28, second baseman Craig Biggio achieved his 3,000th career hit. The club officially retired Bagwell's jersey number 5 on August 26. On September 30, Biggio played his last game as a major league player, having announced his retirement on July 24.
Glen F. Barker is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played three seasons for the Houston Astros. He was a leadoff hitter who was known for his defensive skills and was used mainly as a pinch runner. He has the rare distinction of having more major league career runs scored (53) than hits (38). Barker is also one of only seven players to have had more career games appearances than plate appearances. He currently serves as a scout for the Astros.
The 2005 Houston Astros season was the 44th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise in Houston, Texas. They qualified for the postseason for the second consecutive season and it was the sixth time they had done so in a span of nine seasons. Expectations had been raised since the Astros had come one win away from a pennant the previous year. However, they got to a sluggish 15–30 start. They then went on to win 74 of the next 117 games to claim the wild card playoff spot, and would go on to win the National League pennant to advance to the World Series for the first time in franchise history, which gave them the privilege of hosting the first World Series game in the state of Texas. However, they were swept by the Chicago White Sox in the World Series.
The 2004 Houston Astros season was the 43rd season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise in Houston, Texas. Five years removed from opening Minute Maid Park, the Astros hosted the All-Star Game, which was the first held in Houston since 1986. Having limped into the All-Star break with a 44–44 record, Phil Garner was named to replace Jimy Williams as manager. The Astros finished second in the Central division and captured the NL Wild Card. The Astros won a postseason series for the first time in franchise history by defeating the Atlanta Braves in the National League Division Series (NLDS), scoring an NLDS-record 36 runs. Roger Clemens won the NL Cy Young Award, becoming the fourth pitcher to win the award in both leagues, and the only one with seven overall.
The 2003 Houston Astros season was the 42nd season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise in Houston, Texas.
The 2002 Houston Astros season was the 41st season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise in Houston, Texas.
The 2001 Houston Astros season was the 40th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise in Houston, Texas.
The 1998 Houston Astros season was the 37th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise in Houston, Texas. On the strength of a club record 102 wins, they rocketed to a second consecutive trip to the postseason with an National League Central title. They did not win 100 games again until 2017, while the record for wins would be broken the following year. On September 14, the Astros clinched the division title when the Chicago Cubs lost. The next day, Craig Biggio became the first Astro to collect 200 hits in a season.
The 1997 Houston Astros season was the 36th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise in Houston, Texas. In their fourth season in the National League Central and first under former player/broadcaster-turned manager Larry Dierker, the Astros finished in first place, giving them their first playoff berth in eleven years. They clinched the division title eleven years to the day of their last title on September 25.
The Houston Astros' 1994 season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Houston Astros attempting to win the inaugural season of the National League Central division; they finished in second place. First baseman Jeff Bagwell was a unanimous selection for the National League Most Valuable Player Award. Despite nearly the last two months of the being cancelled due to the 1994–95 strike, Bagwell set a then-club record for home runs with 39 and a club record for batting average (.368) and slugging percentage (.750).
The Killer B's were players on the Houston Astros whose surnames started with the letter B. It also refers to the era of Astros baseball from 1997 to 2005 that saw the team reach the postseason six times in nine seasons with four National League Central division titles, two Wild Card appearances and one National League pennant, which was the most successful era in team history until the 2010s. In fact, from 1994 to 2006, the Astros finished first or second in their division in each year except 2000. Two Killer B's, Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell, are in the National Baseball Hall of Fame as members of the Astros.
José Carlos Altuve is a Venezuelan professional baseball second baseman for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). Having played for the Astros since 2011, he is the longest-tenured current member of the team, and the only one to have been with the Astros since they were in the National League.
Cavan Thomas Biggio is an American professional baseball utility player for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He is the son of former MLB player and Hall of Famer Craig Biggio.
