1989 Houston Astros season

1989 Houston Astros
1989 Houston Astros
League	National League
Division	West
Ballpark	The Astrodome
City	Houston, Texas
Record	86–76 (.531)
Divisional place	3rd
Owners	John McMullen
General managers	Bill Wood
Managers	Art Howe
Television	KTXH; HSE
Radio	KTRH; (Bill Brown, Milo Hamilton, Larry Dierker, Bruce Gietzen, Bill Worrell, Enos Cabell); KXYZ; (Orlando Sánchez-Diago, Rolando Becerra)
	Seasons

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 8, 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

November 22, 1988: Hired former first baseman/outfielder Bob Watson as assistant general manager. Watson, who had most recently served as hitting coach for the Oakland Athletics, played for Houston from 1966 to 1979.^[1]
December 4, 1988: The Astros traded a player to be named later to the Minnesota Twins for Mark Portugal. The Astros completed the deal by sending Todd McClure (minors) to the Twins on December 7.^[2]
December 21, 1988: Bob Forsch was signed as a free agent by the Astros.^[3]
January 10, 1989: John Fishel, Mike Hook (minors), and Pedro DeLeon (minors) were traded by the Astros to the New York Yankees for Rick Rhoden.^[4]
January 30, 1989: Dan Schatzeder was signed as a free agent by the Astros.^[5]
February 16, 1989: Roger Mason was signed as a free agent with the Houston Astros.^[6]
March 31, 1989: Dave Johnson and Victor Hithe (minors) were traded by the Astros to the Baltimore Orioles for Carl Nichols.^[7]

Regular season

Summary

April—May

Opening Day starting lineup^[8]^[9]

2	Gerald Young	CF
16	Rafael Ramírez	SS
28	Billy Hatcher	LF
27	Glenn Davis	1B
17	Kevin Bass	RF
19	Bill Doran	2B
11	Ken Caminiti	3B
4	Craig Biggio	C
33	Mike Scott	P
Venue:	Astrodome • HOU 10,	ATL 3

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

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.^[11]

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.^[12]

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,^[13] 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,^[14] 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.^[15] Their tenth consecutive win (May 26–June 4), this tied another club record.^[10]

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.^[16]

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.^[17]

On August 20, Kevin Bass hit a walk-off grand slam off Chicago Cubs closer Mitch Williams, the first of two grand slams on the season by Bass that either secured a win or tied the game. This one secured an 8–4 win at the Astros. The slam capped an all-round performance that day for Bass, as he was 3-for-5 with 5 RBI, including an earlier home run which game him home runs from both sides of the plate.^[18]

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.^[11] 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.^[19]

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.^[20] An incrase in wins by 4 from the year prior, it was the fourth time in club history that they Astros had won 86 games or more.^[21]

Meanwhile, Mike Scott became the fourth pitcher in club history to win 20 games,^[10] which led the National League. Scott became the second Astros pitcher to lead the league, following Joe Niekro in 1979 (21).^[22] Houston's other prior moundsmen who had breached the 20-win threshold included Larry Dierker (1969) and J. R. Richard (1976).^[23] Scott (1986) joined Richard (1978 and 1979) as Houston Astros who were 20-game winners and members of the 300 strikeout club,^[23]^[24] and as earned run average (ERA) leaders (Scott, 1986; Richard, 1979).^[23]^[25] Scott (September 25, 1986) also joined Dierker (July 9, 1976) as the only Astros to have won 20 contests and hurled a no-hitter.^[23]^[26] As the club's first Cy Young Award winner in 1986,^[27] Scott also became the first pitcher in franchise history to have claimed 20 victories in one campaign,^[23] fired a no-hitter,^[26] won an ERA title,^[25] and joined the 300-strikeout club.^[24]

Glenn Davis launched a career-best 34 home runs,^[10] which, as his third campaign with upward of 30 home runs (previously, 1986 and 1988), set a franchise record.^[a]^[28]^[29]

Catcher Craig Biggio won his first career Silver Slugger Award, the fifth overall in club history, and the first at the position.^[30]

Standings

NL West
Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
San Francisco Giants	92	70	.568	—	53‍–‍28	39‍–‍42
San Diego Padres	89	73	.549	3	46‍–‍35	43‍–‍38
Houston Astros	86	76	.531	6	47‍–‍35	39‍–‍41
Los Angeles Dodgers	77	83	.481	14	44‍–‍37	33‍–‍46
Cincinnati Reds	75	87	.463	17	38‍–‍43	37‍–‍44
Atlanta Braves	63	97	.394	28	33‍–‍46	30‍–‍51

Record vs. opponents

1989 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	8–10	8–10	6–10	6–6	2–10	8–4	4–8	7–11	6–12	3–9
Chicago	7–5	—	7–5	5–7	7–5	10–8	10–8	10–8	12–6	8–4	6–6	11–7
Cincinnati	10–8	5–7	—	8–10	8–10	4–8	4–8	4–8	7–5	9–9	8–10	8–4
Houston	10–8	7–5	10–8	—	10–8	4–8	6–6	9–3	7–5	8–10	8–10	7–5
Los Angeles	10–6	5–7	10–8	8–10	—	7–5	5–7	6–6	7–5	6–12	10–8	3–9
Montreal	6–6	8–10	8–4	8–4	5–7	—	9–9	9–9	11–7	5–7	7–5	5–13
New York	10–2	8–10	8–4	6–6	7–5	9–9	—	12–6	9–9	5–7	3–9	10–8
Philadelphia	4–8	8–10	8–4	3–9	6–6	9–9	6–12	—	10–8	2–10	4–8	7–11
Pittsburgh	8–4	6–12	5–7	5–7	5–7	7–11	9–9	8–10	—	3–9	5–7	13–5
San Diego	11–7	4–8	9–9	10–8	12–6	7–5	7–5	10–2	9–3	—	8–10	2–10
San Francisco	12–6	6–6	10–8	10–8	8–10	5–7	9–3	8–4	7–5	10–8	—	7–5
St. Louis	9–3	7–11	4–8	5–7	9–3	13–5	8–10	11–7	5–13	10–2	5–7	—

Notable transactions

April 5, 1989: Greg Gross was signed as a free agent with the Houston Astros.^[31]
April 6, 1989: Troy Afenir was traded by the Astros to the Oakland Athletics for Matt Sinatro.^[32]
June 5, 1989: Jeff Juden was drafted by the Astros in the 1st round (12th pick) of the 1989 Major League Baseball draft. Player signed June 30, 1989.^[33]

Roster

1989 Houston Astros

Roster

Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Manager

18 Art Howe

Coaches

^[34]

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	Craig Biggio	134	443	114	.257	13	60
1B	Glenn Davis	158	581	156	.269	34	89
2B	Bill Doran	142	507	111	.219	8	58
3B	Ken Caminiti	161	585	149	.255	10	72
SS	Rafael Ramírez	151	537	132	.246	6	54
LF	Billy Hatcher	108	395	90	.228	3	44
CF	Gerald Young	146	533	124	.233	0	38
RF	Terry Puhl	121	354	96	.271	0	27

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	87	313	94	.300	5	44
Craig Reynolds	101	189	38	.201	2	14
Alex Treviño	59	131	38	.290	2	16
Glenn Wilson	28	102	22	.216	2	15
Eric Yelding	70	90	21	.233	0	9
Greg Gross	60	75	15	.200	0	4
Mark Davidson	33	65	13	.200	1	5
Alan Ashby	22	61	10	.164	0	3
Eric Anthony	25	61	11	.180	4	7
Louie Meadows	31	51	9	.176	3	10
Steve Lombardozzi	21	37	8	.216	1	3
Harry Spilman	32	36	10	.278	0	3
Carl Nichols	8	13	1	.077	0	2
Ron Washington	7	7	1	.143	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
Mike Scott	33	229.0	20	10	3.10	172
Jim Deshaies	34	225.2	15	10	2.91	153
Jim Clancy	33	147.0	7	14	5.08	91
Bob Knepper	22	113.0	4	10	5.89	45
Mark Portugal	20	108.0	7	1	2.75	86
Rick Rhoden	20	96.2	2	6	4.28	41

Other pitchers