49 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.