1998_Houston_Astros_season
1998 Houston Astros season
Major League Baseball team season
The 1998 Houston Astros season was the 37th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise in Houston, Texas. On the strength of a club record 102 wins, they rocketed to a second consecutive trip to the postseason with an National League Central title. They did not win 100 games again until 2017, while the record for wins would be broken the following year. On September 14, the Astros clinched the division title when the Chicago Cubs lost. The next day, Craig Biggio became the first Astro to collect 200 hits in a season.[1]
Quick Facts Houston Astros, League ...
| 1998 Houston Astros | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National League Central Champions | ||||
| League | National League | |||
| Division | Central | |||
| Ballpark | Astrodome | |||
| City | Houston, Texas | |||
| Record | 102–60 (.630) | |||
| Divisional place | 1st | |||
| Owners | Drayton McLane, Jr. | |||
| General managers | Gerry Hunsicker | |||
| Managers | Larry Dierker | |||
| Television | KNWS-TV 51 (Bill Brown, Milo Hamilton, Jim Deshaies) Fox Sports Southwest (Bill Brown, Milo Hamilton, Jim Deshaies, Bill Worrell) | |||
| Radio | KILT–AM 610 (Milo Hamilton, Alan Ashby) KXYZ–AM 1320 (Francisco Ernesto Ruiz, Alex Treviño) | |||
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- December 22, 1997: Rob Butler signed as a free agent with the Houston Astros.[2]
First baseman Jeff Bagwell hit his first career grand slam while tying a career-high six runs batted in (RBI) against Cincinnati on September 9 in a 13–7 victory. It was his 218th career home run, making his streak the then-longest among active players without a grand slam.[3]
Season standings
More information W, L ...
| NL Central | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston Astros | 102 | 60 | 0.630 | — | 55–26 | 47–34 |
| Chicago Cubs | 90 | 73 | 0.552 | 12½ | 51–31 | 39–42 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 83 | 79 | 0.512 | 19 | 48–34 | 35–45 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 77 | 85 | 0.475 | 25 | 39–42 | 38–43 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 74 | 88 | 0.457 | 28 | 38–43 | 36–45 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 69 | 93 | 0.426 | 33 | 40–40 | 29–53 |
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Record vs. opponents
More information Team, AZ ...
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| Team | AZ | ATL | CHC | CIN | COL | FLA | HOU | LA | MIL | MTL | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | AL |
| Arizona | — | 1–8 | 5–7 | 4–5 | 6–6 | 6–2 | 4–5 | 4–8 | 6–3 | 2–7 | 4–5 | 2–7 | 6–3 | 3–9 | 5–7 | 2–7 | 5–8 |
| Atlanta | 8–1 | — | 3–6 | 7–2 | 5–3 | 7–5 | 4–5 | 8–1 | 7–2 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 7–2 | 5–4 | 7–2 | 6–3 | 9–7 |
| Chicago | 7–5 | 6–3 | — | 6–5 | 7–2 | 7–2 | 4–7 | 4–5 | 6–6 | 7–2 | 4–5 | 3–6 | 8–3 | 5–4 | 7–3 | 4–7 | 5–8 |
| Cincinnati | 5–4 | 2–7 | 5–6 | — | 4–5 | 9–0 | 3–8 | 5–4 | 6–5 | 8–1 | 3–6 | 4–5 | 5–7 | 1–11 | 2–7 | 8–3 | 7-6 |
| Colorado | 6–6 | 3–5 | 2–7 | 5–4 | — | 6–3 | 6–5 | 6–6 | 4–7 | 7–2 | 3–6 | 5–4 | 5–4 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 3–6 | 4–8 |
| Florida | 2–6 | 5–7 | 2–7 | 0–9 | 3–6 | — | 3–6 | 4–5 | 0–9 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 3–6 | 4–5 | 0–9 | 4–5 | 8–8 |
| Houston | 5–4 | 5–4 | 7–4 | 8–3 | 5–6 | 6-3 | — | 3–6 | 9–2 | 7–2 | 5–4 | 7–2 | 9–2 | 5–4 | 6–3 | 5–7 | 10–4 |
| Los Angeles | 8–4 | 1–8 | 5–4 | 4–5 | 6–6 | 5–4 | 6–3 | — | 5–4 | 5–4 | 3–5 | 5–4 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 4–5 | 8–5 |
| Milwaukee | 3–6 | 2–7 | 6–6 | 5–6 | 7–4 | 9–0 | 2–9 | 4–5 | — | 6–3 | 1–8 | 4–5 | 6–5 | 3–6 | 5–4 | 3–8 | 8–6 |
| Montreal | 7–2 | 6–6 | 2–7 | 1–8 | 2–7 | 7–5 | 2–7 | 4–5 | 3–6 | — | 8–4 | 5–7 | 2–7 | 4–4 | 3–6 | 3–6 | 6–10 |
| New York | 5–4 | 3–9 | 5–4 | 6–3 | 6–3 | 7–5 | 4–5 | 5–3 | 8–1 | 4–8 | — | 8–4 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 6–3 | 9–7 |
| Philadelphia | 7-2 | 4–8 | 6–3 | 5–4 | 4–5 | 6–6 | 2–7 | 4–5 | 5–4 | 7–5 | 4–8 | — | 8–1 | 1–8 | 2–6 | 3–6 | 7–9 |
| Pittsburgh | 3–6 | 2–7 | 3–8 | 7–5 | 4–5 | 6–3 | 2–9 | 5–7 | 5–6 | 7–2 | 5–4 | 1–8 | — | 5–4 | 2–7 | 6–5 | 6–7 |
| San Diego | 9–3 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 11–1 | 7–5 | 5–4 | 4–5 | 7–5 | 6–3 | 4–4 | 5–4 | 8–1 | 4–5 | — | 8–4 | 6–3 | 6–7 |
| San Francisco | 7–5 | 2–7 | 3–7 | 7–2 | 5–7 | 9–0 | 3–6 | 6–6 | 4–5 | 6–3 | 5–4 | 6–2 | 7–2 | 4–8 | — | 7–5 | 8–5 |
| St. Louis | 7–2 | 3–6 | 7–4 | 3–8 | 6–3 | 5-4 | 7–5 | 5–4 | 8–3 | 6–3 | 3–6 | 6–3 | 5–6 | 3–6 | 5–7 | — | 4–9 |
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Notable Transactions
July 31, 1998: Randy Johnson was traded by the Seattle Mariners to the Houston Astros for a player to be named later, Freddy Garcia, and Carlos Guillén. The Houston Astros sent John Halama (October 1, 1998) to the Seattle Mariners to complete the trade.[4]
| 1998 Houston Astros | |||||||||
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| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Other batters
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Manager
Coaches
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Regular season
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| 1998 regular season game log: 102–60 (Home: 55–26; Away: 47–34) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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April: 17–9 (Home: 8–3; Away: 9–6)
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May: 16–12 (Home: 8–6; Away: 8–6)
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June: 17–10 (Home: 8–4; Away: 9–6)
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July: 15–12 (Home: 10–4; Away: 5–8)
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August: 22–7 (Home: 14–3; Away: 8–4)
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September: 15–9 (Home: 9–5; Away: 6–4)
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| Legend: = Win = Loss = Postponement Bold = Astros team member | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Postseason Game log
More information #, Date ...
| 1998 Postseason game log: 1–3 (Home: 1–1; Away: 0–2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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NL Division Series: vs. San Diego Padres 1–3 (Home: 1–1; Away: 0–2)
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| Legend: = Win = Loss = Postponement Bold = Astros team member |
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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
More information Pos, Player ...
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Brad Ausmus | 128 | 412 | 111 | .269 | 6 | 45 |
| 1B | Jeff Bagwell | 147 | 540 | 164 | .304 | 34 | 111 |
| 2B | Craig Biggio | 160 | 646 | 210 | .325 | 20 | 88 |
| SS | Ricky Gutiérrez | 141 | 491 | 128 | .261 | 2 | 46 |
| 3B | Bill Spiers | 123 | 384 | 105 | .273 | 4 | 43 |
| LF | Moisés Alou | 159 | 584 | 182 | .312 | 38 | 124 |
| CF | Carl Everett | 133 | 467 | 138 | .296 | 15 | 76 |
| RF | Derek Bell | 156 | 630 | 198 | .314 | 22 | 108 |
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Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
More information Player, G ...
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sean Berry | 102 | 299 | 94 | .314 | 13 | 52 |
| Richard Hidalgo | 74 | 211 | 64 | .303 | 7 | 35 |
| Tony Eusebio | 66 | 182 | 46 | .253 | 1 | 36 |
| Tim Bogar | 79 | 156 | 24 | .154 | 1 | 8 |
| Dave Clark | 93 | 131 | 27 | .206 | 0 | 4 |
| J.R. Phillips | 36 | 58 | 11 | .190 | 2 | 9 |
| Jack Powell | 24 | 38 | 11 | .289 | 1 | 7 |
| Pete Incaviglia | 13 | 16 | 2 | .125 | 0 | 2 |
| Russ Johnson | 8 | 13 | 3 | .231 | 0 | 0 |
| Mitch Meluskey | 8 | 8 | 2 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
| Ray Montgomery | 6 | 5 | 2 | .400 | 0 | 0 |
| Daryle Ward | 4 | 3 | 1 | .333 | 0 | 0 |
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Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
More information Player, G ...
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shane Reynolds | 35 | 233.1 | 19 | 8 | 3.51 | 209 |
| José Lima | 33 | 233.1 | 16 | 8 | 3.70 | 169 |
| Mike Hampton | 32 | 211.2 | 11 | 7 | 3.36 | 137 |
| Sean Bergman | 31 | 172.0 | 12 | 9 | 3.72 | 100 |
| Randy Johnson | 11 | 84.1 | 10 | 1 | 1.28 | 116 |
| Pete Schourek | 15 | 80.0 | 7 | 6 | 4.50 | 59 |
| John Halama | 6 | 32.1 | 1 | 1 | 5.85 | 21 |
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Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
More information Player, G ...
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billy Wagner | 58 | 4 | 3 | 30 | 2.70 | 97 |
| Doug Henry | 59 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 3.04 | 59 |
| Mike Magnante | 48 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 4.88 | 39 |
| C.J. Nitkowski | 43 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3.77 | 44 |
| Trever Miller | 37 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3.04 | 30 |
| Jay Powell | 29 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2.38 | 38 |
| Scott Elarton | 28 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3.32 | 56 |
| Bob Scanlan | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.08 | 9 |
| Reggie Harris | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.00 | 2 |
| José Cabrera | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.31 | 1 |
| Mike Grzanich | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18.00 | 1 |
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Main article: 1998 National League Division Series
Houston Astros vs. San Diego Padres
The Astros season ended by defeat in four games to the San Diego Padres in the National League Division Series,[5] including losing two starts against Kevin Brown – one of the league's highest-accomplished pitchers that year[6] – both by a 2–1 score. As the Game 1 starter opposing Randy Johnson, Brown allowed no runs in eight innings and struck out 16 Astros, a career-high, and second to that point in MLB playoff history only to Bob Gibson's 17-strikeout performance in the 1968 World Series. [7] Bagwell, Derek Bell, and Craig Biggio combined for six hits in 51 at bats in this series.[8]
More information Game, Home ...
| Game | Home | Score | Visitor | Score | Date | Series |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Houston | 1 | San Diego | 2 | September 29 | 1-0 (SD) |
| 2 | Houston | 5 | San Diego | 4 | October 1 | 1-1 |
| 3 | San Diego | 2 | Houston | 1 | October 3 | 2-1 (SD) |
| 4 | San Diego | 6 | Houston | 1 | October 4 | 3-1 (SD) |
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- Larry Dierker, National League Manager of the Year
See also: Minor League Baseball
More information Level, Team ...
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LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: New Orleans; LEAGUE CO-CHAMPIONS: Auburn
- Rob Butler Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
- "Bagwell has a career day in 13–7 victory". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. September 9, 1998. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
- Randy Johnson Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
- Swydan, Paul (May 17, 2013). "The 1998 Astros were pretty good at hitting". Fangraphs. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
- Newhan, Ross (October 5, 1998). "Once again, Biggio Bagwell and Bell are wannabes in playoffs". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
- Newhan, Ross (September 30, 1998). "Powerful Astros are shut down by a Brown out". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
- Diamos, Jason (October 5, 1998). "Padres defeat Johnson; next up are the Braves". The New York Times. Retrieved February 17, 2016.