1993 Houston Astros season

1993  Houston Astros
League	National League
Division	West
Ballpark	The Astrodome
City	Houston, Texas
Record	85–77 (.525)
Divisional place	3rd
Owners	John McMullen, Drayton McLane, Jr.
General managers	Bill Wood
Managers	Art Howe
Television	KTXH HSE
Radio	KPRC (AM) (Bill Brown, Milo Hamilton, Larry Dierker, Vince Controneo, Bill Worrell, Enos Cabell) KXYZ (Francisco Ernesto Ruiz, Manny Lopez)
←  1992 Seasons 1994  →

The 1993 Houston Astros season was the 32nd season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 29th as the Astros, 32nd in the National League (NL), 25th in the NL West division, and 29th at The Astrodome, The Astros entered the season as having finished in fourth place in the NL West with an 81–81 record, 17 games behind the two-time defending division-champion and NL pennant-winning Atlanta Braves.

On April 5, pitcher Doug Drabek made his first Opening Day start for the Astros, who hosted the Philadelphia Phillies but were defeated, 3–1. The Astros' first round draft pick in the amateur draft was pitcher Billy Wagner, at 12th overall.

Pitcher Darryl Kile represented the Astros at the MLB All-Star Game, his first career selection. Kile hurled the ninth no-hitter in club history on September 8 as the Astros defeated the New York Mets, 7–1.

The Astros concluded the season with an 85–77 record, an improvement of six games from the season prior, in third place and 19 games behind first-place Atlanta, who repeated as division champions for a third consecutive season. Hence, it was the start of the longest period of consistency of winning seasons for Houston, doing so in 14 of a span of 16 seasons through 2008, while claiming a playoff berth six times. It was also the start of an unprecedented seven consecutive winning seasons for the Astros, through the 1999 season.

This was the final of five seasons with Art Howe as manager, among other significant changes. It was also the final season that the Astros wore their "tequila sunrise" rainbow uniforms. As part of the league's playoff expansion by re-introducing the Division Series, it was the final time the Astros occupied the NL West division and would move to the newly-commissioned NL Central the following season.

Offseason

• October 5, 1992: Denny Walling was released by the Astros. ^[1]
• November 17, 1992: Butch Henry was drafted by the Colorado Rockies from the Houston Astros as the 36th pick in the 1992 MLB expansion draft. ^[2]
• December 1, 1992: Doug Drabek was signed as a free agent by the Astros. ^[3]
• December 4, 1992: Greg Swindell was signed as a free agent by the Astros. ^[4]
• January 5, 1993: Jack Daugherty was signed as a free agent by the Astros. ^[5]
• January 27, 1993: Signed right-handed pitcher Manuel Barrios as an international free agent. ^[6]
• February 1, 1993: Jim Lindeman signed as a free agent by the Astros. ^[7]

Regular season

Summary

April—May

Opening Day starting lineup ^{[8] [9]}

7	Craig Biggio	2B
12	Steve Finley	CF
5	Jeff Bagwell	1B
24	Eric Anthony	RF
11	Ken Caminiti	3B
26	Luis Gonzalez	LF
17	Andújar Cedeño	SS
6	Eddie Taubensee	C
15	Doug Drabek	P
Venue:	Astrodome • PHI 3,	HOU 1

Astros starter Doug Drabek crushed the game-winning home run off reliever Pedro Martínez on May 16, a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning. He helped himself to his fourth win of the season as Houston prevailed over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Drabek stuck out nine and allowed both runs as earned on the way to tossing 7+2⁄3 solid innings. ^{[10] [11]}

For the month of May, Bagwell agglomerated a .412 batting average / .467 on-base percentage (OBP) / .676 slugging percentage (SLG) / 1.143 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS). Over 27 games, he totaled 42 hits, 22 runs, 6 doubles, 7 home runs, 25 RBI and 69 total bases. ^[12] Thus, he received NL Player of the Month honors, his first such honor. Bagwell succeeded Kevin Bass during June 1986 as the most recent Astro to win the award. ^[13]

June

In the Astros' first-ever road trip to face the Colorado Rockies on June 12, they took a 7–0 lead only to wind up losing the game, 14–11. ^[14]

On June 22, Jeff Bagwell homered, doubled, and singled, driving in two runs in a 5–1 victory over Los Angeles. He also scored twice, including stealing home. Meanwhile, each run the Astros scored was unearned. ^[15]

July

Pitcher Darryl Kile tossed his first career shutout and belted his first home run on July 3, to lead the win over the St. Louis Cardinals and run his record to 9–1. By games' end, he had added to a 23+1⁄3 scoreless innings streak. ^[16]

On July 10, the Astros approached history just a single away—both on pitching and offense. During the opening contest of a doubleheader at Wrigley Field, Pete Harnisch (8–6) delivered a no-hitter through 6+2⁄3 innings, while Luis Gonzalez came just a single short of hitting for the cycle. ^[17] Harnisch discharged his first career one-hitter ^[18] during a 4–0 victory over the Chicago Cubs. With 10 strikeouts and just three walks issued, this effort earned Harnisch a game score of 92. Harnisch's no-hit bid lasted until Mark Grace lined a single to center field with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. Meanwhile, Gonzalez, batting second, lined a double off Mike Harkey to right field to bring home Craig Biggio, who had led the contest off with a single. However, Sammy Sosa gunned down Gonzalez attempting to take third base. In the top of the third frame, Biggio was again aboard for Gonzalez, who hit a fly ball off Harkey to left field for a triple and drive in Biggio. In the top of the sixth, Biggio doubled to set the table for Gonzalez a third time, who homered off Harkey. In the top of the eighth, Shawn Boskie issued a walk to Gonzalez during his final opportunity to obtain the single. ^[17] This was Gonzalez' fourth career 4-RBI effort. ^[19]

During the July 10 night cap, Gonzalez drilled a José Guzmán offering to deep right in the top of the first to score Kevin Bass. ^[20] Gonzalez was later issued two intentional base on balls, his first time receiving two or more during one game. ^[19] Following Gonzalez' first-inning shot, the Astros maintained the extra-base hit momentum with six doubles and a triple by Biggio. Bass and Bagwell doubled twice to lead Houston to a twinbill sweep, 5–2. ^[20]

August

On August 31, Bagwell collected his sixth career four-hit game and his first with at least two stolen bases. ^[21] Every Astros starter had at least one hit while the team piled on 18 and pasted the New York Mets, 10–2. Craig Biggio went deep and doubled twice, and Eddie Taubensee also homered. Harnisch (12–8) allowed three hits and two runs over seven frames. ^[22]

Darryl Kile's no-hitter

Opposite the 39-year-old Frank Tanana, the 24-year-old Kile no-hit the New York Mets on September 8, leading a 7–1 Astros win. Third baseman Ken Caminiti hit his 12th home run in the bottom of the second inning. In the bottom of the fifth, shorstop Andújar Cedeño also hit a blast off Tanana for his seventh of the season. The ninth no-hitter in franchise history, this was Houston's sixth ^[16] —and the final no-hitter ever—thrown at the Astrodome. ^{[a] [23]}

In addition to providing the offense, Houston's left side of the infield contributed two spectacular defensive gems in the seventh inning. First, Caminiti dove to his left to snag a bullet off the bat of Mets first baseman Eddie Murray. In the next at bat, Cedeño's leaping dive—a game-saver like Caminiti's—deep into the hole to trap a shot from Joe Orsulak was equally astonishing. Cedeño's singular twirl-and-heave to Jeff Bagwell at first base nipped Orsulak prior to touching the bag. ^[24]

Kile polished off the contest by whiffing pinch hitters Tito Navarro and Chico Walker consecutively. Kile improved to 15–6, while walking just one batter. ^[24]

His outing required just 83 pitches—getting 9 strikeouts. ^[25] —and Kile retired each of the final 17 batters consecutively. ^[24]

Following his no-hit effort, Kile was recognized as the NL Player of the Week for September 12. ^[26] Kile's masterpiece succeeded Mike Scott's no-hit effort on September 25, 1986, as the previous by an Astro, and was succeeded by a six-man effort on June 11, 2003, composed of Roy Oswalt, Pete Munro, Kirk Saarloos, Brad Lidge, Octavio Dotel and Billy Wagner. ^[27]

Rest of September

Pete Harnisch fired a one-hitter of the San Diego Padres on September 17 to lead a 3–0 Astros win. The lone hit for the Padres arrived via a bunt single by Jarvis Brown. However, controversy ensued as to whether the play should have been officially scored as an error charged to Chris Donnels. Donnels, meanwhile, atoned for the blemish with a two-run double to provide the offensive support. ^[28] This was Harnisch's second one-hit shutout of the campaign and second of his career. ^[18]

Performance overview and aftermath

The Astros concluded the 1993 interval with a final record of 85–77, in third place, and 19 games trailing the first-place Atlanta Braves. The seventh time in club history that Houston had won at least 85 games, it was 13th time finishing the complete season in third place or higher. ^[b] With an improvement by 4 wins, this was the second consecutive year that the Astros produced a record of .500 or better, and would continue to do so 15 times over a span of 17 seasons through 2008 to produce an era by far with the most consistency through that point in franchise history. Additionally, this Astros squad embarked on seven successive campaigns each with both a winning record and finish no lower than third place through 1999, both achievements ultimately arranging club records. ^[29]

Moreover, the 85 victories represented the most Astros had won during a non-playoff qualifying campaign since they collected 89 wins in 1979, and most overall since winning 96 during their NL West division title drive in 1986. ^[29]

Harnisch, who tossed two one-hit shutouts, ^[18] led the National League in hits per nine innings surrendered (7.070 H/9). It was the right-hander's second time in three seasons (also 1991) as a member of Houston's staff. This was the 11th occasion in club history a Houston pitcher had led the league; Nolan Ryan in 1987 was the Astros' most recent league leader. ^[30]

Conversely, the 1993 campaigned signified the end of other eras. Concurrent with Major League Baseball's second round of playoff expansion since 1969, the league commissioned one new Central division each for both the American and National leagues beginning the following season. Hence, the Astros, among 10 teams reshuffled, would no longer occupy the NL West and instead assumed position as charter members of the NL Central division starting in 1994. ^[29] The league's expansion further included reintroduction of the Division Series—previously held as a one-time event during the 1981 playoffs—and the installation of the Wild Card playoff qualifier for each league. Second, locally for the Astros, manager Art Howe was fired and replaced by Terry Collins for the next season. ^[31]

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

NL West

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Atlanta Braves	104	58	.642	—	51‍–‍30	53‍–‍28
San Francisco Giants	103	59	.636	1	50‍–‍31	53‍–‍28
Houston Astros	85	77	.525	19	44‍–‍37	41‍–‍40
Los Angeles Dodgers	81	81	.500	23	41‍–‍40	40‍–‍41
Cincinnati Reds	73	89	.451	31	41‍–‍40	32‍–‍49
Colorado Rockies	67	95	.414	37	39‍–‍42	28‍–‍53
San Diego Padres	61	101	.377	43	34‍–‍47	27‍–‍54

Record vs. opponents

1993 National League record Source: MLB Standings Grid – 1993 v t e
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	COL	FLA	HOU	LAD	MON	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL
Atlanta	—	7–5	10–3	13–0	7–5	8–5	8–5	7–5	9–3	6–6	7–5	9–4	7–6	6–6
Chicago	5–7	—	7–5	8–4	6–7	4–8	7–5	5–8–1	8–5	7–6	5–8	8–4	6–6	8–5
Cincinnati	3–10	5–7	—	9–4	7–5	6–7	5–8	4–8	6–6	4–8	8–4	9–4	2–11	5–7
Colorado	0–13	4–8	4–9	—	7–5	11–2	7–6	3–9	6–6	3–9	8–4	6–7	3–10	5–7
Florida	5–7	7–6	5–7	5–7	—	3–9	5–7	5–8	4–9	4–9	6–7	7–5	4–8	4–9
Houston	5–8	8–4	7–6	2–11	9–3	—	9–4	5–7	11–1	5–7	7–5	8–5	3–10	6–6
Los Angeles	5–8	5–7	8–5	6–7	7–5	4–9	—	6–6	8–4	2–10	8–4	9–4	7–6	6–6
Montreal	5–7	8–5–1	8–4	9–3	8–5	7–5	6–6	—	9–4	6–7	8–5	10–2	3–9	7–6
New York	3–9	5–8	6–6	6–6	9–4	1–11	4–8	4–9	—	3–10	4–9	5–7	4–8	5–8
Philadelphia	6-6	6–7	8–4	9–3	9–4	7–5	10–2	7–6	10–3	—	7–6	6–6	4–8	8–5
Pittsburgh	5–7	8–5	4–8	4–8	7–6	5–7	4–8	5–8	9–4	6–7	—	9–3	5–7	4–9
San Diego	4–9	4–8	4–9	7–6	5–7	5–8	4–9	2–10	7–5	6–6	3–9	—	3–10	7–5
San Francisco	6–7	6–6	11–2	10–3	8–4	10–3	6–7	9–3	8–4	8–4	7–5	10–3	—	4–8
St. Louis	6–6	5–8	7–5	7–5	9–4	6–6	6–6	6–7	8–5	5–8	9–4	5–7	8–4	—

Notable transactions

• June 3, 1993: Billy Wagner was drafted by the Astros in the 1st round (12th pick) of the 1993 Major League Baseball draft. Player signed June 22, 1993. ^[32]
• July 12, 1993: Jack Daugherty was traded by the Astros to the Cincinnati Reds for Steve Carter. ^[5]

Roster

1993 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers 49 Juan Agosto 54 Eric Bell 15 Doug Drabek 46 Tom Edens 47 Mark Grant 27 Pete Harnisch 31 Xavier Hernandez 23 Doug Jones 59 Todd Jones 44 Jeff Juden 57 Darryl Kile 29 Al Osuna 51 Mark Portugal 38 Shane Reynolds 21 Greg Swindell 53 Brian Williams		Catchers  9 Scott Servais  6 Eddie Taubensee 36 Eddie Tucker Infielders  5 Jeff Bagwell  7 Craig Biggio  4 Mike Brumley 11 Ken Caminiti  1 Casey Candaele 17 Andújar Cedeño 22 Jack Daugherty  3 Chris Donnels 19 Jim Lindeman 28 José Uribe		Outfielders 24 Eric Anthony 17 Kevin Bass 12 Steve Finley 26 Luis Gonzalez 16 Chris James 30 Rick Parker  4 Karl Rhodes		Manager 18 Art Howe Coaches 54 Bob Cluck (pitching) 48 Matt Galante (third base) 42 Rudy Jaramillo (hitting) 14 Ed Ott (bench) 52 Tom Spencer (first base)

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	Eddie Taubensee	94	288	72	.250	9	42
1B	Jeff Bagwell	142	535	171	.320	20	88
2B	Craig Biggio	155	610	175	.287	21	64
3B	Ken Caminiti	143	543	142	.262	13	75
SS	Andújar Cedeño	149	505	143	.283	11	56
LF	Luis Gonzalez	154	540	162	.300	15	72
CF	Steve Finley	142	545	145	.266	8	44
RF	Eric Anthony	145	486	121	.249	15	66

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
Scott Servais	85	258	63	.244	11	32
Kevin Bass	111	229	65	.284	3	37
Chris Donnels	88	179	46	.257	2	24
Chris James	65	129	33	.256	6	19
Casey Candaele	75	121	29	.240	1	7
José Uribe	45	53	13	.245	0	3
Rick Parker	45	45	15	.333	0	4
Eddie Tucker	9	26	5	.192	0	3
Jim Lindeman	9	23	8	.348	0	0
Mike Brumley	8	10	3	.300	0	2
Jack Daugherty	4	3	1	.333	0	0
Tuffy Rhodes	5	2	0	.000	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
Doug Drabek	34	237.2	9	18	3.79	157
Pete Harnisch	33	217.2	16	9	2.98	185
Mark Portugal	33	208.0	18	4	2.77	131
Greg Swindell	31	190.1	12	13	4.16	124
Darryl Kile	32	171.2	15	8	3.51	141

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
Shane Reynolds	5	11.0	0	0	0.82	10

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
Doug Jones	71	4	10	26	4.54	66
Xavier Hernandez	72	4	5	9	2.61	101
Al Osuna	44	1	1	2	3.20	21
Brian Williams	42	4	4	3	4.83	56
Tom Edens	38	1	1	0	3.12	21
Todd Jones	27	1	2	2	3.13	25
Eric Bell	10	0	1	0	6.14	2
Mark Grant	6	0	0	0	0.82	6
Juan Agosto	6	0	0	0	6.00	3
Jeff Juden	2	0	1	0	5.40	7

Awards and achievements

1993 grand slams

No.	Date	Astros batter	Venue	Inning	Pitcher	Opposing team	Box
None [c]

Awards

• Fred Hartman Award for Long and Meritorious Service to Baseball: ^[33] Tal Smith
• Houston-Area Major League Player of the Year: ^[33] Jay Buhner (SEA)
• Houston Astros Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award: ^[33] Jeff Bagwell
• MLB All-Star Game—Reserve pitcher: Darryl Kile
• NL Pitcher of the Month ^[34] —June: Darryl Kile
• NL Player of the Month ^[13] —May: Jeff Bagwell
• NL Player of the Week: ^[26]
  • May 23—Jeff Bagwell
  • September 12—Darryl Kile

League leaders

NL batting leaders Sacrifice flies; Luis Gonazalez (10) Triples: Steve Finley (13)

NL pitching leaders Hit batters: Darryl Kile (15) Hits per nine innings pitched (H/9): Pete Harnisch (7.07) Losses: Doug Drabek (18) Shutouts: Pete Harnisch (4) Winning percentage: Mark Portugal (.818)

Minor league system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Tucson Toros	Pacific Coast League	Rick Sweet
AA	Jackson Generals	Texas League	Sal Butera
A	Osceola Astros	Florida State League	Tim Tolman
A	Quad Cities River Bandits	Midwest League	Steve Dillard
A	Asheville Tourists	South Atlantic League	Bobby Ramos
A-Short Season	Auburn Astros	New York–Penn League	Manny Acta
Rookie	GCL Astros	Gulf Coast League	Julio Linares

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Tucson, Jackson

Awards

• Pacific Coast League Most Valuable Player Award (PCL MVP): James Mouton, OF
• Texas League Most Valuable Player Award (TL MVP): Roberto Petagine, 1B

See also

• Texas portal
• Baseball portal

• List of Major League Baseball annual shutout leaders
• List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders
• List of Major League Baseball no-hitters

References

Footnotes

1. The Astros relocated from the Astrodome following the 1999 season to Enron Field.
2. The 1981 season was split into halves and the Astros' overall record ranked third-best in the NL West.
3. The Astros' first season without a grand slam since 1979.

Sources

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2. "Butch Henry stats, position, height, weight, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
3. "Doug Drabek stats, position, height, weight, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
4. "Greg Swindell stats, position, height, weight, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
5. "Jack Daugherty stats, position, height, weight, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
6. "Manuel Barrios stats, position, height, weight, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
7. "Jim Lindeman stats, position, height, weight, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
8. "Philadelphia Phillies (3) vs Houston Astros (1) box score". Baseball Almanac . April 5, 1993. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
9. "1993 Houston Astros uniform numbers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
10. Schwartzberg, Seth (May 16, 2025). "Today in Astros history - May 16". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation . Retrieved September 3, 2025.
11. "Los Angeles Dodgers (2) vs Houston Astros (3) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. May 16, 1993. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
12. "Jeff Bagwell 1993 batting splits". Baseball Reference.com. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
13. "MLB Player of the Month Award". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
14. Schwartzberg, Seth (June 12, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 12". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
15. Schwarzberg, Seth (June 22, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 22". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
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17. "Houston Astros (4) vs Chicago Cubs (0) box score—Game 1". Baseball-Reference.com. July 10, 1993. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
18. "Top performances for Pete Harnisch". Retrosheet . Retrieved December 14, 2025.
19. "Top performances for Luis Gonzalez". Retrosheet. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
20. "Houston Astros (5) vs Chicago Cubs (2) box score—Game 2". Baseball-Reference.com. July 10, 1993. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
21. "Top performances for Jeff Bagwell". Retrosheet. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
22. "Houston Astros (10) vs New York Mets (2) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. August 31, 1993. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
23. "Astrodome lasts". Retrosheet . Retrieved November 8, 2025.
24. López, John C. (September 8, 1993). "Kile no-hits Mets". Houston Chronicle . Retrieved November 28, 2025– via Astros Daily.
25. "New York Mets (1) vs Houston Astros (7) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. September 8, 1993. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
26. "MLB Players of the Week Awards". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
27. "Official no-hitters in Major League Baseball". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
28. Hulsey, Bob. "This date in Astros history". Astros Daily. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
29. "Houston Astros team history & encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
30. "Yearly league leaders and records for hits per 9 IP". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
31. Staff and wire reports (November 18, 1993). "Collins named Astro manager". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved June 19, 2025.
32. "Billy Wagner stats, position, height, weight, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
33. McTaggart, Brian (December 21, 2009). "Bourn highlights Astros' awards season". MLB.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2025.
34. "Major League Baseball Pitchers of the Month". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 8, 2025.

External links

• 1993 Houston Astros season at Baseball Reference