1970 Houston Astros season

1970  Houston Astros
League	National League
Division	West
Ballpark	Astrodome
City	Houston, Texas
Record	79–83 (.488)
Divisional place	4th
Owners	Roy Hofheinz
General managers	Spec Richardson
Managers	Harry Walker
Television	KTRK-TV
Radio	KPRC (AM) (Gene Elston, Loel Passe, Harry Kalas)
←  1969 Seasons 1971  →

The 1970 Houston Astros season was the ninth season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their sixth as the Astros, their ninth in the National League (NL), second in the NL West division, and sixth at The Astrodome. The Astros entered the season having posted a record of 81–81, for fifth place and 12 games behind the division-champion Atlanta Braves.

On April 7, pitcher Larry Dierker made his second Opening Day start for the Astros, who defeated the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park, 8–5. The Astros' first round draft pick in the amateur draft was pitcher Randy Scarbery, at third overall, and in the fourth round, they selected outfielder Greg Gross.

Second baseman Joe Morgan and shortstop Denis Menke represented the Astros at the MLB All-Star Game, the second career selection for both.

The Astros concluded the season with a record of 79–83, for fourth place and 23 games behind the division-champion and NL pennant-winning Cincinnati Reds in the NL West.

Third baseman Doug Rader was awarded the first of five consecutive Gold Gloves.

Offseason

Transactions

• November 21, 1969: Mike Marshall was purchased by the Astros from the Milwaukee Brewers. ^[1]
• December 4, 1969: Curt Blefary was traded by the Astros to the New York Yankees for Joe Pepitone. ^[2]

Exhibition play

On April 3, Doug Rader swatted the first home run to reach the Astrodome's gold (upper reserved) seats, landing in section 738D, row 6, seat 1. Rader "touched 'em all" on Stan Bahnsen's offering during the Astros' 9–5 victory over the New York Yankees. ^[3]

Regular season

Summary

April

Opening Day starting lineup ^{[4] [5]}

18	Joe Morgan	2B
9	Joe Pepitone	RF
24	Jimmy Wynn	CF
33	John Mayberry	1B
11	Denis Menke	SS
10	Tommy Davis	LF
12	Doug Rader	3B
7	Johnny Edwards	C
49	Larry Dierker	P
Venue:	Candlestick Park • HOU 8,	SFG 5

Astros Opening Day starter, Larry Dierker, "ordered" pinch hitter Norm Miller to hit a home run as he was departing the game on April 7. Miller obliged, ^[3] with a pivotal three-run blast off starter Gaylord Perry of the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park in an 8–5 Astros victory. Dierker picked up the win, while Fred Gladding iced the final 1+2⁄3 frames to earn the save. ^[6] Dierker, the Astros' starter for the opener in 1968, became the first pitcher to start more than one for the club. ^[7]

The Astros launched five home runs on April 12 to dump Phil Niekro and the Atlanta Braves, 8–3. In the third inning, Jimmy Wynn blasted one unforgettable rocket which made contact in the gold upper reserved seats (section 738C, row 6, seat 3), outdoing his own effort just earlier in the game. In the first inning, Wynn had launched a home run into the purple seats. Tommy Davis, Joe Pepitone and Doug Rader each went yard, helping starter Larry Dierker remain in complete command the whole evening. ^[3]

June

Center Fielder César Cedeño made his major league debut on June 20 and collected two hits as Houston rallied to defeat the Atlanta Braves, 9–8. ^[8]

July

Joe Morgan tied a club record starting July 6 by drawing at least one base on balls in each of 11 consecutive contests, enduring until July 20, having been set by teammate Jimmy Wynn starting exactly one year earlier. Morgan drew 14 total walks with this active streak, while slashing.333 / .509 / .462 / .971. He also accrued 7 stolen bases. Alex Bregman later tied this streak, from April 20 to 30, 2019. ^{[a] [9]}

Also on July 6, César Cedeño connected for his first major league home run, off Claude Osteen of the Los Angeles Dodgers, for two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. ^[10] The blast gave Houston a 4–3 lead. The game proceeded to extra innings, when the Dodgers harangued Jim Bouton for four runs in the top of the tenth. The Dodgers then withstood a three-run rally led by Pepitone, Rader, and Johnny Edwards in the bottom of the tenth, to hold on for the triumph over Houston, 10–8. ^[11]

September

During a 10-day span commencing September 7 on a West Coast road trip, 24-year old slugger Bob Watson crushed his first two career grand slams. ^[12] The first blast was at San Diego Stadium off a Ron Willis offering during the opener of a doubleheader, a 10–5 triumph over the Padres. ^[13] Ten days later at Dodger Stadium, Watson tagged Jim Brewer for a grand slam in the 7th inning that snapped 5–5 tie and was a key play in an Astros 10–5 victory over Los Angeles. ^[14]

Performance overview

The Astros concluded the season with a 79–83 (.488) record, for fourth place and 23 games behind the NL West division-champion and NL pennant-winning Cincinnati Reds. ^[15] Though Houston's record declined by two victories from the year prior, this represented the first time in franchise history they had won at least 79 contests successively, following the period during which they lost at least 90 games in each of their first seven seasons of play. Moreover, the 1970 campaign was also the first in which Houston had closed out as high as fourth place in the standings. ^[16]

By swiping 42 bags, Joe Morgan became first player in club history to record two 40-stolen base season, both in catenation. For the team, this signaled the second of a franchise-record nine successive campaigns featuring at least one baserunner who pilfered 40 or more bases. ^{[b] [17]}

Third baseman Doug Rader was recognized with his first career Gold Glove Award, thus being first Houston player awarded since pitcher Bobby Shantz in 1962. Shantz played for the Colt .45s for approximately the first month of the franchise's inaugural season prior to being traded. ^{[18] [19]}

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

NL West

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Cincinnati Reds	102	60	.630	—	57‍–‍24	45‍–‍36
Los Angeles Dodgers	87	74	.540	14½	39‍–‍42	48‍–‍32
San Francisco Giants	86	76	.531	16	48‍–‍33	38‍–‍43
Houston Astros	79	83	.488	23	44‍–‍37	35‍–‍46
Atlanta Braves	76	86	.469	26	42‍–‍39	34‍–‍47
San Diego Padres	63	99	.389	39	31‍–‍50	32‍–‍49

Record vs. opponents

1970 National League record v t e Sources:
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MON	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL
Atlanta	—	8–4	5–13	9–9	6–12	6–6	6–6	7–5	6–6	9–9	7–11	7–5
Chicago	4–8	—	7–5	7–5	6–6	13–5	7–11	9–9	8–10	9–3	7–5	7–11
Cincinnati	13–5	5–7	—	15–3	13–5	7–5	8–4	7–5	8–4	8–10	9–9	9–3
Houston	9–9	5–7	3–15	—	8–10	8–4	6–6	4–8	6–6	14–4	10–8	6–6
Los Angeles	12–6	6–6	5–13	10–8	—	8–4	7–5	6–5	6–6	11–7	9–9	7–5
Montreal	6–6	5–13	5–7	4–8	4–8	—	10–8	11–7	9–9	6–6	6–6	7–11
New York	6–6	11–7	4–8	6–6	5–7	8–10	—	13–5	6–12	6–6	6–6	12–6
Philadelphia	5-7	9–9	5–7	8–4	5–6	7–11	5–13	—	4–14	9–3	8–4	8–10
Pittsburgh	6–6	10–8	4–8	6–6	6–6	9–9	12–6	14–4	—	6–6	4–8	12–6
San Diego	9–9	3–9	10–8	4–14	7–11	6–6	6–6	3–9	6–6	—	5–13	4–8
San Francisco	11–7	5–7	9–9	8–10	9–9	6–6	6–6	4–8	8–4	13–5	—	7–5
St. Louis	5–7	11–7	3–9	6–6	5–7	11–7	6–12	10–8	6–12	8–4	5–7	—

Notable transactions

• June 4, 1970: Greg Gross was drafted by the Astros in the 4th round of the 1970 Major League Baseball draft. Player signed June 9, 1970. ^[20]
• June 23, 1970: Mike Marshall was traded by the Astros to the Montreal Expos for Don Bosch. ^[1]
• July 29, 1970: Joe Pepitone was purchased from the Astros by the Chicago Cubs. ^[2]
• August 12, 1970: Jim Bouton was released by the Houston Astros. ^[21]

Roster

1970 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers 42 Jack Billingham 36 Wade Blasingame 56 Jim Bouton 41 Ron Cook 39 George Culver 49 Larry Dierker 31 Jack DiLauro 43 Ken Forsch 48 Fred Gladding 38 Tom Griffin 46 Buddy Harris 23 Denny Lemaster 53 Mike Marshall 43 Dan Osinski 45 Jim Ray 37 Scipio Spinks 40 Don Wilson		Catchers  6 Don Bryant  7 Johnny Edwards 10 Larry Howard Infielders 14 Marty Martínez 33 John Mayberry 11 Denis Menke 18 Joe Morgan  9 Joe Pepitone 12 Doug Rader 15 Héctor Torres 8,27 Bob Watson		Outfielders 22 Jesús Alou 44 Jim Beauchamp 28 César Cedeño 10 Tommy Davis 19 Gary Geiger 20 César Gerónimo 26 Keith Lampard 21 Norm Miller 24 Jimmy Wynn Other batters 20 Leon McFadden		Manager 25 Harry Walker Coaches  4 Buddy Hancken  3 Mel McGaha  5 Jim Owens  2 Salty Parker

Game log

Regular season

Legend
	Astros win
	Astros loss
	Postponement
	Eliminated from playoff race
Bold	Astros team member

1970 regular season game log: 79–83 (Home: 44–37; Away: 35–46) [22]
April: 7–14 (Home: 6–4; Away: 1–10) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 14 April 20 @ Pirates 15 April 21 @ Pirates 16 April 22 @ Pirates 20 April 28 @ Reds 21 April 29 @ Reds
May: 14–15 (Home: 6–7; Away: 8–8) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 28 May 7 Pirates 29 May 8 Pirates 30 May 9 Pirates 31 May 10 Pirates 41 May 21 Reds 42 May 22 Reds 43 May 23 Reds 44 May 24 Reds
June: 12–14 (Home: 8–7; Away: 4–7) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 72 June 26 Reds 73 June 27 Reds 74 June 28 Reds
July: 13–14 (Home: 7–7; Away: 6–7) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 78 (1) July 3 @ Reds 79 (2) July 3 @ Reds 80 July 4 @ Reds 81 July 5 @ Reds — July 14 7:15 p.m. CDT 41st All-Star Game in Cincinnati, OH 93 July 20 Pirates 94 July 21 Pirates 97 July 24 @ Pirates 98 July 25 @ Pirates 99 July 26 @ Pirates
August: 16–13 (Home: 7–7; Away: 9–6) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak
September: 16–13 (Home: 9–5; Away: 7–8) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 147 September 15 Reds 148 September 16 Reds 153 September 21 @ Reds 154 September 22 @ Reds 155 September 23 @ Reds
October: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Away: 0–0) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak

Detailed records

National League Opponent W L WP RS RA NL East Chicago Cubs 5 7 0.417 47 62 Montreal Expos 8 4 0.667 59 44 New York Mets 6 6 0.500 51 54 Philadelphia Phillies 4 8 0.333 43 55 Pittsburgh Pirates 6 6 0.500 56 64 St. Louis Cardinals 6 6 0.167 63 62 Div Total 35 37 0.486 319 341 NL West Atlanta Braves 9 9 0.500 88 91 Cincinnati Reds 3 15 0.167 55 81 Houston Astros Los Angeles Dodgers 8 10 0.444 99 84 San Diego Padres 14 4 0.778 89 66 San Francisco Giants 10 8 0.556 94 100 Div Total 44 46 0.489 425 422 Season Total 79 83 0.488 744 763

Month Games Won Lost Win % RS RA April 21 7 14 0.333 89 109 May 29 14 15 0.483 142 149 June 26 12 14 0.462 108 99 July 27 13 14 0.481 121 142 August 29 16 13 0.552 138 138 September 29 16 13 0.552 141 122 October 1 1 0 1.000 5 4 Total 162 79 83 0.488 744 763 Games Won Lost Win % RS RA Home 81 44 37 0.543 350 351 Away 81 35 46 0.432 394 412 Total 162 79 83 0.488 744 763

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	Johnny Edwards	140	458	101	.221	7	49
1B	Bob Watson	97	327	89	.272	11	61
2B	Joe Morgan	144	548	147	.268	8	52
SS	Denis Menke	154	562	171	.304	13	92
3B	Doug Rader	156	576	145	.252	25	87
LF	Tommy Davis	57	213	60	.282	3	30
CF	Jimmy Wynn	157	554	156	.282	27	88
RF	Jesús Alou	117	458	140	.306	1	44

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
César Cedeño	90	355	110	.310	7	42
Joe Pepitone	75	279	70	.251	14	35
Norm Miller	90	226	54	.239	4	29
Marty Martínez	75	150	33	.220	0	12
John Mayberry	50	148	32	.216	5	14
Larry Howard	31	88	27	.307	2	16
Keith Lampard	53	72	17	.236	0	5
Héctor Torres	31	65	16	.246	0	5
César Gerónimo	47	37	9	.243	0	2
Jim Beauchamp	31	26	5	.192	1	4
Don Bryant	15	24	5	.208	0	3
Gary Geiger	5	4	1	.250	0	0
Leon McFadden	2	0	0	----	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
Larry Dierker	37	269.2	16	12	3.87	191
Don Wilson	29	184.1	11	6	3.91	94
Tom Griffin	23	111.1	3	13	5.74	72
Wade Blasingame	13	77.2	3	3	3.48	55
Ken Forsch	4	24.0	1	2	5.63	13

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
Jack Billingham	46	187.2	13	9	3.98	134
Denny Lemaster	39	162.0	7	12	4.56	103
Ron Cook	41	82.1	4	4	3.72	50
Jim Bouton	29	73.1	4	6	5.40	49
Scipio Spinks	5	13.2	0	1	9.88	6

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
Fred Gladding	63	7	4	18	4.06	46
Jim Ray	52	6	3	5	3.26	67
Jack DiLauro	42	1	3	3	4.28	23
George Culver	32	3	3	3	3.20	31
Mike Marshall	4	0	1	0	8.44	5
Dan Osinski	3	0	1	0	9.82	1
Buddy Harris	2	0	0	0	5.68	2

Awards and achievements

Grand slams

No.	Date	Astros batter	Venue	Inning	Pitcher	Opposing team	Box
1	September 7	Bob Watson	San Diego Stadium	6	Ron Willis	San Diego Padres	[13]
2	September 17	Bob Watson	Dodger Stadium	9†	Jim Brewer	Los Angeles Dodgers	[14]
₰—Tied score or took lead

Awards

• Gold Glove Award—Third baseman: ^[23] Doug Rader
• Houston Astros Most Valuable Player (MVP): ^[24] Joe Morgan
• MLB All-Star Game: ^[25]
  • Reserve infielder—Joe Morgan
  • Reserve infielder—Denis Menke

Minor league system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Oklahoma City 89ers	American Association	Hub Kittle
AA	Columbus Astros	Southern League	Jimmy Williams
A	Cocoa Astros	Florida State League	Tony Pacheco
A-Short Season	Williamsport Astros	New York–Penn League	Dick Bogard
Rookie	Covington Astros	Appalachian League	Dick Smith

Championships

• Southern League champions: ^[26] Columbus Astros

Notes

1. The major league record is 22 by Roy Cullenbine, from July 2–22, 1947. Criteria: Longest streak of consecutive games, in the regular season, requiring bases on balls ≥ 1, sorted by most games matching criteria.
2. Number of players that meet criteria in a season, playing for HOU, in the regular season, requiring stolen bases ≥ 40, sorted by ascending instances.

References

1. "Mike Marshall stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved October 11, 2025.
2. "Joe Pepitone stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 11, 2025.
3. Hulsey, Bob. "This date in Astros history". Astros Daily. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
4. "Houston Astros (8) vs San Francisco Giants (5) box score". Baseball Almanac . April 7, 1970. Retrieved October 11, 2025.
5. "1970 Houston Astros uniform numbers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 11, 2025.
6. "Pittsburgh Pirates (4) vs Houston Astros (5) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. April 7, 1970. Retrieved January 11, 2026.
7. "Houston Astros Opening Day starters". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 11, 2026.
8. Schwarzberg, Seth (June 20, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 20". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation . Retrieved June 20, 2025.
9. "Player batting streak stats finder–baseball". Stathead. Sports Reference . Retrieved December 24, 2025.
10. "César Cedeño career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
11. "Los Angeles Dodgers (10) vs Houston Astros (8) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. July 6, 1970. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
12. "Bob Watson career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
13. "Houston Astros (10) vs San Diego Padres (5) box score—Game 1". Baseball-Reference.com. September 7, 1970. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
14. "Houston Astros (10) vs Los Angeles Dodgers (5) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. September 17, 1970. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
15. "1970 National League team statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 23, 2025.
16. "Houston Astros team history & encyclopedia". Baaseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
17. "Player batting season & career stats finder–baseball". Stathead. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 3, 2026.
18. "National League Gold Glove Award winners". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
19. "Bobby Shantz stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 19, 2025.
20. "Greg Gross stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
21. "Jim Bouton stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
22. "1970 Houston Astros Schedule & Results". Baseball Reference . Retrieved May 5, 2025.
23. "Gold Glove third basemen". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 11, 2025.
24. McTaggart, Brian (December 21, 2009). "Bourn highlights Astros' awards season". MLB.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
25. "1970 All-Star Game box score". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 11, 2025.
26. "List of Southern League past champions". Minor League Baseball . Retrieved October 11, 2025.

External links

• 1970 Houston Astros season at Baseball Reference