Reynolds also represented the Astros at the MLB All-Star Game and played for the National League, his only career selection. On August 19, first baseman Jeff Bagwell connected for his 300th home run, becoming the 87th major leaguer to reach the milestone.
With a 72–90 finish in fourth place and 23 games behind the division-champion St. Louis Cardinals, it ended eight consecutive seasons with a record of .500 or better, and seven consecutive winning seasons, both the longest runs in franchise history. Between 1992 and 2008, Houston's only other regular season record below .500 occurred in 2007.
In spite of the downturn of 25 wins from the season prior, a number franchise records records fell during the inaugural season of Enron Field, including both in runs scored (938) and runs allowed (944), home runs hit (249) and attendance, among others. For the first time in Astros history, fans surpassed 3 million in attendance at 3.056,139, and the team exceeded the 900-run threshold in either category. The 249 home runs hit also established an NL record, which stood until 2019, when it was eclipsed by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
For the first time, Major League Baseball expanded their presence of game play into the Dominican Republic, showcasing the Astros versus the Boston Red Sox. On March 11, Houston dropped Boston, 4–3, at Estadio Quisqueya in Santo Domingo. Jeff Bagwell scalded two home runs to pace the Houston victory. The next day, native-born right-hander José Lima thrilled his countrymen to lead a 3–2 Astros triumph.[5]
On March 12, two gunmenrobbed six Astros minor leaguers at a motel in Kissimmee, Florida. One of the perpetrators was apprehended at the scene while the other jumped out the window from the second storey to flee. One of the players suffered bite wounds to the neck.[5]
Regular season
Summary
March—April
In accordance with the manner that the Astros opened play for the first time at the Astrodome in 1965, they hosted the defending World Series-champion New York Yankees in an exhibition contest for the inaugural game at Enron Field on March 30, 2000, with over 40,000 fans in attendance. Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan threw out the ceremonial first pitch, while Dwight Gooden, who made his major league debut at the Astrodome as a New York Met, was the starting pitcher for Houston. Roger Clemens, a future Astro, was the starting pitcher for the Yankees. In the bottom of the first inning, Jeff Bagwell singled for the first hit at the stadium. Gooden lasted 5 innings for Houston. Ricky Ledee, who pinch hit for Clemens, hit the first home run at Enron.[6] In the eighth inning, Houston scored four to rally for the win, capped by Daryle Ward's home run, the first for an Astros player at Enron.[5] The Astros won, 6–5, as closer Billy Wagner registered two strikeouts for the save.[6]
Two years later, with the corporation Enron embroiled in legal controversy, bankruptcy and eventual collapse, the Astros bought out their contract with Enron for $2.1 million. Minute Maid, headquartered in nearby Sugar Land, purchased the naming rights to the stadium during the 2002 season.[6]
During the regular season Opening Day at Three Rivers Stadium on April 4, center fielder Richard Hidalgo connected for the first grand slam on an Opening Day in franchise history to cap a 5–2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Hidalgo connected for the historic drive in the seventh off Pittsburgh's Opening Day starter, Jason Schmidt. Astros hitters also coaxed six bases on balls from Schmidt (0–1) as he surrendered each of the five Astros runs, who were all driven in by Hidalgo. Meanwhile Astros starter Shane Reynolds (1–0) tossed seven strong innings to earn the win in his fifth consecutive Opening Day start. Doug Henry followed and pitched a shutout eighth to earn the hold, and Wagner recorded his first official save of the season with a scoreless ninth.[10][11] This was the final MLB Opening Day hosted at Three Rivers Stadium, in 2001, the Pirates moved to PNC Park.[12]
Craig Biggio extended his club-record 12th opening day start, including the ninth as the second baseman, following his first three as catcher.[13] Reynolds' five Opening Day starts tied him with J. R. Richard and Mike Scott for most by an Astros pitcher,[14] until the record was broken by Roy Oswalt, who logged eight consecutive (2003—2010).
The following day, April 5, Biggio opened a career-best 16-game hitting streak.[13]
Like the regular season home opener of the Astrodome in 1965 when Houston hosted the Philadelphia Phillies,[5] the Astros hosted Philadelphia on April 7 for the first regular season game at Enron Field and 2000 home opener. Octavio Dotel was the starting pitcher for the Astros, while the Phillies countered with Randy Wolf. Phillies center fielder Doug Glanville collected both of the first at bat and first hit in regular season play at Enron Field, while Scott Rolen connected in the top of the seventh off Dotel for the first home run.[15] Second baseman Craig Biggio led off the bottom half of the first with a single to center field for the Astros' first regular season base hit in their new stadium, and in the seventh, Hidalgo connected off Wolf for the first Astros home run at Enron. Philadelphia won, 4–1. Wolf (1–0) was the winning pitcher while Dotel (0–1) took the loss.[16]
On April 14 at Qualcomm Stadium, Reynods worked five innings, allowed 10 hits, one walk, three runs and struck out three. He helped out his own cause in the fifth inning with by connecting for his fourth career home run, a solo shot that tied the score at 3–3.[14]
Chris Holt fired a one-hit shutout of the Milwaukee Brewers on April 28, while Bagwell, Hidalgo and Ward all backed him with long balls. A second-inning single by Ron Belliard became Milwaukee's only team hit in Holt's brilliant performance.[5]
At Coors Field on May 8, Biggio hit second in the batting order for the first time since September 29, 1996, breaking a string of 497 starts as Houston's leadoff hitter. The following game, he collected a season-high four runs batted in (RBI), including a bases-clearing triple in the sixth inning to lead a 13–8 come-from-behind win over the Colorado Rockies.[13]
On May 27 versus the Atlanta Braves, Reynolds took his first loss of the year, snapping a five-game winning streak which had tied a career high. That game also ended a string of 16 IP for Reynolds without having surrendered any bases on balls, starting May 16.[14]
June—July
The Astros hit five home runs on June 14 to power an 8–4 win over Colorado, including back-to-back-to-back home runs from Alou, Hidalgo, and Tony Eusebio. It was Alou's second of the evening. Meanwhile, Bagwell also homered.[18]
Wagner was placed on the 15-day DL on June 21 due to a flexor tendon strain in his left elbow and would require season-ending surgery. His velocity notably reduced, Wagner was 2–4 with a 6.18 earned run average (ERA) over 28 games. The Astros recalled right-hander José Cabrera from the AAA New Orleans Zeyphers.[19]
Starting July 9, Eusebio authored a 24-game hitting streak to set a club record, surpassing the record of 23-games shared by Art Howe in 1981 and by Luis Gonzalez in 1997.[20] That July 9 game, Lima halted a 13-game personal losing streak during a 9–6 victory over the Kansas City Royals. Lance Berkman homered twice, Alou homered and Bill Spiers doubled twice and tripled.[5]
However, Eusebio's streak was unusual in that, as a backup catcher and pinch hitter it spanned 54 days, ending on August 28. The fifth longest by a catcher since 1900, he batted .409 during the streak, raising his on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) from .643 to .809. It stood as the Astros' club record until 2004 when it was broken by Jeff Kent.[20]
Reynolds, an Astros' five-time Opening Day starter, received his only career MLB All-Star selection, held at Turner Field, and was also the Astros' lone representative. He had already turned in a number of quality seasons, including 70–53 W–L with a 3.73 ERA over the previous five years while leading the pitching staff on three NL Central division title winners. In 2000, the batting order featured multiple viable candidates with copious offensive output; however, only Reynolds gained selection. As of the All-Star break, he was 6–6 with a 4.59 ERA; meanwhile, the Astros were 30–57 (.345) and 21 games behind in the division.[21] However, a second Astro missed the opportunity to join Reynolds as an All-Star: After being struck on the head by an errant fastball from Clemens on July 8, Mike Piazza had to forego the contest, and, to replace him, NL manager Bobby Cox sought Astros' rookie catcher Mitch Meluskey. However, Cox was unable to contact Meluskey, who was vacationing on South Padre Island; instead, he chose the Cubs' Joe Girardi to replace Piazza.[22]
On July 23, Spiers' signature game powered a 15–7 rout of the St. Louis Cardinals. He collected six RBI via two of his team's six homers—the first for two runs in the second inning and his third career grand slam in the seventh. The six home runs tied the club record. Cardinals starter Andy Benes, who surrendered four of the longballs, became just the 17th major leaguer to do so one game.[23] Meanwhile, Reynolds bounced back from a tough start against the Indians to work 6+2⁄3 innings and earn the win.[14]
In a start at Turner Field on July 29, Reynolds completed just one inning versus Atlanta in what would be his final start of the year. He was placed on the DL the following day due to back pain. [14]
For the month of July, Alou hit .371 with 6 HRs and 20 RBI.[17]
August
While attempting to turn a double play on August 1, Biggio was injured in a collision with Preston Wilson of the Florida Marlins, leaving the game with a severe knee injury. Imaging later revealed tears of both the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments of the left knee, which needed surgery and would rule him out for the rest of the season. For Houston, Scott Elarton pitched 8+1⁄3 solid innings, and Alou drove in Biggio prior to the injury, and Bagwell, for the game-winning RBIs and 4–3 final.[24] This was the first time in his major league career that Biggio had landed on the DL, spanning 13 seasons and 1,800 games played.[13]
From August 2–20, Bagwell constructed an 18-game hitting steak, which tied his career high set in 1994.[Note 1][25]
On August 13 at Philadelphia, Bagwell homered twice and tied a club record with seven RBI in a 14–7 win,[Note 2] Alou also homered twice, and Hidalgo and Chris Truby also went deep for Houston, who matched the club record with six home runs. This was also the third time of the season the Astros had six home runs in one game.[26]
On August 14 at Pittsburgh, Alou cranked a second successive mutlti-home run game to tie a club record. Over the two games, he was 6-for-9 with 8 RBI.[17]
Bagwell again homered twice on August 19 against the Brewers for the 299th and 300th of his career; the second home run broke an eighth-inning tie to give Houston a 10–8 win. He joined Hank Aaron, Joe DiMaggio, Frank Robinson and Ted Williams as the fifth player in major league history to record 300 home runs, 1,000 RBI and 1,000 runs scored within his first ten seasons.[27] Bagwell became the 87th player to reach the 300-home run plateau.[28]
In August, Alou hit .385 with 9 home runs and 26 RBI.[17]
September—October
In each contest from September 3–12, Hidalgo connected for an extra-base hit, resulting in 10 consecutive to establish a franchise record. He hit 9 doubles, 1 triple, 5 home runs and 17 RBI, with a slash line of .512 / .511 / 1.146 / 1.657.[29] During a 13–10 win over the Chicago Cubs on September 8, Julio Lugo set a club record by going 5-for-5 at the plate over 9 innings.[30] The following game, on September 9 also at Wrigley Field, the Astros launched seven home runs against Cubs pitching to set the franchise record, surpassing the 6 they had hit in two separate games just earlier in the season.[31]Tim Bogar collected four hits and five RBI to lead a trio of hitters who each blasted two home runs—including Hidalgo and Lance Berkman—and power a 14–4 rout of the Cubs. Daryle Ward hit the other home run. Lugo, Bagwell, Chris Truby and Frank Charles each doubled as the Astros piled on 19 hits.[32] This date corresponded to another occasion in 2019 in which Houston again erupted for seven home runs against the Oakland Athletics to tie the franchise record.[31]
For the week ended September 10, Hidalgo and Lugo were recognized with co-NL Player of the Week Awards.[33] Over 7 games, Lugo batted .563 / .588 / 1.000, including 18-for-32, three doubles, three home runs, and 8 RBI. He scored 12 runs and stroked 6 multi-hit games to lead Houston on a season-high 6-game winning streak. Hidalgo batted .483, 14-for-29, five doubles, four home runs and 11 runs scored.[30]
Hidalgo's franchise-record extra-base hit streak of 10 games was later matched on August 10, 2017, by Alex Bregman.[34][35] Just days after the streak ended, starting September 15, Hidalgo began another similar streak which lasted 7 consecutive games, with 2 doubles and 6 home runs, slashing .586 / .625 / 1.276 / 1.901.[29] Also on September 15, Chris Truby went a single short of hitting for the cycle and plated five runs while Alou drove home four to lead a 16–7 lambasting of Pittsburgh. Right-hander Brian Powell etched the win in relief.[5]
On September 19, Hidalgo blasted his 40th home run of the season off Cardinals starter Pat Hentgen.[36]
Hidalgo concluded the season carrying a 14-game hitting streak, during which he hit .509, 27-for-53, with six homers and 13 RBI. He capped a breakout season with an outstanding September, including hitting safely in 28 of 29 games during the month and logging 102 total bases. Other totals included batting .476 (49-for-103) with 11 homers and 31 RBI. He led the NL with 49 hits, a .971 slugging percentage, .533 on-base percentage, 36 runs scored and 14 doubles.[36] Further, his batting average ranked among the very highest over any calendar month in major league history and established the Astros franchise record, which stood until Jose Altuve (.485) surpassed this in July 2017.[37] Hence, Hidalgo was recognized with his first career NL Player of the Month Award.[36]
Alou maintained his strong production in the month of September, hitting .330 with 5 home runs and 32 RBI. Over the final three months, he totaled 78 RBI.[17]
The Astros improved their results following the All-Star break, with a record of 42–33 (.560).[38]
Performance overview
Bagwell hit 47 home runs and scored 152 runs to establish Astros club records,[28] both most recently set in 1997.[Note 3] Bagwell hit twenty-eight of the home runs at home to break the club record.[Note 4][25]{ Also leading the major leagues in runs scored, it was the highest total in a season since Lou Gehrig in 1936,[39] and with 295 runs total from 1999–2000 established a National League two-season record.[40]
At the time, Hidalgo had joined Bagwell as the only players in franchise history to have hit 40 home runs in a single season, and third Venezuelan-born player to reach this milestone, following Tony Armas Sr., and Andrés Galarraga. Hidalgo also became the fourth player in franchise history who posted a single season of at least each of 30 homers, 100 runs scored, and 100 RBI.[36]
Alou posted a .355 batting average, second-highest all-time in franchise history, trailing only Bagwell's .368 average in 1994.[41]
Dotel, who began the season in Houston's starting rotation, shifted to the bullpen to help replace the injured Wagner. With these assignments, Dotel made 15 starts and converted 16 saves, which was first season by an NL hurler to accumulate 15 of both in the same season.[42] This achievement had occurred twice previously in the American League (AL).[Note 5][43]
The Astros concluded the regular season at 72–90, in fourth place in the NL Central and 23 games behind the division-champion St. Louis. It was the Astros' first losing season and furthest behind first place that they had finished since 1991, at 29 games behind, ending eight consecutive seasons with a record of .500 or better, and seven consecutive winning seasons. Both of those streaks were the longest runs in franchise history. Prior to 2000, Houston had also finished in first or second place in the NL Central division each year since 1994, its inaugural season, also a franchise record. Between 1992 and 2008, Houston's only other regular season record below .500 occurred in 2007, marking one of the most successful periods in franchise history.[44]
Despite finishing 18 games below .500, the Astros also set club records with 249 home runs, 938 runs scored, and 944 runs allowed. In their first season at Enron Field, the Astros drew 3 million fans for the first time in franchise history, with a total of 3.056,139.[28] They also set the all-time NL record for most home runs hit by one team during the regular season,[45] which stood until September 4, 2019, when surpassed by the Los Angeles Dodgers.[46] One week after the Dodgers broke the NL home run record, the Astros' franchise record fell when George Springer connected for the team's 250th drive of the 2019 season.[47] The 2000 season was also the first time in franchise history that the club had crossed the 900-run threshold, accomplished by both the pitching staff and offense.[44]
↑ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.380, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN978-0-451-22363-0
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