2006 Houston Astros season

2006  Houston Astros
League	National League
Division	Central
Ballpark	Minute Maid Park
City	Houston, Texas
Record	82–80 (.506)
Divisional place	2nd
Owners	Drayton McLane, Jr.
General managers	Tim Purpura
Managers	Phil Garner
Television	KNWS-TV FSN Southwest (Bill Brown, Jim Deshaies)
Radio	KTRH (Milo Hamilton, Dave Raymond, Brett Dolan) KLAT (Francisco Ernesto Ruiz, Alex Treviño)
Stats	ESPN.com Baseball Reference
←  2005 Seasons 2007  →

The 2006 Houston Astros season was the 45th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 42nd as the Astros, 45th in the National League (NL), 13th in the NL Central division, and seventh at Minute Maid Park. They entered the season as the defending NL pennant winners for the first time, ultimately ending the season with a 4-games-to-0 loss in the World Series to the Chicago White Sox.

On April 3, pitcher Roy Oswalt made his fourth consecutive Opening Day start for the Astros, who hosted Florida Marlins, and won, 1–0. In the amateur draft, the Astros selected catcher Maxwell Sapp in the first round (23rd overall), third baseman Chris Johnson in the fourth round, and pitcher Bud Norris in the sixth round.

Oswalt and first baseman Lance Berkman represented the Astros and played for the National League at the MLB All-Star Game. Phil Garner managed the National League. It the fourth career selection for Berkman and second for Oswalt. Gene Elston, who broadcast for the Colt .45s/Astros from 1962 to 1986, was recognized by the Baseball Hall of Fame with the Ford C. Frick Award.

On July 28, Luke Scott hit for the cycle, to become the first Astros rookie to do so, and for the seventh time overall in franchise history.

The 2006 Astros finished in second place in the NL Central with a record of 82–80, 1½ games behind the eventual World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals, after losing 3–1 on the road to the Atlanta Braves on the final day of the season. As a result, they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2003. It was their fifth-consecutive finish in second place in the division.

The 2006 season was the final season as members of the NL Central division that the Astros finished as high as second place; in fact, they had placed first or second in 12 of their first 13 seasons in the NL Central. It was also their 13th winning season over the previous 14, with the 2000 season being the lone exception in both cases.

Following the season, second baseman Craig Biggio was recognized with his first of two consecutive Heart & Hustle Awards, catcher Brad Ausmus won the third Gold Glove Award of his career and shortstop Adam Everett was a Fielding Bible Award winner. Meanwhile, Berkman placed third in the NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award voting, and Oswalt was fourth for the NL Cy Young Award.

Regular season

Summary

Opening Day starting lineup ^{[1] [2]}

7	Craig Biggio	2B
1	Willy Taveras	CF
17	Lance Berkman	1B
14	Morgan Ensberg	3B
4	Preston Wilson	LF
16	Jason Lane	RF
11	Brad Ausmus	C
28	Adam Everett	SS
44	Roy Oswalt	P
Venue:	Minute Maid Park • HOU 1,	FLA 0

Houston started the season off strong, in club-record fashion, by winning 19 of their first 28 games. ^[3]

On the verge of losing their sixth consecutive game on May 28, Houston trailed the Pittsburgh Pirates 4–0 heading into the ninth inning. The tied the score thanks in part to two bases-loaded wallsk, and in the 10th inning, Preston Wilson hit the walk-off single to win the game for the Astros. ^[4]

The Astros and right-hander Roger Clemens agreed to terms on May 31 that brought him back to Houston for the final four months of the season. The total value of the contract amounted to $22 million. Clemens started 19 games and posted a 2.30 earned run average (ERA). ^[5]

On June 25, the Chicago White Sox nearly completed a comeback with Houston ahead, 9–2, after eight strong innings from Roy Oswalt. The Astros won, 10–9 in the 13th inning via an RBI triple from Adam Everett. Tadahito Iguchi, who belted a three-run home run, started the comeback for Chicago. ^[6]

Commencing July 27 versus the Cincinnati Reds, center fielder Willy Taveras amassed a 30-game hitting streak to set the Astros' franchise record, which surpassed Jeff Kent's 25-game streak accomplished in 2004. The streak ended on August 29 when Taveras went 0-for-3, including twice hit by pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers. During the streak, Taveras had a .349 batting average, .441 on-base percentage (OBP), and .867 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS). ^{[7] [8]}

On July 28, right fielder Luke Scott hit for the cycle, which spanned six at bats and 11 innings in an 8–7 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. In the fourth inning, Scott homered, then hit a triple onto Tal's Hill in the fifth, and doubled in the seventh. He grounded out in the ninth inning, but got the single in his final at bat in the 11th inning. Scott's cycle was the first-ever by an Astros rookie, and first by a Houston Astro since teammate Craig Biggio did so on April 8, 2002. ^[9]

Clemens, making his 15th start on September 4, faced rookie Cole Hamels of the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Through three innings, Clemens had struck four and surrendered just one hit—to the pitcher Hamels. Clemens became uncharacteristically wild in the fourth by issuing a leadoff base on balls to Shane Victorino, hit Chase Utley, and walked Ryan Howard to load the bases. Another walk with one out to Jeff Conine forced home a run, but a double play ground ball then ended the frame to avert further damage. Clemens then exit early due to a stained groin, and in the sixth, with his spot due in the lineup, manager Phil Garner chose to pinch hit for Clemens with rookie Charlton Jimerson. Jimerson, who had never had a prior plate appearance in the major leagues, had made just one appearance as a defensive substitution for his major league debut nearly one year prior, on September 14, 2005. At this point, Hamels was cruising with a perfect game in progress. On a count of two balls and one strike, Jimerson launched the next Hamels offering deep over the center field fence for his first career home run, simultaneously ending the bid for a perfect game, no-hitter, and shutout after 5+2⁄3 innings, and tying the contest, 1–1. ^{[Note 1]} The contest ended tied through regulation, 2–2. Astros reliever Dave Borkowski assumed the bottom of the tenth with the scored still tied. However, after getting two outs, Utley blasted a walk-off home run to end it, 3–2. ^[10]

On September 20, Houston, in second place, trailed St. Louis by 8+1⁄2 games. The Astros gave a close chase by winning 10 of the final 12 games, including gaining eight games over eight days, to pull within a 1⁄2 game with three remaining. However, they lost two of their final three to the Atlanta Braves to arrive at an overall record of 82–80. Houston remained in second place and finished out 1+1⁄2 games behind the eventual World Series champion Cardinals, narrowly missing the playoffs for the first time since 2003. This represented the sixth consecutive winning season for St. Louis. ^[3]

Shortstop Adam Everett recorded a .990 fielding percentage, the fourth-best in major league history at the position. ^[3]

Standings

National League Central

• v
• t
• e

NL Central

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
St. Louis Cardinals	83	78	.516	—	49‍–‍31	34‍–‍47
Houston Astros	82	80	.506	1½	44‍–‍37	38‍–‍43
Cincinnati Reds	80	82	.494	3½	42‍–‍39	38‍–‍43
Milwaukee Brewers	75	87	.463	8½	48‍–‍33	27‍–‍54
Pittsburgh Pirates	67	95	.414	16½	43‍–‍38	24‍–‍57
Chicago Cubs	66	96	.407	17½	36‍–‍45	30‍–‍51

Record vs. opponents

2006 National League record v t e Source: MLB Standings Grid – 2006
Team	AZ	ATL	CHC	CIN	COL	FLA	HOU	LAD	MIL	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL	WAS	AL
Arizona	—	6–1	4–2	4–2	12–7	2–4	4–5	8–10	3–3	1–6	1–5	5–1	9–10	8–11	4–3	1–5	4–11
Atlanta	1–6	—	6–1	4–3	3–3	11–8	3–4	3–3	2–4	7–11	7–11	3–3	7–2	3–4	4–2	10–8	5–10
Chicago	2–4	1–6	—	10–9	2–4	2–4	7–8	4–2	8–8	3–3	2–5	6–9	0–7	2–4	11–8	2–4	4–11
Cincinnati	2–4	3–4	9–10	—	5–1	4–2	10–5	0–6	9–10	3–4	2–4	9–7	2–4	2–5	9–6	5–1	6-9
Colorado	7–12	3–3	4–2	1–5	—	3–3	4–2	4–15	2–4	1–5	3–4	3–3	10–9	10–8	2–7	8–0	11–4
Florida	4–2	8–11	4–2	2–4	3–3	—	3–4	1–5	7–0	8–11	6–13	5–2	3–3	3–3	1–5	11–7	9–9
Houston	5–4	4–3	8–7	5–10	2–4	4-3	—	3–3	10–5	2–4	2–4	13–3	3–3	1–5	9–7	4–4	7–11
Los Angeles	10–8	3–3	2–4	6–0	15–4	5–1	3–3	—	4–2	3–4	4–3	6–4	5–13	13–6	0–7	4–2	5–10
Milwaukee	3–3	4–2	8–8	10–9	4–2	0–7	5–10	2–4	—	3–3	5–1	7–9	4–3	6–3	7–9	1–5	6–9
New York	6–1	11–7	3–3	4–3	5–1	11–8	4–2	4–3	3–3	—	11–8	5–4	5–2	3–3	4–2	12–6	6–9
Philadelphia	5-1	11–7	5–2	4–2	4–3	13–6	4–2	3–4	1–5	8–11	—	3–3	2–4	5–1	3–3	9–10	5–13
Pittsburgh	1–5	3–3	9–6	7–9	3–3	2–5	3–13	4–6	9–7	4–5	3–3	—	1–5	6–1	6–9	3–3	3–12
San Diego	10–9	2–7	7–0	4–2	9–10	3–3	3–3	13–5	3–4	2–5	4–2	5–1	—	7–12	4–2	5–1	7–8
San Francisco	11–8	4–3	4–2	5–2	8–10	3–3	5–1	6–13	3–6	3–3	1–5	1–6	12–7	—	1–4	1–5	8–7
St. Louis	3–4	2–4	8–11	6–9	7–2	5-1	7–9	7–0	9–7	2–4	3–3	9–6	2–4	4–1	—	4–3	5–10
Washington	5–1	8–10	4–2	1–5	0–8	7-11	4–4	2–4	5–1	6–12	10–9	3–3	1–5	5–1	3–4	—	7–11

Transactions

• March 30, 2006: Cody Ransom was purchased by the Houston Astros from the Seattle Mariners. ^[11]
• July 12, 2006: Aubrey Huff was traded by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays with cash to the Houston Astros for Ben Zobrist and Mitch Talbot (minors). ^[12]

Roster

2006 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers 37 Matt Albers 38 Ezequiel Astacio 41 Brandon Backe 56 Phil Barzilla 58 Dave Borkowski 39 Taylor Buchholz 22 Roger Clemens 45 Mike Gallo 53 Jason Hirsh 54 Brad Lidge 47 Trever Miller 64 Fernando Nieve 44 Roy Oswalt 21 Andy Pettitte 50 Chad Qualls 51 Wandy Rodríguez 43 Chris Sampson 36 Russ Springer 35 Dan Wheeler		Catchers 11 Brad Ausmus 59 J. R. House 13 Eric Munson 46 Humberto Quintero Infielders 17 Lance Berkman  7 Craig Biggio 10 Eric Bruntlett  2 Chris Burke 14 Morgan Ensberg 28 Adam Everett 26 Mike Lamb 23 Joe McEwing		Outfielders  9 Aubrey Huff 52 Charlton Jimerson 16 Jason Lane 19 Orlando Palmeiro 30 Luke Scott  1 Willy Taveras  4 Preston Wilson Other batters 56 Héctor Giménez		Manager  3 Phil Garner Coaches  6 Mark Bailey (bullpen) 15 Cecil Cooper (bench) 25 José Cruz (first base)  8 Gary Gaetti (hitting) 48 Jim Hickey (pitching) 29 Doug Mansolino (third base)

Player stats

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases; BB = Walks; AVG = Batting average; SLG = Slugging percentage

Player	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	AVG	SLG
Craig Biggio	145	548	79	135	33	0	21	62	3	40	.246	.422
Lance Berkman	152	536	95	169	29	0	45	136	3	98	.315	.621
Willy Taveras	149	529	83	147	19	5	1	30	33	34	.278	.338
Adam Everett	150	514	52	123	28	6	6	59	9	34	.239	.352
Brad Ausmus	139	439	37	101	16	1	2	39	3	45	.230	.285
Preston Wilson	102	390	40	105	22	2	9	55	6	22	.269	.405
Morgan Ensberg	127	387	67	91	17	1	23	58	1	101	.235	.463
Mike Lamb	126	381	70	117	22	3	12	45	2	35	.307	.475
Chris Burke	123	366	58	101	23	1	9	40	11	27	.276	.418
Jason Lane	112	288	44	58	10	0	15	45	1	49	.201	.392
Aubrey Huff	68	224	31	56	10	1	13	38	0	26	.250	.478
Luke Scott	65	214	31	72	19	6	10	37	2	30	.336	.621
Eric Munson	53	141	10	28	6	0	5	19	0	11	.199	.348
Eric Bruntlett	73	119	11	33	8	0	0	10	3	13	.277	.345
Orlando Palmeiro	103	119	12	30	6	1	0	17	0	6	.252	.319
Humberto Quintero	11	21	2	7	2	0	0	2	0	1	.333	.429
J.R. House	4	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000
Charlton Jimerson	17	6	2	2	0	0	1	1	2	0	.333	.833
Joe McEwing	7	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000
Héctor Giménez	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000
Pitcher Totals	162	282	11	32	5	0	2	15	0	13	.113	.152
Team Totals	162	5521	735	1407	275	27	174	708	79	585	.255	.409

Source:

Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts

Player	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Roy Oswalt	15	8	2.98	33	32	0	220.2	220	76	73	38	166
Andy Pettitte	14	13	4.20	36	35	0	214.1	238	114	100	70	178
Wandy Rodríguez	9	10	5.64	30	24	0	135.2	154	96	85	63	98
Roger Clemens	7	6	2.30	19	19	0	113.1	89	34	29	29	102
Taylor Buchholz	6	10	5.89	22	19	0	113.0	107	80	74	34	77
Fernando Nieve	3	3	4.20	40	11	0	96.1	87	46	45	41	70
Chad Qualls	7	3	3.76	81	0	0	88.2	76	38	37	28	56
Brad Lidge	1	5	5.28	78	0	32	75.0	69	47	44	36	104
Dan Wheeler	3	5	2.52	75	0	9	71.1	58	22	20	24	68
Dave Borkowski	3	2	4.69	40	0	0	71.0	70	38	37	23	52
Russ Springer	1	1	3.47	72	0	0	59.2	46	23	23	16	46
Trever Miller	2	3	3.02	70	0	1	50.2	42	17	17	13	56
Jason Hirsh	3	4	6.04	9	9	0	44.2	48	32	30	22	29
Brandon Backe	3	2	3.77	8	8	0	43.0	43	18	18	18	19
Chris Sampson	2	1	2.12	12	3	0	34.0	25	10	8	5	15
Mike Gallo	1	2	6.06	23	0	0	16.1	28	11	11	7	7
Matt Albers	0	2	6.00	4	2	0	15.0	17	10	10	7	11
Ezequiel Astacio	2	0	11.12	6	0	0	5.2	7	7	7	6	6
Philip Barzilla	0	0	0.00	1	0	0	0.1	1	0	0	0	0
Team Totals	82	80	4.08	162	162	42	1468.2	1425	719	666	480	1160

Source:

Awards and achievements

Career honors

Houston Colt .45s/Astros Frick broadcast award

Broadcaster		Start	Finish	HOF
Gene Elston	Biography	1962	1986	2006
See also: Ford C. Frick Award • Ref:

Annual awards

• Darryl Kile Good Guy Award: Brad Lidge ^[13]
• Fielding Bible—shortstop: Adam Everett
• Heart & Hustle Award: ^[14] Craig Biggio
• Houston Astros Player of the Year: Lance Berkman ^[15]
• National League (NL) Pitcher of the Month ^[16] —September: Roy Oswalt

NL batting leaders Sacrifice hits: Roy Oswalt (20)

NL pitching leaders Earned run average (ERA): Roy Oswalt (2.98) Games started: Andy Pettitte (35) Strikeout-to-walk ratio (K/BB): Roy Oswalt (4.27)

Minor league system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Round Rock Express	Pacific Coast League	Jackie Moore
AA	Corpus Christi Hooks	Texas League	Dave Clark
A	Salem Avalanche	Carolina League	Jim Pankovits
A	Lexington Legends	South Atlantic League	Jack Lind
A-Short Season	Tri-City ValleyCats	New York–Penn League	Gregg Langbehn
Rookie	Greeneville Astros	Appalachian League	Iván DeJesús

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Corpus Christi

Awards

• All-Star Futures Game: Jason Hirsh, RHP
• Pacific Coast League All-Star: ^[17] Jason Hirsh, RHP
• Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year: ^[18] Jason Hirsh, RHP
• Texas League Pitcher of the Year: ^[19] Matt Albers, RHP
• Triple-A All-Star: ^[20] Jason Hirsh, RHP

See also

• Texas portal
• Baseball portal

• List of Major League Baseball All-Star Game managers
• List of Major League Baseball annual ERA leaders
• List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle
• List of Major League Baseball players with a home run in their first major league at bat

References

Footnotes

1. Jimerson became the third Astros player to hit a home run in his first major-league at-bat, preceded by José Sosa on July 30, 1975, and Dave Matranga on June 27, 2003, and succeeded by Mark Saccomanno on September 8, 2008.

Sources

1. "Florida Marlins (0) vs Houston Astros (1) box score". Baseball Almanac . April 3, 2006. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
2. "2006 Houston Astros uniform numbers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
3. "Astros history – Timeline". MLB.com . Retrieved August 30, 2025.
4. Schwartzberg, Seth (May 28, 2025). "Today in Astros history - May 28". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation . Retrieved July 28, 2025.
5. Schwartzberg, Seth (May 31, 2025). "Today in Astros history - May 31". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
6. Schwartzberg, Seth (June 25, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 25". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
7. Clack (May 8, 2012). "Astros History: A 30-game hitting streak in 2006". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
8. "Willy Taveras 2006 batting game logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
9. Young, Matt (July 22, 2024). "Details behind each player who has hit for the cycle in Astros franchise history". Houston Chronicle . Retrieved July 12, 2025.
10. Kruger, Justin (September 4, 2006). "September 4, 2006: Charlton Jimerson's home run in first at-bat ends Cole Hamels perfect game bid". Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Retrieved September 13, 2025.
11. "Cody Ransom Stats".
12. "Aubrey Huff Stats".
13. "Darryl Kile Award". Baseball Almanac . Retrieved July 20, 2025.
14. Meisner, Kendall. "2006 Heart & Hustle Award". MLB.com. Retrieved September 21, 2025– via Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association (MLBPAA).
15. "Houston Astros Player of the Year". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
16. "Major League Baseball Pitchers of the Month". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
17. "Pacific Coast League All-Stars". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
18. "Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
19. "Texas League Pitcher of the Year". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
20. "Triple-A All-Stars". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved August 29, 2025.

External links

• 2006 Houston Astros season at Baseball Reference
• Game logs:

1st Half: Houston Astros Game Log on ESPN.com

2nd Half: Houston Astros Game Log on ESPN.com

• Batting statistics: Houston Astros Batting Stats on ESPN.com
• Pitching statistics: Houston Astros Pitching Stats on ESPN.com