The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Houston, Texas. They currently play in the American League West division. The first game of the new baseball season for a team is played on Opening Day, and being named the Opening Day starter is an honor, which is often given to the player who is expected to lead the pitching staff that season, [1] though there are various strategic reasons why a team's best pitcher might not start on Opening Day. [2]
The Astros began to play in 1962 as the Houston Colt .45s (their name was changed to the Astros in 1965 when the Houston Astrodome opened as their home ball park). [3] Bobby Shantz started their first Opening Day game on April 10, 1962, against the Chicago Cubs at Houston's Colt Stadium and was credited with the win. [4] In their first eight seasons, the Colt .45s / Astros used eight different Opening Day starters. In 1970, that streak ended when Larry Dierker made his second Opening Day start. [4]
Roy Oswalt has made the most Opening Day starts for the Astros, with eight such starts from 2003 through 2010. [4] [5] [6] Three different pitchers have each made five Opening Day starts for the Astros: J. R. Richard (1976–1980), Mike Scott (1987–1991) and Shane Reynolds (1996–2000). Dierker made four Opening Day starts for the Astros, and Joe Niekro and Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan made three apiece. [4] Dierker has the best record in Opening Day starts with four wins and no losses. Niekro and Don Wilson share the worst record in Opening Day starts with no wins and two losses each. Niekro also had one no decision. [4]
The Houston Astros have used 27 different Opening Day starting pitchers in their 61 seasons. The 27 starters have a combined Opening Day record of 30 wins, 21 losses and ten no decisions (which has resulted in a record of 33–28). [4] [5] No decisions are only awarded to the starting pitcher if the game is won or lost after the starting pitcher has left the game. [7] The Astros have played in three home ball parks. Their first home ball park was Colt Stadium. Their starting pitchers had one win and one loss in their two Opening Day games at Colt Stadium. They played 25 Opening Day games in the Astrodome after moving there in 1965, and their starting pitchers had a record of twelve wins, eight losses and five no decisions in those games (going 14–11 overall). In 2000, they moved to Enron Field (subsequently renamed Astros Field and Minute Maid Park) in Downtown Houston. Through 2022, they have played fifteen Opening Day games there and have seen Astro pitchers go 8–4 with three no decisions (8–7 overall). This makes the record of the Astros' Opening Day starting pitchers in home games 21 wins, 13 losses and eight no decisions (23–19 overall). Their record in Opening Day away games is nine wins, eight losses and two no decisions (10–9 overall). [4] The Astros have advanced to the World Series four times. [8] In 2022, they set a modern Major League Baseball record by winning on Opening Day for the tenth straight season. [9]
Season | Each year is linked to an article about that particular Colt .45s / Astros season. |
W | Win |
L | Loss |
ND (W) | No decision by starting pitcher; Astros won game |
ND (L) | No decision by starting pitcher; Astros lost game |
Final score | Game score with Colt .45s / Astros runs listed first |
Location | Stadium in italics for home game |
Pitcher (#) | Number of appearances as Opening Day starter with the Colt .45s / Astros |
* | Advanced to the post-season |
** | NL Champions |
*** | AL Champions |
† | World Series Champions |
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division, having moved to the division in 2013 after spending their first 51 seasons in the National League (NL).
Joseph Franklin Niekro was an American professional baseball pitcher. During a 22-year baseball career, he pitched from 1967 to 1988 for seven different teams, primarily for the Houston Astros.
Roy Edward Oswalt is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Oswalt played for the majority of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Houston Astros. He also played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, and Colorado Rockies.
James Joseph Deshaies is an American former professional baseball left-handed starting pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for six teams over the course of 12 big league seasons. He is currently a color commentator for broadcasts of Chicago Cubs games.
James Rodney Richard was an American professional baseball player. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as a right-handed starting pitcher for the Houston Astros from 1971 to 1980. Richard led the National League (NL) twice in strikeouts and was named an NL All-Star player in 1980.
James Umbricht was an American professional baseball player. A right-handed relief pitcher, he played Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1959 and 1963 for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Colt .45s.
Lawrence Edward Dierker is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher, manager, and broadcaster. During a 14-year baseball career as a pitcher, he pitched from 1964 to 1977 for the Houston Colt .45s/Astros and the St. Louis Cardinals.
Richard Joseph "Turk" Farrell was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1956 to 1969, spending his entire 14-year MLB career in the National League (NL). He threw and batted right-handed. Farrell's son is former MLB pitcher Richard Dotson.
Justin Brooks Verlander is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Detroit Tigers and New York Mets. From Manakin-Sabot, Virginia, Verlander attended Old Dominion University (ODU) and played college baseball for the Monarchs. He broke the Monarchs' and Colonial Athletic Association's career records for strikeouts. At the 2003 Pan American Games, Verlander helped lead the United States national team to a silver medal.
Robert James Bruce was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher who appeared in 219 games in Major League Baseball from 1959 to 1967 for the Detroit Tigers, Houston Colt .45s / Astros, and Atlanta Braves.
James Philip Owens, nicknamed "Bear", was an American professional baseball right-handed pitcher and pitching coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1955 and 1967 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds and Houston Colt .45s / Astros. He appeared in 286 big league games. During his playing days, Owens stood 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall, weighing 190 pounds (86 kg).
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas that competes in Major League Baseball (MLB). The Astros are a member of the MLB's American League, having moved from the National League in 2013. The Astros are one of two MLB teams based in Texas, the other being the Texas Rangers. The team began with the name of the Colt .45s in 1962 and changed their name to the "Astros" in 1965 when they began playing in the Astrodome. The team has played in three ballparks in Houston: Colt Stadium (1962–1964), the Astrodome (1965–1999), and Minute Maid Park (2000–). The Astros hold two World Series titles and five pennants.
Jesse Owens Hickman was an American professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Athletics (1965–1966). The 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m), 186 pounds (84 kg) right-hander attended Louisiana Christian University.
The 1964 Houston Colt .45s season was the team's third season in Major League Baseball. It involved the Houston Colt .45s finishing in ninth place in the National League with a record of 66–96, 27 games behind the eventual World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals. It was their final season for the team at Colt Stadium before relocating their games to the Astrodome in 1965, along with the accompanying name change to the "Astros" for the '65 season.
The 1962 Houston Colt .45s were an expansion team in American Major League Baseball's National League, and 1962 was the first season in franchise history. Harry Craft was Houston's first manager. The .45s finished eighth among the National League's ten teams with a record of 64–96, 36+1⁄2 games behind the league champion San Francisco Giants.
The 1980 National League West tie-breaker game was a one-game extension to Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1980 regular season, played between the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers to decide the winner of the National League's (NL) West Division. The game was played on October 6, 1980, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California. It was necessary after the Dodgers overcame a three-game deficit in the final three games of the season and both teams finished with identical win–loss records of 92–70. The Dodgers won a coin flip late in the season which, by rule at the time, awarded them home field for the game.
The 1962 Major League Baseball expansion was the formation of two new Major League Baseball (MLB) teams for the 1962 season. The Houston Colt .45s and the New York Mets were added to the National League (NL), becoming the 19th and 20th teams in MLB's two leagues. The Colt .45s were the first major league team in Houston while the Mets filled the void left when the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers of the NL moved to California after the 1957 season.