 The Houston Astros is a professional team based in Houston , Texas . The team was formed in the year 1962 and begin playing on April 10,1962 . They were originally called the Colts.45s, the Astros played at Enron Field in Huston , Texas . In 1963 the Astros played awful game as they ended the season in 9 th place with a score of 66-96. Cedeño joined the team in the year 1970 and batted .310 as a 19-year-old rookie. Fine fielding and good pitching helped the Astros remain competitive during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Jerry Reuss and Larry Dierker hurl back-to-back one hitters on June 18th against the Philadelphia Phillies and June 19th vs. the New York Mets, respectively. The Astros ended their first winning season in 1972 at 84-69, and in 2nd Place . Manger Preston Gomez joined the team in 1974, the Astros ended the season in 4th place at 81-81. Don Wilson commits suicide in 1975 resulting in making this year as a year of heartache as the Astros ended the season with worst record ever at 64-97.
Cedeño won five consecutive Gold Glove Awards for fielding excellence, and pitcher J. R. Richard led the league in strikeouts in 1978 and 1979, becoming the first right-hander in the NL to strike out more than 300 hitters in one season. Using much the same pitching and speed strategy in 1980 as they had in 1979, the Astros won their first NL West championship. The Astros made the playoffs once again as the 2nd half Western Division champions in 1981. They faced the Dodgers in the NLDS. After winning the first two games, the Dodgers won the final three games, thus making the Astros the first team in baseball history to lose a 5 game series, after winning the first two games. Led by Nolan Ryan and Cy Young Award winner Mike Scott, the Astros were a surprise NL West champion in 1986. Mike Scott led the major leagues with a 2.22 earned run average (ERA) and 306 strikeouts, becoming the franchise's first Cy Young Award winner. In 1994 Jeff Bagwell set team record in HR with 39, and RBI with 116. He became the third player in NL History to be voted MVP unanimously.
The Astros began to show signs of consistent success in 1990s. As they finished at second in th eir division in 1994, 1995, and 1996, the Astros won consecutive division titles in 1997, 1998, and 1999. In the 1998 season, the Astros set a team record with 102 victories. It was the year 2000 that the Astros left the Astrodome and moved to a new home park, Enron field. The Astros won another NL Central title in 2001 unfortunately got eliminated from the playoffs in the first round by the Braves. The Astros had a strong 2nd half 2002 season, as they ended the season in 2nd place with a record of 84-78. Though the Astros were fairly successful in 2002 and 2003 seasons, but they failed to make a playoff appearance. In 2004 the Astros at the All-Star Break made a score of 44-44 despite the presence of ace pitcher Rodger Clemens who won the Cy Young Award same year. In 2005 the Astros won their National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves in four games. |
