1995 Houston Astros season
| 1995 Houston Astros | |
|---|---|
| League | National League |
| Division | Central |
| Ballpark | The Astrodome |
| City | Houston, Texas |
| Record | 76–68 (.528) |
| Divisional place | 2nd |
| Owners | Drayton McLane, Jr. |
| General managers | Bob Watson |
| Managers | Terry Collins |
| Television | KTXH Prime Sports Southwest |
| Radio | KPRC (AM) (Bill Brown, Milo Hamilton, Larry Dierker, Vince Controneo, Bill Worrell) KXYZ (Francisco Ernesto Ruiz, Danny Gonzalez) |
The 1995 Houston Astros season was the 34th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 31st as the Astros, 34th in the National League (NL), second in the NL Central division, and 31st at The Astrodome. The Astros entered the season with a 66–49 record, a second-place finish and 1⁄2 game behind the first-place Cincinnati Reds, prior to the cancellation of the remaining 47 games of the regular season and entire playoffs as a response to the players' strike.
The strike continued to impact the start of the 1995 season, leading to further cancellation of the first 18 games of the regular season. The season began for Houston on April 26 at Jack Murphy Stadium, where pitcher Doug Drabek made his second Opening Day start for the Astros, who defeated the San Diego Padres, 10–2.
Second baseman Craig Biggio was selected to represent the Astros at the MLB All-Star game, his fourth career selection. The Astros' first round draft pick in the amateur draft was pitcher Tony McKnight, at 22nd overall.
With a 76–68 finish and 9 games out of first place behind the division-champion Cincinnati in the NL Central, the Astros secured their fourth consecutive season with a record of at least .500—an unprecedented feat for the organization at the time—and a second-consecutive finish as high as second place. The Astros were also runners-up in the NL Wild Card race, trailing the Colorado Rockies by 1 game.
Following the season, Biggio earned his third career Silver Slugger Award, and second career Gold Glove Award, while shortstop Orlando Miller was selected to the Topps All-Star Rookie Team.
Offseason
- December 28, 1994: Ken Caminiti, Andújar Cedeño, Steve Finley, Roberto Petagine, Brian Williams and a player to be named later were traded by the Astros to the San Diego Padres for Derek Bell, Doug Brocail, Ricky Gutiérrez, Pedro A. Martínez, Phil Plantier, and Craig Shipley. The Astros completed the deal by sending Sean Fesh (minors) to the Padres on May 1, 1995.[1]
Regular season
Summary
April—May
| 7 | Craig Biggio | 2B |
| 26 | Luis Gonzalez | LF |
| 5 | Jeff Bagwell | 1B |
| 14 | Derek Bell | CF |
| 17 | Phil Plantier | RF |
| 18 | Dave Magadan | 3B |
| 9 | Scott Servais | C |
| 24 | Orlando Miller | SS |
| 15 | Doug Drabek | P |
| Venue: | Jack Murphy Stadium • HOU 10, | SDP 2 |
Catcher Tony Eusebio cranked his first career grand slam on May 19, in the bottom of the seventh off Reid Cornelius.[4] This punctuated a 10-2 triumph over the Montreal Expos. Earlier in the contest, young pitcher Pedro Martinez yielded a home run to Jeff Bagwell, his third of the season.[5]
With the score tied 1–1 on May 20, Expos pitcher Jeff Shaw walked in Craig Biggio for the game-winning run as Houston won, 2–1.[6]
June
Greg Swindell got a run batted in (RBI)-double on June 5 to bring the Astros back against the Florida Marlins. Meanwhile, Biggio delivered a three-run, walk-off home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to secure a 6–5 Houston win.[7]
On June 16, the Astros outlasted the New York Mets in a 16-inning thriller to win, 7-5. Houston had gained the lead two separate times in extra innings, first in the 12th and again in the 15th. The Astros recaptured the lead for good after loading the bases for Jeff Bagwell.[8]
Bagwell crushed his 100th career home run on June 20, launching a Gil Heredia offering over the left field wall at Olympic Stadium in the top of the seventh inning. The solo home run extended Houston's lead to 5–2 over the Montreal Expos.[9]
Derek Bell had four hits on June 23 against the Chicago Cubs, while the Astros tied the game 2–2 in the bottom of the ninth. Bell's fourth hit came in the 12th inning, where he delivered the game-winning RBI for a 3–2 Astros win.[10]
On June 28, Eusebio launched his career grand slam and second of the season, during the bottom of the eighth inning at the Astrodome,[4] to put the finishing touches on a 9–0 blowout over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Astros cranked five doubles, including two from Bagwell. Mike Hampton fired eight shutout innings to pick up his second win of the season. Meanwhile, coinciding with the contest of Eusebio's first grand slam, a Pedro Martínez took the mound, this time for the Astros, with the left-hander finishing off the contest with a scoreless ninth inning.[11]
MLB All-Star Game
Second baseman Craig Biggio was selected to the starting lineup for the National League at the MLB All-Star game, where he slugged a home run,[12] the first Astro to hit a home run in the All-Star Game since César Cedeño in the 1976 Classic. The first Houston Astros All-Star starter at any position since pitcher Mike Scott in 1987, Biggio joined Joe Morgan as Astros second basemen to be elected as starters. However, it was Biggio who became first in club history to be in the All-Star starting lineup at second base.[a][13][14]
Rest of July—October
Left-hander Billy Wagner landed his major league debut on September 13, facing a single batter during the one and only major league appearance of the season for the man who bore jersey number 13.[15] Wagner entered during the bottom of the sixth at Shea Stadium and faced and retired Rico Brogna on fly ball to center field. The Mets ran away with this one, 10–5. Damon Buford took Astros starter Mike Hampton (9–7) deep twice. Future Astros Carl Everett and Jeff Kent also feasted on mistake offerings, taking them deep.[16]
The Astros took the chase for MLB's first-ever Wild Card since the conclusion of the players' strike to the final day of the regular season, and finished as runners-up to the Colorado Rockies for the NL title by one game. Thus, they made their closest bid to their first playoff berth in nine seasons.[b][12]
Performance overview
With a final record of 76–68, this Astros club produced the fourth consecutive arc since 1992 with a record of at least .500—unprecedented in any prior instance in franchise history—while also matching the 1979, 1980, 1981 clubs with three successive winning campaigns, the longest to that point in franchise history. Not losing momentum, Houston surpassed this franchise record the following year, and would continue to intervene to extend this new record through the 1999 campaign.[17]
Biggio was recognized with both the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Awards for the second consecutive year, becoming the first Astros player with both awards over successive campaigns, and the first Astro to win either award for the position at second base.[18][19] Having won the Silver Slugger at catcher in 1989, Biggio took over the lead for total Silver Sluggers won in club history, with three. He joined José Cruz (1983 and 1984) as just the second Astro to win the Silver Slugger in consecutive years.[18] Biggio became the first Astro since César Cedeño (1975 and 1976) to win consecutive Gold Glove Awards, while also joining Cedeño and Doug Rader as the third Astro with multiple Gold Gloves (5 each).[19]
Season standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds | 85 | 59 | .590 | — | 44–28 | 41–31 |
| Houston Astros | 76 | 68 | .528 | 9 | 36–36 | 40–32 |
| Chicago Cubs | 73 | 71 | .507 | 12 | 34–38 | 39–33 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 62 | 81 | .434 | 22½ | 39–33 | 23–48 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 58 | 86 | .403 | 27 | 31–41 | 27–45 |
Record vs. opponents
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | COL | FLA | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta | — | 8–4 | 8–5 | 9–4 | 10–3 | 6–6 | 5–4 | 9–4 | 5–8 | 7–6 | 4–2 | 5–2 | 7–1 | 7–5 | |||
| Chicago | 4–8 | — | 3–7 | 6–7 | 8–4 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 3–5 | 4–3 | 6–1 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 9–4 | |||
| Cincinnati | 5–8 | 7–3 | — | 5–7 | 6–6 | 12–1 | 4–3 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 8–5 | 3–6 | 3–3 | 8–5 | |||
| Colorado | 4–9 | 7–6 | 7–5 | — | 5–7 | 4–4 | 4–9 | 7–1 | 5–4 | 4–2 | 8–4 | 9–4 | 8–5 | 5–7 | |||
| Florida | 3–10 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 7–5 | — | 8–4 | 3–7 | 6–7 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 5–8 | 3–2 | 5–3 | 4–3 | |||
| Houston | 6–6 | 8–5 | 1–12 | 4–4 | 4–8 | — | 3–2 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 9–4 | 7–4 | 5–3 | 9–4 | |||
| Los Angeles | 4–5 | 5–7 | 3–4 | 9–4 | 7–3 | 2–3 | — | 7–5 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 9–4 | 7–6 | 8–5 | 7–5 | |||
| Montreal | 4–9 | 5–3 | 4–8 | 1–7 | 7–6 | 3–9 | 5–7 | — | 7–6 | 8–5 | 4–4 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 4–3 | |||
| New York | 8–5 | 3–4 | 5–7 | 4–5 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 6–7 | — | 7–6 | 4–3 | 6–7 | 5–8 | 3–4 | |||
| Philadelphia | 6-7 | 1–6 | 3–9 | 2–4 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 5–8 | 6–7 | — | 6–3 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 5–4 | |||
| Pittsburgh | 2–4 | 5–8 | 5–8 | 4–8 | 8–5 | 4–9 | 4–9 | 4–4 | 3–4 | 3–6 | — | 4–8 | 6–6 | 6–7 | |||
| San Diego | 2–5 | 7–5 | 6–3 | 4–9 | 2–3 | 4–7 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 8–4 | — | 6–7 | 7–5 | |||
| San Francisco | 1–7 | 7–5 | 3–3 | 5–8 | 3–5 | 3–5 | 5–8 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 7–6 | — | 7–6 | |||
| St. Louis | 5–7 | 4–9 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 3–4 | 4-9 | 5–7 | 3–4 | 4–3 | 4–5 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 6–7 | — | |||
Notable transactions
- July 2, 1995: Johan Santana was signed as an amateur free agent by the Astros.[20]
- July 19, 1995: Phil Plantier was traded by the Astros to the San Diego Padres for Rich Loiselle and Jeff Tabaka.[21]
- August 10, 1995: The Astros traded a player to be named later to the Detroit Tigers for Mike Henneman. The Astros completed the deal by sending Phil Nevin to the Tigers on August 15.[22]
Roster
| 1995 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 | Tony Eusebio | 113 | 368 | 110 | .299 | 6 | 58 |
| 1B | Jeff Bagwell | 114 | 448 | 130 | .290 | 21 | 87 |
| 2B | Craig Biggio | 141 | 553 | 167 | .302 | 22 | 77 |
| SS | Orlando Miller | 92 | 324 | 85 | .262 | 5 | 36 |
| 3B | Dave Magadan | 127 | 348 | 109 | .313 | 2 | 51 |
| LF | Luis Gonzalez | 56 | 209 | 54 | .258 | 6 | 35 |
| CF | Brian Hunter | 78 | 321 | 97 | .302 | 2 | 28 |
| RF | Derek Bell | 112 | 452 | 151 | .334 | 8 | 86 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Mouton | 104 | 298 | 78 | .262 | 4 | 27 |
| Craig Shipley | 92 | 232 | 61 | .263 | 3 | 24 |
| Derrick May | 78 | 206 | 62 | .301 | 8 | 41 |
| John Cangelosi | 90 | 201 | 64 | .318 | 2 | 18 |
| Ricky Gutiérrez | 52 | 156 | 43 | .276 | 0 | 12 |
| Milt Thompson | 92 | 132 | 29 | .220 | 2 | 19 |
| Mike Simms | 50 | 121 | 31 | .256 | 9 | 24 |
| Scott Servais | 28 | 89 | 20 | .225 | 1 | 12 |
| Phil Plantier | 22 | 68 | 17 | .250 | 4 | 15 |
| Phil Nevin | 18 | 60 | 7 | .117 | 0 | 1 |
| Andy Stankiewicz | 43 | 52 | 6 | .115 | 0 | 7 |
| Rick Wilkins | 15 | 40 | 10 | .250 | 1 | 5 |
| Pat Borders | 11 | 35 | 4 | .114 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Donnels | 19 | 30 | 9 | .300 | 0 | 2 |
| Jerry Goff | 12 | 26 | 4 | .154 | 1 | 3 |
| Mike Brumley | 18 | 18 | 1 | .056 | 1 | 2 |
| Eddie Tucker | 5 | 7 | 2 | .286 | 1 | 1 |
| Dave Hajek | 5 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shane Reynolds | 30 | 189.1 | 10 | 11 | 3.47 | 175 |
| Doug Drabek | 31 | 185.0 | 10 | 9 | 4.77 | 143 |
| Greg Swindell | 33 | 153.0 | 10 | 9 | 4.47 | 96 |
| Mike Hampton | 24 | 150.2 | 9 | 8 | 3.35 | 115 |
| Darryl Kile | 25 | 127.0 | 4 | 12 | 4.96 | 113 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doug Brocail | 36 | 77.1 | 6 | 4 | 4.19 | 39 |
| Donne Wall | 6 | 24.1 | 3 | 1 | 5.55 | 16 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Todd Jones | 68 | 6 | 5 | 15 | 3.07 | 96 |
| Dave Veres | 72 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2.26 | 94 |
| Jim Dougherty | 56 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4.92 | 49 |
| Dean Hartgraves | 40 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3.22 | 24 |
| Pedro Martínez | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.40 | 17 |
| Jeff Tabaka | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.22 | 19 |
| Mike Henneman | 21 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3.00 | 19 |
| John Hudek | 19 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 5.40 | 29 |
| Ross Powell | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.00 | 8 |
| Craig McMurtry | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7.84 | 4 |
| John Cangelosi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| Billy Wagner | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
Awards and achievements
Grand slams
| No. | Date | Astros batter | Venue | Inning | Pitcher | Opposing team | Box |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | May 19 | Tony Eusebio | Astrodome | 7 | Reid Cornelius | Montreal Expos | [5] |
| 2 | June 28 | Tony Eusebio | Astrodome | 8 | Jeff Parrett | St. Louis Cardinals | [11] |
| ₰—Tied score or took lead |
Awards
- Associated Press (AP) All-Star—Second base: Craig Biggio[23]
- ESPY Award Best Breakthrough Athlete:[24] Jeff Bagwell
- ESPY Award Best Major League Baseball Player:[24] Jeff Bagwell
- Fred Hartman Award for Long and Meritorious Service to Baseball:[25] Larry Dierker
- Gold Glove Award at second base:[26] Craig Biggio
- Houston-Area Major League Player of the Year:[25] Jay Buhner (SEA)
- Houston Astros Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award:[12] Craig Biggio
- Houston Astros Rookie of the Year:[25] Brian L. Hunter
- MLB All-Star Game—Starting second baseman:[12] Craig Biggio
- NL Player of the Week[27]
- May 21—Craig Biggio
- July 2—Derek Bell
- July 30—Doug Drabek
- Silver Slugger Award at second base:[28] Craig Biggio
- The Sporting News NL All-Star—Second base: Craig Biggio[29]
- Topps All-Star Rookie Team—Shortstop: Orlando Miller
League leaders
- NL batting leaders
- Hit by pitch: Craig Biggio (22—led MLB)
- Plate appearances: Craig Biggio (673—led MLB)
- Runs scored: Craig Biggio (123—led MLB)
- NL pitching leaders
- Games started: Doug Drabek (31)
Minor league system
- Awards
- Baseball America First Team Minor League All-Star—Starting pitcher:[30] Donne Wall
- Pacific Coast League All-Star:[31]
- Second baseman—Dave Hajek
- Pitcher—Donne Wall
- Pacific Coast League Most Valuable Player Award (PCL MVP):[32] Donne Wall, P
- Texas League All-Star—Pitcher:[33] Billy Wagner
- Triple-A All-Star—Pitcher:[34] Donne Wall
See also
References
- Footnotes
- ^ Chosen as the starting second baseman in the 1966 All-Star Game, Morgan was unable to participate due to injury.
- ^ Though the Astros trailed the Reds for first place by 1⁄2 game at the conclusion of the 1994 campaign, no playoff bid was possible due to its cancellation.
- Sources
- ^ "Ken Caminiti stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
- ^ "Houston Astros (10) vs San Diego Padres (2) box score". Baseball Almanac. April 26, 1995. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
- ^ "1995 Houston Astros uniform numbers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
- ^ a b "Tony Eusebio career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
- ^ a b "Montreal Expos (2) vs Houston Astros (10) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. May 19, 1995. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
- ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (May 20, 2025). "Today in Astros history - May 20". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
- ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 5, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 5". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
- ^ Schwartzburg, Seth (June 16, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 16". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
- ^ "Jeff Bagwell career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
- ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 23, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 23". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
- ^ a b "St. Louis Cardinals (0) vs Houston Astros (9) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. June 28, 1995. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Astros history – Timeline". MLB.com. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
- ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 25, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 25". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
- ^ "Houston Astros All-Star player register". Baseball-Refererence.com. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
- ^ "Billy Wagner stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
- ^ "Houston Astros (5) vs New York Mets (10) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. September 13, 1995. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
- ^ "Houston Astros team history & encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
- ^ a b "MLB Silver Slugger Award winners—National League". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
- ^ a b "MLB Gold Glove Award winners—National League". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
- ^ "Johan Santana stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
- ^ "Phil Plantier stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
- ^ "Mike Henneman stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
- ^ "Associated Press All-Star Awards & Teams". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved July 19, 2025.
- ^ a b "The 2001 ESPY Awards—ESPN Awards past winners". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
- ^ a b c McTaggart, Brian (December 21, 2009). "Bourn highlights Astros' awards season". MLB.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2025.
- ^ "Gold Glove second basemen". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
- ^ "MLB Players of the Week Awards". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
- ^ "Silver Slugger Award". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
- ^ "Craig Biggio stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
- ^ "Baseball American 1st Team Minor League All-Star award history". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
- ^ "Pacific Coast League All-Stars". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
- ^ "Houston Astros Minor League Player of the Year". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
- ^ "Texas League All-Stars". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
- ^ "Triple-A All-Stars". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved August 29, 2025.