99 Fun Facts About Houston Astros

What was the Houston franchise called when it entered the National League in 1962?

The Colt .45s spent three seasons in temporary, open-air Colt Stadium, where the heat, humidity and mosquitoes were fierce enough to make the case for an indoor ballpark.

Which other expansion team joined the National League alongside Houston in 1962?

New York Mets: both newcomers were stocked from the same expansion draft, yet Houston finished its first season ahead of the long-established Cubs as well as the Mets.

The Astros name, adopted for 1965, was a nod to what?

Houston's role in the space program, as home base for NASA's astronauts, gave the club its name, and the name spread to its new dome and to the artificial turf later laid there.

What was the Astrodome nicknamed when it opened in 1965?

The Eighth Wonder of the World was the pride of team owner Roy Hofheinz, who kept a lavish private apartment inside it, tucked beside the outfield seats.

Why did the Astrodome switch to AstroTurf in 1966?

Its painted roof killed the grass: the skylights were coated so fielders could stop losing fly balls in the glare, and the 1965 season ended on dead turf and green-painted dirt.

Which Yankees star hit the first home run in the Astrodome, in its 1965 opening exhibition?

Mickey Mantle led off the game with the dome's first hit and later homered, yet the Astros won 2-1 in the 12th inning on a pinch-hit single by Nellie Fox.

How did the Astros finally win their 24-inning marathon in 1968?

An error ended it: with the bases loaded in the 24th, a grounder skipped through shortstop Al Weis's legs, more than six hours after the first pitch.

Which Astros pitcher threw the Astrodome's first no-hitter in 1967 and another in 1969?

Don Wilson's second came on May 1, 1969, one day after Cincinnati's Jim Maloney had no-hit the Astros: Wilson answered by no-hitting the Reds right back.

Which Hall of Fame second baseman did the Astros trade to Cincinnati in 1971?

Joe Morgan left the cavernous Astrodome and became the engine of the Big Red Machine, winning back-to-back MVP awards as the Reds took the 1975 and 1976 World Series.

What did the Astros' famous 1975 uniforms feature from the chest down?

Yellow, orange and red stripes made the 'rainbow' jersey so unlike anything else in baseball that the Astros skipped road grays and wore it everywhere.

Which Alvin, Texas native did the Astros sign to baseball's first seven-figure annual contract?

Nolan Ryan came home in November 1979 as the game's first million-dollar-a-year player, and in his first season the Astros won the first division title in their history.

Which Astros pitcher clinched the 1986 NL West with a no-hitter?

Mike Scott did it to San Francisco with the split-finger fastball he had learned from Roger Craig, who by then was the Giants' manager and had to watch from the other dugout.

Whose 18th-inning home run won Game 4 of the 2005 NLDS for the Astros?

Chris Burke's homer capped a comeback from 6-1 down in the eighth: a grand slam cut the Braves' lead to one, and a two-out solo shot in the ninth forced nine extra innings.

Which team originally drafted Jeff Bagwell before trading him to Houston in 1990?

The Boston Red Sox, chasing a pennant, swapped the Boston-born minor leaguer for a 37-year-old reliever; he became a Hall of Famer in Houston, and the deal a cautionary tale for general managers.

What injury ended Jeff Bagwell's 1994 MVP season?

A broken hand, from a pitch that hit him days before the strike, looked costly, but the stoppage wiped out the rest of the season and he still took every first-place MVP vote.

Craig Biggio was the first player to be an All-Star at which two positions?

Catcher and second base: the Astros moved him out from behind the plate in 1992 to lengthen his career, and he made the All-Star team at his new position that same summer.

What happened on Craig Biggio's 3,000th hit?

He was thrown out at second trying to stretch the single into a double, the first player ever retired on his 3,000th hit, and he still finished the night with five hits.

Craig Biggio's career total of 285 in which category trails only Hughie Jennings in MLB history?

Times hit by pitch: Biggio called the bruises 'part of the game', wore an elbow pad, and passed Don Baylor's modern record in 2005 without once charging the mound.

What was the Astros' downtown ballpark called when it opened in 2000?

Enron Field took its name from a Houston energy giant that collapsed in scandal in 2001, so the Astros ended the deal and the name was gone after only two seasons.

Which quirk of the Astros' ballpark, named for executive Tal Smith, was removed after 2016?

A hill in center field, with a flagpole standing in play on its slope: Tal's Hill was a nod to the old outfield incline at Cincinnati's Crosley Field.

Which pitcher won a record seventh Cy Young Award with the Astros in 2004?

Roger Clemens had retired after the 2003 World Series, but it lasted less than three months: he followed his friend Andy Pettitte home to Houston and went 18-4.

Who swept the Astros in their first World Series appearance in 2005?

The Chicago White Sox ended an 88-year title drought, but the sweep was tighter than it sounds: the four games were decided by a total of six runs.

Which businessman bought the Astros in 2011?

Jim Crane's new front office tore the roster down to rebuild through the farm system: 107 and 111 losses in its first two seasons, then a first championship within six years.

Why did Houston switch leagues in 2013?

A condition of sale: MLB wanted 15 clubs in each league, so the buyer was told the deal depended on Houston switching, and he was given a cut in the price for agreeing.

What is the name of the Astros' lime-green, antennae-wearing mascot?

Orbit was dropped for a new mascot when the club left the Astrodome after 1999, then brought back 13 years later at the party that unveiled the team's new look for its move to the American League.

Which Astro hit five home runs to win the 2017 World Series MVP award?

George Springer struck out four times in Game 1, then homered in four straight games and finished with five home runs, tying the record for a single World Series.

In which country was Jose Altuve born?

Venezuela: at an Astros tryout in his hometown, scouts sent the 16-year-old away for being too small, but he came back anyway and earned a $15,000 contract.

Who was runner-up for Jose Altuve's 2017 MVP award?

Aaron Judge, a rookie who had hit 52 home runs, drew only two first-place votes to 27 for the 5-foot-6 Altuve, who matched the shortest MVPs in history.

How did Jose Altuve end the 2019 ALCS against the Yankees?

A walk-off home run in Game 6 put Houston in the World Series, where, oddly, the home team lost all seven games and Washington took the title in Houston.

Which Cy Young winner, acquired by the Astros at the 2017 waiver deadline, won all five regular-season starts?

Justin Verlander's trade to Houston went through at the last second on August 31, days after Hurricane Harvey flooded Houston, and the city rallied behind the club all the way to a title.

Whom did the Astros beat to win their first World Series in 2017?

The Los Angeles Dodgers fell 5-1 in Game 7 on their own field; Houston had already knocked out the Red Sox and Yankees, beating three of the game's most storied clubs in one postseason.

What did the Astros bang to signal pitches during the sign-stealing scheme?

A trash can in the dugout tunnel was banged to signal off-speed pitches during the title season; MLB's January 2020 report led to one-year suspensions for manager A.J. Hinch and GM Jeff Luhnow.

What did MLB take from the Astros for the sign-stealing scheme?

Top draft picks: the first- and second-round choices of 2020 and 2021 were forfeited along with a $5 million fine, yet the 2017 championship stood and no player was suspended.

Whom did the Astros hire in January 2020 to replace A.J. Hinch as manager?

Dusty Baker was brought in to steady a club reeling from the sign-stealing scandal, and in 2022, his 25th season as a manager, he became the oldest skipper to win a World Series.

What did the Astros do in Game 4 of the 2022 World Series that had never been done in postseason history?

Throw a combined no-hitter: starter Cristian Javier and three relievers held the Phillies hitless, and for Javier it was the second of the year, after a shared no-hitter of the Yankees in June.

Which rookie shortstop was named 2022 World Series MVP?

Jeremy Peña was also MVP of the ALCS, and earlier that October he decided a scoreless ALDS game in Seattle with a home run in the 18th inning.

Which team ended Houston's run of seven straight ALCS in 2024?

Detroit Tigers: they won the Wild Card Series in Houston under A.J. Hinch, the manager the Astros had fired in 2020 over the sign-stealing scandal.

Through 2025, which feat belongs to the Astros alone among MLB franchises?

Winning pennants in both leagues became possible when Houston moved to the American League in 2013: it had one National League flag, from 2005, and has added four since the switch.

What is the Astros' rivalry with the Texas Rangers known as?

The Lone Star Series first reached the playoffs in 2023, an all-Texas ALCS in which the road team won all seven games and the Rangers went on to the World Series.

Which Astros manager made history in 2024 by earning his first career managerial win with a no-hitter?

Joe Espada's Astros had opened 0-4, swept at home by the Yankees, before Ronel Blanco no-hit Toronto 10-0 and made him the first manager whose first win was a no-hitter.

Which ex-Astros pitcher died suddenly in 2002 as an active St. Louis Cardinal?

Darryl Kile, 33, was found in his Chicago hotel room before a game against the Cubs; his 1993 no-hitter had an odd twist, since the other team still scored a run without a hit.

Which Astros closer of the late 1990s was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2025?

Billy Wagner was a natural right-hander: a broken right arm as a young boy made him start throwing left-handed, and that was the arm that carried him to Cooperstown.

Which NFL team shared the Astrodome with the Astros from 1968 to 1996?

The Houston Oilers left after the 1996 season, when owner Bud Adams took the team to Tennessee; three years later the Astros moved out too, to a new downtown ballpark.

The Astros' downtown ballpark was built on the grounds of which former railway landmark?

Union Station, the city's old passenger terminal, became the ballpark's main entrance, and a replica steam locomotive rolls along a track above left field when the Astros homer.

Which Temple, Texas grocery-distribution magnate bought the Astros before the 1993 season?

Drayton McLane owned the club for 19 seasons, in which it left the Astrodome for a downtown ballpark and reached its first World Series.

Which Astros pitcher won the 2015 AL Cy Young Award as the club returned to the postseason?

Dallas Keuchel won 20 games, then beat the Yankees in the Bronx in the Wild Card Game, the Astros' first postseason victory in ten years.

Who managed the Astros to the 1980 NL West title, the franchise's first postseason berth?

Bill Virdon's club lost three straight in Los Angeles on the final weekend to fall into a tie, then beat the Dodgers there in a one-game playoff for its first division title.

Houston's would-be owners first tried to land a team by helping form which rival circuit?

The Continental League, fronted by Branch Rickey, never played a game: the threat alone pushed the majors to expand, and Houston was handed one of the new National League clubs.

Which Astros slugger won Game 1 of the 2022 ALDS with a walk-off homer?

Yordan Alvarez erased a two-run deficit with Houston down to its last out, the first postseason walk-off homer ever hit by a team trailing by more than one run.

Which magazine predicted in 2014 that the rebuilding Astros would win the 2017 World Series?

Sports Illustrated made the call just after Houston had lost more than 100 games three years running, and the Astros delivered their first title exactly on schedule.

Which 2017 storm struck Houston and forced the Astros to play three 'home' games in Florida?

Hurricane Harvey moved a late-August series against the Rangers to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, two months before the Astros won the first championship in franchise history.

What postponed an Astros home game inside the domed Astrodome on June 15, 1976?

Street flooding kept all but a few fans from reaching the weatherproof dome, so the game against the Pirates was called off and the two teams ate dinner together on the field.

What moves along the top of the left-field wall at the Astros' ballpark after each Houston home run?

A replica locomotive rolls along 800 feet of track on the wall, a nod to the site's past as a railroad hub; it also runs when the home team takes the field and after every win.

Jose Altuve, turned away from an Astros tryout camp as too short, signed in 2007 for what bonus?

$15,000 was all it took: scouts had refused to let the teenager take part, but he came back the next day with his birth certificate and won a contract.

Which team beat the Astros in the 2019 World Series, when the road side won all seven games?

The Nationals lost all three games in Washington and won all four in Houston, the first time in any major North American league that visitors won every game of a seven-game series.

Which Cardinals slugger hit a ninth-inning homer off Astros closer Brad Lidge in Game 5 of the 2005 NLCS?

Albert Pujols launched a towering three-run shot after Houston had been one strike from its first pennant. The Astros clinched in the next game anyway.

Which name did the Astros' downtown ballpark take in 2025 after two decades under the Minute Maid banner?

Daikin Park is named for a Japanese air-conditioning maker whose Goodman subsidiary is based near Houston, a deal that replaced the juice brand on the building since 2002.

Which National League champion did the Astros beat in six games to win the 2022 World Series?

The Phillies, the sixth and last seed in their league, hit five home runs in Game 3 to lead the series before Houston won the next three games.

Astros first baseman Bob Watson was credited with scoring which milestone in major league history on May 4, 1975?

The one millionth run was a race: Watson sprinted home from second on a teammate's homer about four seconds before Dave Concepción finished circling the bases in Cincinnati.

Which club beat the Astros in six games in the 2021 World Series for its first title since 1995?

The Braves got home runs in three of their four wins from Series MVP Jorge Soler, each one giving them a lead they never gave back.

Which Puerto Rican shortstop, taken first overall by the Astros in 2012, was the 2015 AL Rookie of the Year?

Carlos Correa was the first Puerto Rican, and the first player born in Latin America, ever chosen with the top selection.

Which Astro ended Game 5 of the 2017 World Series with a tenth-inning single for a 13–12 win?

Alex Bregman, taken second overall in 2015, singled off closer Kenley Jansen after Houston had erased deficits of 4–0 and 7–4.

Which Astros ace struck out a franchise-record 326 batters in 2019, his last season in Houston?

Gerrit Cole arrived in a trade with Pittsburgh, broke a club strikeout mark that had stood since 1979, then left for a nine-year, $324 million Yankees contract.

Which Texas city is home to the Space Cowboys, the Astros' Triple-A affiliate?

Sugar Land sits in Houston's own suburbs, and its club began in 2012 as the independent Skeeters before becoming the Astros' top farm team.

Which left-hander left the Yankees after nine seasons to sign with his hometown Astros for 2004?

Andy Pettitte grew up in Deer Park, a short drive from Houston, and took a three-year, $31.5 million deal to pitch near home.

Which towering left-hander went 10–1 for the Astros after a deadline trade from Seattle in 1998?

Randy Johnson posted a 1.28 ERA and four shutouts in his 11 Houston starts, though the Astros still lost the Division Series to San Diego.

Which switch-hitting Rice University slugger, nicknamed the Big Puma, debuted for the Astros in 1999?

Lance Berkman led the Owls to their first College World Series before Houston took him 16th overall in 1997, and he later became the second switch hitter with multiple 40-homer seasons.

What happened to Houston's Ken Johnson when he pitched nine no-hit innings against the Reds in 1964?

He lost the game 1–0 after Pete Rose scored in the ninth on two fielding misplays, one of them Johnson's own, and he remains the only pitcher to lose a nine-inning complete-game no-hitter.

Which midseason trade pickup tied a record with eight home runs for the Astros in the 2004 postseason?

Carlos Beltrán arrived in a three-team trade that June, matched Barry Bonds's single-postseason mark and scored 21 runs in 12 playoff games before leaving as a free agent.

Which nickname did 5-foot-9 Astros slugger Jimmy Wynn earn for the surprising power in his bat?

The Toy Cannon left Houston holding the club records for hits and home runs, and the Astros retired his number 24 in 2005.

Which Astros strikeout ace collapsed with a stroke while warming up before a game in July 1980?

J.R. Richard had struck out 313 batters the year before, and his complaints of a tired arm that summer were dismissed by some in the press as malingering until the collapse.

Which left fielder hit .300 six times for the Astros and had number 25 retired in 1992?

José Cruz did it while playing his home games in the cavernous, pitcher-friendly Astrodome, and he led the National League in hits in 1983.

Which Astros pitcher struck out Willie Mays in his debut on his 18th birthday and later managed the club?

Larry Dierker spent nearly two decades in the Astros' broadcast booth before taking over the dugout in 1997, then won four division titles in five years.

Which knuckleballer, a 20-game winner in 1979 and 1980, holds the Astros' record for career wins?

Joe Niekro perfected the pitch in Houston, and with his older brother Phil he shares the record for most wins by a pair of brothers, 539.

Which former Houston mayor drove the building of the Astrodome and lived in a 24-room suite inside it?

Roy Hofheinz, who took control of the team in 1965, moved into the sixth-floor suite after his first wife died and stayed until 1972.

Which pests plagued fans at the open-air ballpark Houston's team used from 1962 to 1964?

Mosquitoes, heat and humidity made the temporary park miserable for three seasons while baseball's first domed stadium was being built next door.

Which seven-foot rabbit was the Astros' mascot from 2000 to 2012?

Junction Jack arrived with the new downtown ballpark, and he lasted until the club brought back the mascot he had replaced.

What vintage device at the Astros' ballpark keeps a running count of Houston home runs hit there?

A gasoline pump stands on a porch in left-center that hangs over the field of play, and its counter has been running since the park opened.

Which left-field seats at the Astros' ballpark sit just 315 feet from home plate along a downtown street?

The Crawford Boxes run parallel to Crawford Street, and the fence in front of them is one of the closest to home plate in Major League Baseball.

Which Astros left-hander no-hit Cleveland in 2023, a year after a single-season record 25 straight quality starts?

Framber Valdez faced the minimum 27 batters that night, and no left-hander in the franchise's history had pitched a no-hitter before him.

Which Astros general manager, hired in 2011 from the Cardinals, was fired over the sign-stealing scandal?

Jeff Luhnow was dismissed in January 2020, the day Major League Baseball suspended him for the season; the former McKinsey consultant later bought soccer clubs in Spain and Mexico.

Which pitcher, a 2017 Astros champion, became the whistleblower who exposed the club's sign-stealing scheme?

Mike Fiers had pitched a no-hitter for Houston in 2015 in just his third start for the club, the first no-hitter ever pitched at the Astros' downtown ballpark.

Which team held on in Game 7 of the 2020 ALCS after the Astros erased a 3–0 series deficit?

The Tampa Bay Rays escaped at a neutral site in San Diego, leaving Houston as only the second team in baseball to force a seventh game after losing the first three.

Which eventual champion rallied from four runs down in the eighth to stun the Astros in the 2015 ALDS?

The Kansas City Royals were six outs from elimination in Game 4 when they opened the eighth with five straight singles, then took the deciding fifth game.

Which pitcher threw the final four innings of Game 7 to close out the Astros' 2017 World Series title?

Charlie Morton had also won Game 7 of the ALCS eleven days earlier with five shutout innings.

Which Astros pitcher finished Game 7 of the 2017 ALCS by throwing 24 consecutive curveballs?

Lance McCullers closed out four scoreless innings of relief against the Yankees that way, earning the first save of his career and sending Houston to the World Series.

To which Florida city did the Astros move their spring training in 2017, sharing a new complex?

West Palm Beach opened the park that February with construction crews still finishing it on the morning of the first game, months before Houston's first championship.

Which manager, a former Astros infielder, guided Houston to its first pennant and the 2005 World Series?

Phil Garner had started at third base for the Astros in their 16-inning playoff loss of 1986, nineteen years before he managed them to the Fall Classic.

Which Astros radio voice from 1985 to 2012 had earlier called Hank Aaron's record 715th home run?

Milo Hamilton was in the Atlanta booth for the 1974 homer and said years later that he and Aaron were forever joined at the hip because of it.

Which future World Series co-MVP did the Astros get in the 1991 Glenn Davis trade, then deal away in 1992?

Curt Schilling arrived from Baltimore in a deal Orioles fans came to rank as their club's worst, and he worked only out of the bullpen in his one Houston season.

Which future two-time Cy Young winner did the Astros leave unprotected in the 1999 Rule 5 draft?

Johan Santana had been found as a teenager by an Astros scout, but he won both of his awards with Minnesota after Houston let him go.

Which Houston outfielder went 3-for-3 with two walks in 1963 in the only major league game he ever played?

John Paciorek finished with a perfect 1.000 batting average, the only player to hold one with more than two at bats, after back trouble kept him from returning.

Which company invented ChemGrass, the synthetic turf installed in the Astrodome in 1966?

Monsanto patented the short-pile surface in 1965, and an employee renamed it AstroTurf after its debut in Houston made it famous.

Which rookie skipper was named 1986 NL Manager of the Year after the Astros won 96 games and the West?

Hal Lanier, a defense-first former infielder, took a team that had gone 83–79 the year before to what was then the best record in club history.

Which minor league club did Houston's owners buy in 1961 to secure territorial rights for the new team?

The Buffaloes had been owned by the St. Louis Cardinals for decades, and buying them cleared the way for big-league baseball in the city.

Which Astros third baseman of 1987–1994 went on to win the 1996 NL MVP unanimously with San Diego?

Ken Caminiti won the award despite playing most of that season with a torn rotator cuff, then came back to Houston for two more seasons.

Terry Puhl, an Astros outfielder on their first playoff team in 1980, was born in which country?

Canada later put Puhl in charge of its national team, and he made only 18 errors in a 15-year major league career as an outfielder.

Which pitcher threw the first no-hitter in Houston franchise history in 1963, despite allowing a run?

Don Nottebart won 4–1 after an error and a sacrifice fly brought in an unearned run, two years before the club left its outdoor park for the Astrodome.

Which Astros pitcher went 22–4 in 1999 and finished second in NL Cy Young voting?

Mike Hampton had the best record in the National League that year and also won the first of his five Silver Slugger Awards as a hitter.