1984 Houston Astros season

1984 Houston Astros
LeagueNational League
DivisionWest
BallparkThe Astrodome
CityHouston, Texas
Record80–82 (.494)
Divisional place2nd—tied
OwnersJohn McMullen
General managersAl Rosen
ManagersBob Lillis
TelevisionKTXH
HSE
RadioKRBE
(Gene Elston, Dewayne Staats, Larry Dierker, Mike Elliott, Jim Durham, Larry Hirsch)

The 1984 Houston Astros season was the 23rd season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 20th as the Astros, 23rd in the National League (NL), 16th in the NL West, and 20th at The Astrodome. The Astros entered the season having posted an 85–77 record, in third place and 6 games behind the division-champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

On April 3, Joe Niekro made his third Opening Day start for Houston, who hosted the Montreal Expos but lost, 4–2. During the amateur draft, the Astros' first round selection was pitcher Don August, and third round selection was third baseman Ken Caminiti.

Outfielder Jerry Mumphrey was selected to represent the Astros in the MLB All-Star Game and play for the National League, his lone career selection.

The Astros concluded the season with an 80–82 record, tied for second place with the Atlanta Braves and 12 games behind the division-champion and NL pennant-winning San Diego Padres. Following the season, outfielder José Cruz won his second career Silver Slugger Award. Fellow outfielder Terry Puhl was recognized with the Tip O'Neill Award.

Offseason

Regular season

Summary

April

Opening Day starting lineup[2][3]
19 Bill Doran 2B
21 Terry Puhl RF
10 Dickie Thon SS
25 José Cruz LF
28 Jerry Mumphrey CF
22 Ray Knight 1B
29 Denny Walling 3B
14 Alan Ashby  C
36 Phil Niekro  P
Venue: Astrodome • MON 4, HOU 2

On the Sunday evening of April 8 at the Astrodome, shortstop Dickie Thon was struck near the left eye by a rising fastball from pitcher Mike Torrez, an incident that changed the course of Thon's career. Craig Reynolds pinch ran for Thon, and though the Astros subsequently loaded the bases, Jerry Mumphrey popped out to extinguish the threat. The New York Mets won the contest, 3–1, which clinched a series sweep for New York, their first at the Astrodome since 1966. X-rays revealed a fractured orbital bone and Thon missed the rest of the season due to the injury.[4][5]

May

With 39,924 fans in attendance at Shea Stadium on May 6, the second-largest of the season thus far had presented to witness the marquee duel between nineteen-year-old phenom Dwight "Doc" Gooden, and 37-year old Nolan Ryan. In the first inning, Ryan allowed one run on two hits, but then became unstoppable, polishing off the final eight innings yielding just four singles and two walks, while fanning seven. Meanwhile, Gooden started with two scoreless innings, but the Astros pummeled him in the third inning for eight runs on six hits. Ryan chipped in the offensive surge, executing a bunt single over Gooden's head that drove in a run. The Astros defeated the Mets for the second straight contest, 10–1, as Ryan went the distance.[6] Ryan also lined a double to left in the sixth inning and later scored the Astros' ninth run.[7]

On May 22, a pre-game incident took place during warmups when St. Louis Cardinals mascot Fredbird tackled Astros first baseman Enos Cabell, which exacerbated his knee injury. The two clubs exchanged words, but the Astros ultimately walked the game off in the 12th inning.[8]

Riding a five-hit shutout on May 26, Nolan Ryan fanned nine to regain the all-time strikeout lead from Steve Carlton, 3,758 to 3,757. Ryan (6–2) also won his fifth straight decision while having aggregated a scoreless innings streak of 27 as the Astros defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2–0. In the Astros' fifth inning, Bill Doran stroked a tripled to the right field corner off starter José DeLeón (2–2). With one out, Terry Puhl doubled, scoring Doran, and Craig Reynolds followed with single to right, which scored Puhl. The most recent date that Ryan had led Carlton was on July 26, 1983 (3,591—3,588).[9]

Following a superb performance in May, Nolan Ryan was recognized as the NL Pitcher of the Month.[10] Nolan Ryan went 5–0 W–L over 6 starts, with a 0.20 earned run average (ERA), surrendering just one earned run over 45+1⁄3 innings pitched (three runs total), 26 hits, and whiffed 50 batters. He also tossed three complete games with two shutouts.[11]

June

During the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 1, Mike Scioscia singled in two runs off Nolan Ryan to halt his scoreless streak. Ryan lasted four innings with five hits and the two runs surrendered this time as the Dodgers eventually won, 6–2.[12]

July

For the week of June 25–July 1, José Cruz was named NL Player of the Week.[13] Over 8 games, he batted .500 (18-for-36), 10 runs scored, 8 runs batted in (RBI) and a stolen base. Five of the games featured three hits, and during the final game that week, July 1, Cruz went 4-for-6, capping an 11-for-19 output over a four-game set versus the Philadelphia Phillies.[14] Furthermore, Cruz continued his excellent performance through month of July, later recognized as NL Player of the Month.[15] He torched National League pitching for 47 hits, 11 doubles and 22 runs scored for a slash line of .443 / .516 / .632 / 1.148.[16] The first 25 games featured all 47 hits, during which he hit .495, prior to ending the final four games in an 0-for-14 slump.[14]

On July 24, Cabell, Phil Garner, and Cruz each went deep back-to-back-to-back off San Francisco Giants starter Mark Davis to cap a nine-run explosion during the fifth inning. Cruz also added an exclamation point with another blast off Bob Lacey in the seventh. Garner double in the Astros' 10–3 victory. Nolan Ryan (8–6) tossed seven solid frames to earn the quality start and win.[17]

August

At Wrigley Field on August 22, José Cruz ripped his third career grand slam[18] in the second inning during which Houston exploded for seven total, on the way to a rout of the Chicago Cubs, 8–3. Earlier in the second inning, Garner had blasted his fourth home run, and also worked two bases on balls during the contest. Craig Reynolds added two hits. Nolan Ryan (11–7) went the distance, surrendering seven hits and two walks while two of the three runs were earned, and tallied 12 punchouts. The victory evened the Astros' record at 64–64.[19]

September

On September 6, Glenn Davis swatted his first major league home run, launching an offering from Scott Garrelts in the seventh inning at Candlestick Park. This was a solo shot with Houston ahead, 13–1.[20]

Hosting the San Diego Padres on September 16, switch-hitting catcher Mark Bailey became the 13th National Leaguer—on the 19th occasion—and second Houston Astro to homer from both sides of the plate in the same game.[a][21] Every score counted as the Astros triumphed in a 10–9 thriller. Bailey connected in the bottom of the second off Mark Thurmond (right side), and in the bottom of the sixth off Luis DeLeón (left). Going into the bottom of the eighth, San Diego led, 9–8. With Glenn Davis at bat and the bases loaded, Rich Gossage uncorked a wild pitch, on which Bill Doran raced home. Next, Davis stroked the game-winning sacrifice fly to plate Kevin Bass. Dave Smith (4–3) then hurled a clean ninth to pick up the victory.[22]

Performance overview

The Astros concluded the season with an 80–82 record, tied with the Atlanta Braves for second place in the NL West and 12 games behind the division-champion and NL pennant-winning Padres.[23] It was the 10th season since 1969 that the Astros won at least 80 games, and 11th in which the they finished two games or fewer below the .500 line.[b][24]

Outfielder José Cruz batted .312 and drove in a career-high 95 runs batted in (RBI).[25] He won his second consecutive Silver Slugger Award to become the first Astro to win more than once.[26]

Terry Puhl, a native of Saskatchewan, was recognized with the inaugural edition of the Tip O'Neill Award, voted to single out the year's best Canadian player in baseball.[27]

Cruz was also honored with an unprecedented fourth Houston Astros' team Most Valuable Player Award (MVP), extending his club record after having won for each of the 1977, 1980, and 1983 campaigns. Cruz also joined Rusty Staub, the previous record-holder, to win in successive campaigns (1966 and 1967).[28]

Season standings

NL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
San Diego Padres 92 70 .568 — 48‍–‍33 44‍–‍37
Atlanta Braves 80 82 .494 12 38‍–‍43 42‍–‍39
Houston Astros 80 82 .494 12 43‍–‍38 37‍–‍44
Los Angeles Dodgers 79 83 .488 13 40‍–‍41 39‍–‍42
Cincinnati Reds 70 92 .432 22 39‍–‍42 31‍–‍50
San Francisco Giants 66 96 .407 26 35‍–‍46 31‍–‍50

Record vs. opponents

1984 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 — 3–9 13–5 12–6 6–12 5–7 4–8 7–5 8–4 7–11 10–8 5–7
Chicago 9–3 — 7–5 6–6 7–5 10–7 12–6 9–9 8–10 6–6 9–3 13–5
Cincinnati 5–13 5–7 — 8–10 7–11 7–5 3–9 5–7 7–5 7–11 12–6 4–8
Houston 6–12 6–6 10–8 — 9–9 7–5 4–8 6–6 6–6 6–12 12–6 8–4
Los Angeles 12–6 5–7 7–11 9–9 — 6–6 3–9 3–9 4–8 10–8 10–8 6–6
Montreal 7–5 7–10 5–7 5–7 6–6 — 7–11 11–7 7–11 7–5 7–5 9–9
New York 8–4 6–12 9–3 8–4 9–3 11–7 — 10–8 12–6 6–6 4–8 7–11
Philadelphia 5-7 9–9 7–5 6–6 9–3 7–11 8–10 — 7–11 7–5 8–4 8–10
Pittsburgh 4–8 10–8 5–7 6–6 8–4 11–7 6–12 11–7 — 4–8 6–6 4–14
San Diego 11–7 6–6 11–7 12–6 8–10 5–7 6–6 5–7 8–4 — 13–5 7–5
San Francisco 8–10 3–9 6–12 6–12 8–10 5–7 8–4 4–8 6–6 5–13 — 7–5
St. Louis 7–5 5–13 8–4 4–8 6–6 9–9 11–7 10–8 14–4 5–7 5–7 —


Notable transactions

Roster

1984 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

Manager

Coaches

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
C Mark Bailey 108 344 73 .212 9 34
1B Enos Cabell 127 436 135 .310 8 44
2B Bill Doran 147 548 143 .261 4 41
SS Craig Reynolds 146 527 137 .260 6 60
3B Phil Garner 128 374 104 .278 4 45
LF José Cruz 160 600 187 .312 12 95
CF Jerry Mumphrey 151 524 152 .290 9 83
RF Terry Puhl 132 449 135 .301 9 55

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 121 331 86 .260 2 29
Ray Knight 88 278 62 .223 2 29
Denny Walling 87 249 70 .281 3 31
Alan Ashby 66 191 50 .262 4 27
Jim Pankovits 53 81 23 .284 1 14
Harry Spilman 32 72 19 .264 2 15
Glenn Davis 18 61 13 .213 2 8
Bert Peña 24 39 8 .205 1 4
Tony Scott 25 21 4 .190 0 0
Alan Bannister 9 20 4 .200 0 0
Dickie Thon 5 17 6 .353 0 1
Tim Tolman 14 17 3 .176 0 0
Mike Richardt 16 15 4 .267 0 2
Tom Wieghaus 6 10 0 .000 0 1

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 38 248.1 16 12 3.04 127
Bob Knepper 35 233.2 15 10 3.20 140
Nolan Ryan 30 183.2 12 11 3.04 197
Mike Scott 31 154.0 5 11 4.68 83

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 39 132.0 7 5 4.02 86
Vern Ruhle 40 90.1 1 9 4.58 60
Mike Madden 17 40.2 2 3 5.53 29

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 57 4 9 14 3.35 65
Bill Dawley 60 11 4 5 1.93 47
Dave Smith 53 5 4 5 2.21 45
Joe Sambito 32 0 0 0 3.02 26
Julio Solano 31 1 3 0 1.95 33
Jeff Calhoun 9 0 1 0 1.17 11
Mark Ross 2 1 0 0 0.00 1

Awards and achievements

Grand slams

No. Date Astros batter Venue Inning Pitcher Opposing team Box
1 August 22 José Cruz Wrigley Field 2 Dick Ruthven Chicago Cubs [19]

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 Bob Bailey and Jimmy Johnson
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
Championships

References

Footnotes
  1. ^ The first was fellow catcher and teammate Alan Ashby, on September 27, 1982, also against the Padres. Kevin Bass had the subsequent achievement on August 3, 1987.
  2. ^ Premier season for this award.
Sources
  1. ^ a b "J. R. Richard stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 26, 2025.
  2. ^ "Montreal Expos (4) vs Houston Astros (2) box score". Baseball Almanac. April 3, 1984. Retrieved September 26, 2025.
  3. ^ "1984 Houston Astros uniform numbers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 26, 2025.
  4. ^ McCurdy, Bill (September 20, 2018). "April 8, 1984: Dickie Thon beaned in head in Astros' loss to Mets". Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Retrieved September 26, 2025.
  5. ^ LeMoine, Bob. "Dickie Thon". Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  6. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (May 6, 2025). "Today in Astros history - May 6". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
  7. ^ Rhoden, William C. (May 7, 1984). "Astros rout Mets and Gooden". The New York Times. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
  8. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (May 22, 2025). "Today in Astros history - May 22". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  9. ^ "Nolan Ryan hurled a five-hitter and regained the all-time..." United Press International (UPI). May 26, 1984. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Major League Baseball Pitchers of the Month". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  11. ^ "Nolan Ryan 1984 pitching splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
  12. ^ "Houston Astros (2) vs Los Angeles Dodgers (6) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. June 1, 1984. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
  13. ^ a b "MLB Players of the Week Awards". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
  14. ^ a b "José Cruz 1984 batting game logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
  15. ^ a b "MLB Player of the Month Award". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
  16. ^ "José Cruz 1984 batting splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
  17. ^ "Houston Astros (10) vs San Francisco Giants (3) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. July 24, 1984. Retrieved December 11, 2025.
  18. ^ "José Cruz career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  19. ^ a b "Houston Astros (8) vs Chicago Cubs (3) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. August 22, 1984. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  20. ^ "Glenn Davis career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
  21. ^ "Home runs from both sides of the plate in one game". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
  22. ^ "Houston Astros (10) vs San Diego Padres (9) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. September 16, 1984. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
  23. ^ "1984 National League team statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
  24. ^ "Houston Astros team history & encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
  25. ^ a b "Astros history – Timeline". MLB.com. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  26. ^ a b "Silver Slugger Award". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  27. ^ a b "The James 'Tip' O'Neill Award". Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 26, 2025.
  28. ^ McTaggart, Brian (December 21, 2009). "Bourn highlights Astros' awards season". MLB.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved October 18, 2025.
  29. ^ "Mike Richardt stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 26, 2025.
  30. ^ "Ken Caminiti stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball Reference. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  31. ^ "John Vander Wal stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball Reference. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  32. ^ "Brad Mills stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
  33. ^ "Ray Knight stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
  34. ^ "José Cruz stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 13, 2025.
  35. ^ "Champions by league | South Atlantic League". MLB.com. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
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