1989 Houston Astros season

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1989 Houston Astros
LeagueNational League
DivisionWest
BallparkThe Astrodome
CityHouston, Texas
Record86–76 (.531)
Divisional place3rd
OwnersJohn McMullen
General managersBill Wood
ManagersArt Howe
TelevisionKTXH
HSE
RadioKTRH
(Bill Brown, Milo Hamilton, Larry Dierker, Bruce Gietzen, Bill Worrell, Enos Cabell)
KXYZ
(Orlando Sánchez-Diago, Rolando Becerra)

The 1989 Houston Astros season was the 28th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 25th as the Astros, 28th in the National League (NL), 21st in the NL West division, and 25th at The Astrodome. The Astros entered the season having completed an 82–80 record, in fifth place and 12+1⁄2 games behind the division-champion and World Series-winning Los Angeles Dodgers.

On April 4, pitcher Mike Scott made his third consecutive Opening Day start for Houston, who hosted the Atlanta Braves and won, 10–3. The season was best remembered for the Astros winning 16 of 17 games in late May through mid June. During the amateur draft, the Astros selected pitcher Jeff Juden at 12th overall and Todd Jones (27th) in the first round, outfielder Brian Hunter in the second round, and pitcher Shane Reynolds in the third round.

Scott and first baseman Glenn Davis were selected to the MLB All-Star Game and played for the National League, the second career selection for both.

The Astros concluded the season with an 86–76 record, in third place and six games behind the division champion and NL pennant-winning San Francisco Giants. Scott led the NL in wins (20), while, following the season, catcher Craig Biggio received his first career Silver Slugger Award.

Offseason

Regular season

Summary

April—May

Opening Day starting lineup
Uniform Player Position
2Gerald YoungCenter fielder
16Rafael RamírezShortstop
28Billy HatcherLeft fielder
27Glenn DavisFirst baseman
17Kevin BassRight fielder
19Bill DoranSecond baseman
11Ken CaminitiThird baseman
4Craig BiggioCatcher
33Mike ScottPitcher
Venue: Astrodome • Final: Houston 10, Atlanta 3

Sources:[9][10]

For the third consecutive season, right-hander Mike Scott, the 1986 NL Cy Young Award winner, handled the Opening Day start for Houston, while Art Howe made his managerial debut. The Astros hosted the Atlanta Braves to commence the 25th season of baseball at the Astrodome. The Braves, meanwhile, countered with Zane Smith, to make his first Opening Day start. During the first three frames, Scott allowed no runs while inducing four whiffs, all swinging. In the bottom of the second inning Glenn Davis struck the Astros' first home run of the season, 425 feet (130 m) deep to left-center field. Next, Kevin Bass and Ken Caminiti each singled, then Scott singled in both in for a 3–0 lead. Misplayed chances on the part of the Braves during the third inning keyed three more runs as the Astros built a 6–0 lead. The Braves scored twice in the fourth, and during the fifth, Scott struck out the side, but not before the Tommy Gregg homered to cut the Astros' lead to 6–3. Larry Andersen relieved Scott and tossed a scoreless top of the eighth inning to earn the hold, while the Astros bats struck for four more run in the bottom of the eighth to raise the lead to 10–3. Dave Smith pitched a scoreless ninth, appearing in his third consecutive Opening Day.[8]

From May 7 to May 31, the Astros established a club record with a 10-game winning streak on the road.[11]

Taking a no-hit bid into the eighth inning on May 19, Mike Scott surrendered a single to Glenn Wilson. This was the only hit by the Pittsburgh Pirates as Scott led the Astros to a 3–0 win, also the third one-hit complete game of Scott's career.[12] Along with his no-hitter in 1986, this performance signaled the fourth successive campaign for Scott having pitched either a no-hit or a one-hit shutout,[13] a club record for most games of those criteria.[a][14]

On May 27, Houston trailed heading into the bottom of the ninth, until infielder Glenn Davis connected for a two-out, two-run game-tying home run to take the game in extra innings. In the 12th, the Astros won on a walk-off when Rafael Ramírez singled home Davis.[15]

June

The final two games of four-game set on June 3 and 4 against the Los Angeles Dodgers took so many extra innings that by themselves the lasted a span of four games. A 22-inning marathon unfolded at The Astrodone on June 3, taking seven hours and 14 minutes. This ended with a 5–4 Astros win when Ramírez' single grazed the glove of left-hander Fernando Valenzuela, who was filling in at first base, for the game-winning RBI,[16] which was the longest game in major league history. The ninth consecutive win for the Astros, they pulled to 1+1⁄2 games behind the NL West-leading San Francisco Giants, while concluding at 2:50 AM. First pitch for the series finale was just 10 hours later at 1 PM. For the first time at the Astrodome, two grand slams were hit, including one by the Dodgers' Mike Scioscia in top of the first inning, while the Astros' Louie Meadows answered in the fifth, also his first home of the season. The game remained tied,[17] and in the top of the 13th, Astros ace Mike Scott, who made his first relief appearance since 1985, tossed a scoreless inning. In the bottom of the 13th inning, Scott hit for himself and drove in Ramírez on sacrifice fly for the walk-off run, securing a 7–6 win and four-game sweep of the Dodgers.[18] Their tenth consecutive win (May 26–June 4), this tied another club record.[11]

On June 13, right fielder Terry Puhl played his 1,403rd game to pass Jack Graney for most all-time in the major leagues among Canadian-born players.[19]

Mike Scott concluded June with a 6–1 win–loss record (W–L), 2.20 earned run average, three complete games, 26 strikeouts, 15 bases on balls, and .209 batting average against.[20] Hence, Scott was recognized as NL Pitcher of the Month to become the first Astro to receive the award since Nolan Ryan for May 1984.[21]

August—September

Reliever Dave Smith established an Astros club record by converting each of the first 21 save opportunities to start the season. This record stood until 2025, when Josh Hader extended his streak to 22.[22]

On August 20, Kevin Bass hit a walk-off grand slam off Chicago Cubs closer Mitch Williams, the second of a switch-hit, two home-run bout for Bass.[23] The slam secured an 8–4 win for the Astros; moreover, this was the first of two grand slams on the season by Bass that either secured a win or tied the game. In an all-round performance, Bass was 3-for-5 with 5 RBI.[24] This was a club-record third switch-hit, multi-homer, performance for Bass, the first with a grand slam for an Astro, and, at the time, the only Astro to have generated more than one.[b][23] Ryne Sandberg homered twice for the Cubs, once off starter Mike Scott and again off Danny Darwin in the top of the ninth. Though charged with a blown save, Darwin earned the victory, bringing his record to an excellent 11–3 standing.[25]

Bass was recognized with NL Player of the Week honors for the week ended August 20.[26]

Infielder Rafael Ramírez led a near-Astros victory over the Cubs on August 29, when he set a club record with 7 runs batted in (RBI). He homered twice, including a grand slam, to power Houston to a 9–0 lead. However, the Astros wasted Ramírez' landmark day and the lead. The Cubs came all the way back to tie the game, and in the tenth inning, Dwight Smith singled off Dave Smith for the game-winning RBI and 10–9 final score. Houston slipped to five games behind San Francisco in the NL West division title race.[12] Ramírez' performance surpassed Román Mejías' record 6 RBI, which he set in the first-ever game in franchise history, April 10, 1962, which also took place against the Cubs.[27]

Mike Scott earned his 100th victory as an Astro on September 9 at the Astrodome, notching a three-hitter as Houston topped San Francisco, the NL West-division leader, 5–1. The win closed the Astros' gap to five games behind the Giants. Scott (19–8) struck out seven with 37,711 fans in attendance.[28] He surrendered just two base on balls and earned a game score of 82. The Astros scored twice in the bottom if the first. Kevin Bass singled home Gerald Young. Glenn Wilson also singled off Giants starter Kelly Downs to score Bass.[29]

Performance overview

The Astros concluded the season with a 86–76 record, in third place, and six games behind the division- and NL pennant-winning San Francisco Giants.[30] An increase in wins by 4 from the year prior, it was the fourth time in club history that the Astros had won 86 games or more.[31]

Meanwhile, Mike Scott became the fourth pitcher in club history to win 20 games in a single season,[11] which led the National League. Scott became the second Astros pitcher to lead the league, following Joe Niekro in 1979 (21).[32] Houston's other prior moundsmen who had breached the 20-win threshold included Larry Dierker (1969) and J. R. Richard (1976).[33] Scott also attained his third campaign as an 18-game or higher winner, second in club history only to Richard, with four (1976–1979).[c][34] Scott (1986) joined Richard (1978 and 1979) as Houston Astros who were 20-game winners and members of the 300 strikeout club,[33][35] and as earned run average (ERA) leaders (Scott, 1986; Richard, 1979).[33][36] Scott (September 25, 1986) also joined Dierker (July 9, 1976) as the only Astros to have won 20 contests and hurled a no-hitter.[33][37] As the club's first Cy Young Award winner in 1986,[38] Scott also became the first pitcher in franchise history to have claimed 20 victories in one campaign,[33] fired a no-hitter,[37] won an ERA title,[36] and joined the 300-strikeout club.[35]

Glenn Davis launched a career-best 34 home runs,[11] which, as his third campaign with upward of 30 home runs (previously, 1986 and 1988), set a franchise record.[d][39][40]

Right-hander Larry Andersen yielded a 1.54 ERA, which led National League relief pitchers (minimum 81 innings pitched).[41] This was also the lowest club history for minimum of 81 innings, and—at the time—second in Colt .45s/Astros franchise history to Don McMahon's 1.53 ERA in 1962 for all seasons with minimum 50 innings. In 2019, Will Harris yielded a 1.50 ERA to break McMahon's record.[42]

Fellow reliever Danny Darwin became the first in club history to accumulate each of 100 innings pitched, 100 strikeouts, and sub-3.00 earned run average (ERA).[43] Darwin was one of three Major League relievers to earn this distinction in 1989, along with Greg W. Harris of the San Diego Padres, and Rob Murphy of the Boston Red Sox.[44]

Catcher Craig Biggio won his first career Silver Slugger Award, the fifth overall in club history, and the first at the position.[45]

Standings

NL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
San Francisco Giants 9270 .568 — 53‍–‍28 39‍–‍42
San Diego Padres 8973 .549 3 46‍–‍35 43‍–‍38
Houston Astros 8676 .531 6 47‍–‍35 39‍–‍41
Los Angeles Dodgers 7783 .481 14 44‍–‍37 33‍–‍46
Cincinnati Reds 7587 .463 17 38‍–‍43 37‍–‍44
Atlanta Braves 6397 .394 28 33‍–‍46 30‍–‍51

Record vs. opponents


Sources:
Team ATL CHC CIN HOU LAD MON NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL
Atlanta —5–78–108–106–106–62–108–44–87–116–123–9
Chicago 7–5—7–55–77–510–810–810–812–68–46–611–7
Cincinnati 10–85–7—8–108–104–84–84–87–59–98–108–4
Houston 10–87–510–8—10–84–86–69–37–58–108–107–5
Los Angeles 10–65–710–88–10—7–55–76–67–56–1210–83–9
Montreal 6–68–108–48–45–7—9–99–911–75–77–55–13
New York 10–28–108–46–67–59–9—12–69–95–73–910–8
Philadelphia 4–88–108–43–96–69–96–12—10–82–104–87–11
Pittsburgh 8–46–125–75–75–77–119–98–10—3–95–713–5
San Diego 11–74–89–910–812–67–57–510–29–3—8–102–10
San Francisco 12–66–610–810–88–105–79–38–47–510–8—7–5
St. Louis 9–37–114–85–79–313–58–1011–75–1310–25–7—

Notable transactions

Roster

1989 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders Manager

Coaches

[49]

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
CCraig Biggio134443114.2571360
1BGlenn Davis158581156.2693489
2BBill Doran142507111.219858
3BKen Caminiti161585149.2551072
SSRafael Ramírez151537132.246654
LFBilly Hatcher10839590.228344
CFGerald Young146533124.233038
RFTerry Puhl12135496.271027

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
Kevin Bass8731394.300544
Craig Reynolds10118938.201214
Alex Treviño5913138.290216
Glenn Wilson2810222.216215
Eric Yelding709021.23309
Greg Gross607515.20004
Mark Davidson336513.20015
Alan Ashby226110.16403
Eric Anthony256111.18047
Louie Meadows31519.176310
Steve Lombardozzi21378.21613
Harry Spilman323610.27803
Carl Nichols8131.07702
Ron Washington771.14300

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
Mike Scott33229.020103.10172
Jim Deshaies34225.215102.91153
Jim Clancy33147.07145.0891
Bob Knepper22113.04105.8945
Mark Portugal20108.0712.7586
Rick Rhoden2096.2264.2841

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
Bob Forsch37108.1455.3240
José Canó623.0115.098

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
Dave Smith5234252.6431
Juan Agosto714512.9346
Danny Darwin6811472.36104
Larry Andersen604431.5485
Dan Schatzeder364114.4546
Brian Meyer120114.5013
Roger Mason200020.253
Greg Gross100018.001
Craig Reynolds100027.000

Awards and achievements

Grand slams

No.DateAstros batterVenueInningPitcherOpposing teamBox
1 August 20 Kevin Bass[i] Astrodome 9[ii] Mitch Williams Chicago Cubs [23][25]
  1. Switch-hit, multi-home run game
  2. Walk-off

Awards

League leaders

NL batting leaders
NL pitching leaders
NL defensive leaders[53]

Minor league system

Level Team League Manager
AAA Tucson Toros Pacific Coast League Bob Skinner
AA Columbus Mudcats Southern League Tom Wiedenbauer
A Osceola Astros Florida State League Rick Sweet
A Asheville Tourists South Atlantic League Jim Coveney
A-Short Season Auburn Astros New York–Penn League Reggie Waller
Rookie GCL Astros Gulf Coast League Julio Linares

See also

Notes

  1. Number of games in a career player meets criteria, in shutouts, playing for HOU, in the regular season, requiring hits allowed ≤ 1, sorted by descending instances.
  2. Bass had produced the two most-recent such outings, on August 3 and September 2, 1987. Ken Caminiti had the next for Houston, on July 3, 1994.
  3. Number of seasons player meets criteria, playing for HOU, in the regular season, requiring wins ≥ 18, sorted by descending instances.
  4. Surpassed Jimmy Wynn, who slugged 37 home runs in 1967 and another 33 in 1969.

References

  1. "Astros give Bob Watson front-office job". Los Angeles Times. November 23, 1988. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  2. "Mark Portugal stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
  3. "Bob Forsch stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
  4. "Rick Rhoden stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
  5. "Dan Schatzeder stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
  6. "Roger Mason stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
  7. "Carl Nichols stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
  8. Weiner, Steven C. (April 4, 1989). "Astros, Mike Scott win season opener over Braves at the Dome". Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Retrieved January 31, 2026.
  9. "Atlanta Braves (3) vs Houston Astros (10) box score". Baseball Almanac. April 4, 1989. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
  10. "1989 Houston Astros uniform numbers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
  11. "Astros history – Timeline". MLB.com. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
  12. Hulsey, Bob. "This date in Astros history". Astros Daily. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
  13. "Top performances for Mike Scott". Retrosheet. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
  14. "Player pitching game stats finder–baseball". Stathead. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  15. Schwartzberg, Seth (May 27, 2025). "Today in Astros history - May 27". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  16. Schwartzberg, Seth (June 4, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 4". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  17. Crowe, Jerry (June 5, 1989). "For Dodgers, it's a long lost weekend: In 13 innings, Astros finish 4-game sweep". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
  18. Thompson, Joseph (September 25, 2018). "June 4, 1989: 'Don't you ever play nine-inning games?': Astros win again in extras". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
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  28. Newberry, Kevin (September 9, 1989). "He's great again: Scott's 3-hitter narrows gap to 5". Houston Post. Retrieved January 31, 2026.
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  45. "Silver Slugger Award". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
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  47. Troy Afenir at Baseball Reference
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  50. McTaggart, Brian (December 21, 2009). "Bourn highlights Astros' awards season". MLB.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
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