1983 Houston Astros season

1983 Houston Astros
LeagueNational League
DivisionWest
BallparkAstrodome
CityHouston, Texas
Record85–77 (.525)
Divisional place3rd
OwnersJohn McMullen
General managersAl Rosen
ManagersBob Lillis
TelevisionKTXH
HSE
RadioKRBE
(Gene Elston, Dewayne Staats, Larry Dierker)

The 1983 Houston Astros season was the 22nd season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 19th as the Astros, 22nd in the National League (NL), 15th in the NL West division, and 19th at The Astrodome. The Astros entered the season having posted a 77–85 record for fifth place and 12 games behind the division-champion Atlanta Braves.

On April 5, Joe Niekro made his second Opening Day start for Houston, who hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers but lost, 16–7. In the amateur draft, Houston's first round selection was catcher Robbie Wine at eighth overall.

Shortstop Dickie Thon and pitcher Bill Dawley each represented the Astros at the MLB All-Star Game and played for the National League, the first career selection for both.

The Astros concluded the season with an 85–77 record, for third place and 6 games behind the division-champion Dodgers. Following the season, Thon and outfielder José Cruz both won their first career Silver Slugger Awards for their respective positions, also the first Astros to win the award.

Offseason

Regular season

Summary

April

Opening Day starting lineup[4][5]
24 Omar Moreno CF
19 Bill Doran 2B
10 Dickie Thon SS
 3 Phil Garner 3B
25 José Cruz LF
22 Ray Knight 1B
21 Terry Puhl RF
 6 Luis Pujols  C
36 Phil Niekro  P
Venue: Astrodome • LAD 16, HOU 7

The 16 runs surrendered on Opening Day was the season-most for runs allowed for the Astros. It was also the start of what would be their longest losing streak of the season, at nine games.[6]

On April 17, Nolan Ryan struck out Andre Dawson for the 3500th strikeout in his career.[7]

On April 27, Ryan struck out Brad Mills[Note 1] of the Expos to break Walter Johnson's all time mark for strikeouts in a career. Mills was the 3,509th strikeout of Ryan's career.[7]

June

On June 4, Alan Ashby homered twice, doubled and had six runs batted in (RBI) to back Mike Scott, who earned his first win as a Houston Astro. The final score was 13–0 over the Cincinnati Reds.[8]

Shortstop Dickie Thon homered twice off San Diego Padres starter Eric Show on June 17. This generated enough offense for Ryan, as he struck out six in a 4–1 win. Ryan also ended the contest just one strikeout behind Philadelphia Phillies starter Steve Carlton for the all-time strikeout race.[9]

July

On July 10, Cruz collected his 10th career four-hit game, slashing two doubles with two RBI. This was his first four-hit game of the season.[10] Cruz doubled twice, scored twice, and drove in two, but the New York Mets overcame Houston, 7–5. Terry Puhl added three hits while Thon and Phil Garner each had two. Darryl Strawberry hit his ninth home run for New York.[11]

On July 22, Cruz was 4-for-5 for his 11th career four-hit game and second of the campaign. He also scored twice.[10]

August

On August 11, José Cruz went 2-for-4—including a triple—and produced his first game of the season with at least four RBI.[10]

On August 15, Cruz went 3-for-5 and launched his fifth career multi-home run game, and his sixth career with 5 RBI.[10]

September

On September 13, José Cruz received a hit by pitch for the seventh time—third as an Astro—and final time in his major league career.[10]

On September 18, Cruz poasted his 14th career contest with at least three walks, otherwise going 0-for-2.[10]

On September 20, Cruz realized his third career six-RBI game, going 2-for-3 with an intentional base on balls.[10] With Houston up 5–0, Cruz launched his second career grand slam off Burt Hooton during the second inning,[12] which only got things warmed up as Houston ran away with a 15–2 drubbing of the Los Angeles Dodgers.[13] Denny Walling also had a big game, going 3-for-5 with three RBI, and doubled twice. Nolan Ryan (14–8) allowed four hits and two runs over six innings with seven strikeouts, and Jeff Heathcock closed out the last three innings for his first save.[13]

Performance overview

Houston concluded the 1983 season with an 85–77 (.525) record, in third place in the NL West divions and six games behind the division-champion Dodgers. The Astros also had the fourth-best record in the National League.[14] For the third instance in franchise annals, the club reached the 85-win threshold (previously, the 1979 and 1980 squads), and for the fifth time, a .525 winning percentage—including the former, along with the 1972 and 1981 strike-shortened campaigns. Moreover, since 1972, this was the eighth campaign with a record at .500 or above.[15]

Left fielder José Cruz remained in contention for the batting championship until the final day, winding up third.[16] Cruz led the National League in hits (189),[a] becoming the first Astro to accomplish this feat.[17]

For the seventh time, an Astros pitcher claimed the title for hits per nine innings surrendered: Nolan Ryan at 6.143 H/9. The major league leader in this category for the third consecutive season (all as an Astro), Ryan followed Don Wilson in 1971 (6.549 H/9), and J. R. Richard (thrice—6.835 in 1976, 6.278 in 1978, and 6.773 in 1979).[18]

Cruz and Thon both won their first career Silver Slugger Awards for their respective positions, while becoming the first Astros to receive the honor.[19]

Moreover, Cruz won his third Houston Astros' team Most Valuable Player Award (MVP), having previously received the honor for the 1977 and 1980 campaigns. As a third-time winner, Cruz surpassed Rusty Staub for the club record, who won in 1966 and 1967.[20]

Season standings

NL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Los Angeles Dodgers 91 71 .562 — 48‍–‍32 43‍–‍39
Atlanta Braves 88 74 .543 3 46‍–‍34 42‍–‍40
Houston Astros 85 77 .525 6 46‍–‍36 39‍–‍41
San Diego Padres 81 81 .500 10 47‍–‍34 34‍–‍47
San Francisco Giants 79 83 .488 12 43‍–‍38 36‍–‍45
Cincinnati Reds 74 88 .457 17 36‍–‍45 38‍–‍43

Record vs. opponents

1983 National League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Team ATL CHC CIN HOU LAD MON NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL
Atlanta — 5–7 12–6 11–7 7–11 7–5 8–4 7–5 6–6 9–9 9–9 7–5
Chicago 7–5 — 4–8 5–7 6–6 7–11 9–9 5–13 9–9 5–7 4–8 10–8
Cincinnati 6–12 8–4 — 5–13 7–11 4–8 7–5 6–6 6–6 9–9 10–8 6–6
Houston 7–11 7–5 13–5 — 6–12 8–4 9–3 4–8 6–6 11–7 12–6 2–10
Los Angeles 11–7 6–6 11–7 12–6 — 7–5 7–5 11–1 6–6 6–12–1 5–13 9–3
Montreal 5–7 11–7 8–4 4–8 5–7 — 8–10 8–10–1 8–10 8–4 8–4 9–9
New York 4–8 9–9 5–7 3–9 5–7 10–8 — 6–12 9–9 6–6 5–7 6–12
Philadelphia 5-7 13–5 6–6 8–4 1–11 10–8–1 12–6 — 11–7 5–7 5–7 14–4
Pittsburgh 6–6 9–9 6–6 6–6 6–6 10–8 9–9 7–11 — 9–3 6–6 10–8
San Diego 9–9 7–5 9–9 7–11 12–6–1 4–8 6–6 7–5 3–9 — 11–7 6–6
San Francisco 9–9 8–4 8–10 6–12 13–5 4–8 7–5 7–5 6–6 7–11 — 4–8
St. Louis 5–7 8–10 6–6 10–2 3–9 9–9 12–6 4–14 8–10 6–6 8–4 —


Notable transactions

Roster

1983 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Game log

Regular season

1983 regular season game log: 85–77 (home: 46–36; away: 39–41)
April: 8–14 (home: 5–10; away: 3–4)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
1 April 5 Dodgers
2 April 6 Dodgers
3 April 7 Pirates
4 April 8 Pirates
5 April 9 Pirates
6 April 10 Pirates
7 April 11 @ Dodgers
8 April 12 @ Dodgers
9 April 13 @ Dodgers
10 April 15 Expos
11 April 16 Expos
12 April 17 Expos
13 April 19 Reds
14 April 20 Reds
15 April 21 Reds
16 April 22 Phillies
17 April 23 Phillies
18 April 24 Phillies
19 April 26 @ Expos
20 April 27 @ Expos
21 April 29 @ Phillies
22 April 30 @ Phillies
May: 14–14 (home: 7–7; away: 7–7)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
23 May 1 @ Phillies
24 May 2 @ Mets
25 May 3 @ Mets
26 May 4 @ Mets
27 May 5 @ Braves
28 May 6 @ Braves
29 May 7 @ Braves
30 May 8 @ Braves
31 May 9 Mets
32 May 10 Mets
33 May 11 Mets
34 May 12 Braves
35 May 13 Braves
36 May 14 Braves
37 May 15 Braves
38 May 17 @ Cardinals
39 May 18 @ Cardinals
40 May 20 @ Pirates
41 May 21 @ Pirates
— May 22 @ Pirates Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: August 23)
42 May 23 Cubs
43 May 24 Cubs
44 May 25 Cubs
45 May 26 Cardinals
46 May 27 Cardinals
47 May 28 Cardinals
48 May 29 Cardinals
49 May 30 @ Cubs
50 May 31 @ Cubs
June: 15–11 (home: 10–3; away: 5–8)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
51 June 1 @ Cubs
52 June 3 @ Reds
53 June 4 @ Reds
54 June 5 @ Reds
55 June 7 Giants
56 June 8 Giants
57 June 9 Giants
58 June 10 Padres
59 June 11 Padres
60 June 12 Padres
61 June 13 Padres
62 June 14 @ Giants
63 June 15 @ Giants
64 June 16 @ Giants
65 June 17 @ Padres
66 June 18 @ Padres
67 June 19 @ Padres
68 June 20 Braves
69 June 21 Braves
70 June 22 Braves
71 June 24 @ Dodgers
72 June 25 @ Dodgers
73 June 26 @ Dodgers
74 June 28 @ Braves
75 June 29 @ Braves
76 June 30 @ Braves
July: 15–11 (home: 10–6; away: 5–5)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
77 July 1 Dodgers
78 July 2 Dodgers
79 July 3 Dodgers
80 July 4 Dodgers
54th All-Star Game in Chicago, Illinois
81 July 8 @ Mets
82 July 9 @ Mets
83 July 10 @ Mets
84 July 12 Expos
85 July 13 Expos
86 July 14 Expos
87 July 15 Mets
88 July 16 Mets
89 July 17 Mets
90 July 18 @ Phillies
91 July 19 @ Phillies
92 July 20 @ Phillies
93 July 21 @ Expos
94 July 22 @ Expos
95 July 23 @ Expos
96 July 24 @ Expos
97 July 26 Phillies
98 July 27 Phillies
99 July 28 Phillies
100 July 29 Reds
101 July 30 Reds
102 July 31 Reds
August: 18–12 (home: 8–4; away: 10–8)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
103 August 1 @ Padres
104 August 2 @ Padres
105 August 3 @ Padres
106 August 4 @ Padres
107 August 5 @ Giants
108 August 6 @ Giants
109 August 7 @ Giants
110 August 9 Padres
111 August 10 Padres
112 August 11 Padres
113 August 12 Giants
114 August 13 Giants
115 August 14 Giants
116 August 15 @ Reds
117 August 16 @ Reds
118 August 17 @ Reds
119 August 18 @ Cardinals
120 August 19 @ Cardinals
121 August 20 @ Cardinals
122 August 21 @ Cardinals
123 (1) August 23 @ Pirates
124 (2) August 23 @ Pirates
125 August 24 @ Pirates
126 August 25 @ Pirates
127 August 26 Cubs
128 August 27 Cubs
129 August 28 Cubs
130 August 29 Cardinals
131 August 30 Cardinals
132 August 31 Pirates
September: 14–14 (home: 7–6; away: 7–8)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
133 September 1 Pirates
134 September 2 @ Cubs
135 September 3 @ Cubs
136 September 4 @ Cubs
137 September 5 @ Braves
— September 6 @ Braves Postponed (Rain; Site change) (Makeup date: September 28)
138 September 7 @ Padres
139 September 8 @ Padres
140 September 9 @ Giants
141 September 10 @ Giants
142 September 11 @ Giants
143 September 13 Dodgers
144 September 14 Dodgers
145 September 15 Dodgers
146 September 16 @ Reds
147 September 17 @ Reds
148 September 18 @ Reds
149 September 19 @ Dodgers
150 September 20 @ Dodgers
151 September 21 @ Dodgers
152 September 23 Giants
153 September 24 Giants
154 September 25 Giants
155 September 26 Padres
156 September 27 Padres
157 (1) September 28 Braves
158 (2) September 28 Braves
159 September 29 Braves
160 September 30 Reds
October: 1–1 (home: 1–1; away: 0–0)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
161 October 1 Reds
162 October 2 Reds
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement
Bold = Astros team member

Player stats

= Indicates team leader
= Indicates league leader

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 Alan Ashby 87 275 63 .229 8 34
1B Ray Knight 145 507 154 .304 9 70
2B Bill Doran 154 535 145 .271 8 39
SS Dickie Thon 154 619 177 .286 20 79
3B Phil Garner 154 567 135 .238 14 79
LF José Cruz 160 594 189 .318 14 92
CF Omar Moreno 97 405 98 .242 0 25
RF Terry Puhl 137 465 136 .292 8 44

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 Bass 88 195 46 .236 2 18
Tony Scott 80 186 42 .226 2 17
Jerry Mumphrey 44 143 48 .336 1 17
Denny Walling 100 135 40 .296 3 19
Craig Reynolds 65 98 21 .214 1 6
Luis Pujols 40 87 17 .195 0 12
John Mizerock 33 85 13 .153 1 10
Harry Spilman 42 78 13 .167 1 9
George Bjorkman 29 75 17 .227 2 14
Tim Tolman 43 56 11 .196 2 10
Scott Loucks 7 14 3 .214 0 0
Bert Peña 4 8 1 .125 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
Joe Niekro 38 263.2 15 14 3.48 152
Bob Knepper 35 203.2 6 13 3.19 125
Nolan Ryan 29 196.1 14 9 2.98 183
Mike Scott 24 145.0 10 6 3.72 73

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
Mike LaCoss 38 138.0 5 7 4.43 53
Vern Ruhle 41 114.2 8 5 3.69 43
Mike Madden 28 94.2 9 5 3.14 44
Jeff Heathcock 6 28.0 2 1 3.21 12

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
Frank DiPino 53 3 4 20 2.65 67
Bill Dawley 48 6 6 14 2.82 60
Dave Smith 42 3 1 6 3.10 41
Frank LaCorte 37 4 4 3 5.06 48
Julio Solano 4 0 2 0 6.00 3

Awards and achievements

Grand slams

No. Date Astros batter Venue Inning Pitcher Opposing team Box
1 September 20 José Cruz Dodger Stadium 2 Burt Hooton Los Angeles Dodgers [13]

Awards

League leaders

Batting leaders
Pitching leaders

Minor league system

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Tucson Toros Pacific Coast League Matt Galante
AA Columbus Astros Southern League Jack Hiatt
A Daytona Beach Astros Florida State League Dave Cripe
A Asheville Tourists South Atlantic League Tom Spencer
A-Short Season Auburn Astros New York–Penn League Bob Hartsfield
Rookie GCL Astros Gulf Coast League José Tartabull

References

Footnotes
  1. ^ Mills later managed the Astros from 2010 to 2012.
  1. ^ a b Tied with Andre Dawson of the Montreal Exos.
Sources
  1. ^ "Danny Heep stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 27, 2025.
  2. ^ "Troy Afenir stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 27, 2025.
  3. ^ "Alan Knicely stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 27, 2025.
  4. ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers (16) vs Houston Astros (7) box score". Baseball Almanac. April 5, 1983. Retrieved September 27, 2025.
  5. ^ "1983 Houston Astros uniform numbers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 27, 2025.
  6. ^ "1983 Houston Astros schedule". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
  7. ^ a b "The Nolan Ryan Express | The Strikeout King". smackbomb.com/nolanryan. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2008.
  8. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 4, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 4". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  9. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 17, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 17". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g "Top performances for José Cruz". Retrosheet. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  11. ^ "Houston Astros (5) vs New York Mets (7) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. July 10, 1983. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
  12. ^ "José Cruz career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  13. ^ a b c "Houston Astros (15) vs Los Angeles Dodgers (2) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. September 20, 1983. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  14. ^ "1983 National League team statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  15. ^ "Houston Astros team history & encyclopedia". Baaseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  16. ^ "Astros history – Timeline". MLB.com. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  17. ^ "Yearly league leaders & records for hits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  18. ^ "Yearly league leaders and records for hits per 9 IP". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  19. ^ a b "Silver Slugger Award". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  20. ^ a b McTaggart, Brian (December 21, 2009). "Bourn highlights Astros' awards season". MLB.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved October 18, 2025.
  21. ^ "Robbie Wine stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  22. ^ "Danny Boone stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  23. ^ "Hutch Award". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  24. ^ "All-Star Game box score". July 6, 1983. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
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