1995 Houston Astros season
Major League Baseball team season
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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.
| 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 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
Summary
The Houston Astros concluded the strike-shortened 1994 campaign with a 66–49 (.574) record through 115 games, trailing the Cincinnati Reds by a 1⁄2 game for the National League (NL) Central division lead and the Atlanta Braves by 2+1⁄2 games in the NL Wild Card race.[1] No playoffs were held, either, as a response to the players' strike.[2] Awards were still bestowed in spite of the truncated campaign, and first baseman Jeff Bagwell became the fourth National Leaguer to be unanimously selected for the Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award,[a] and first Astro to win an MVP.[3] Bagwell ranked second in the league each with a .368 batting average and 39 home runs, while leading with 104 runs scored, 116 runs batted in (RBI), and .750 slugging percentage (SLG),[4] the latter figure of which was highest in the National League since Rogers Hornsby in 1925 (.756).[5] Second baseman Craig Biggio led the NL in doubles (44)[b] and stolen bases (39).[4] Moreover, the infield duo became the first players in club history to be conferred with the both Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards for their respective positions during the same season.[6]
Transactions
- 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.[7]
Regular season
Summary
April—May
| Opening Day starting lineup | ||
|---|---|---|
| Uniform | Player | Position |
| 7 | Craig Biggio | Second baseman |
| 26 | Luis Gonzalez | Left fielder |
| 5 | Jeff Bagwell | First baseman |
| 14 | Derek Bell | Center fielder |
| 17 | Phil Plantier | Right fielder |
| 18 | Dave Magadan | Third baseman |
| 9 | Scott Servais | Catcher |
| 24 | Orlando Miller | Shortstop |
| 15 | Doug Drabek | Pitcher |
| Venue: Jack Murphy Stadium • Houston 10, San Diego 2 | ||
The Astros commenced their 1995 campaign on April 26 at Jack Murphy Stadium, where they defeated the San Diego Padres, 10–2. During the top of the third inning, Jeff Bagwell cranked the premier home run of the season off his final pitcher faced from the year prior—a hit by pitch had fractured his left hand—Padres starter Andy Benes. The following batter, Derek Bell, took Benes deep to give the Astros a 3–0 advantage. Former Padre Phil Plantier also homered and delivered two runs batted in (RBI). During the top of the eighth, the Astros scored five unearned runs as Bagwell and Bell coaxed bases-loaded walks, and Luis Gonzalez scored on an error by new Padres third baseman Ken Caminiti. Dave Magadan then singled in Bagwell and Bell. Doug Drabek made his second Opening Day start for Houston, worked five innings, and picked up the victory.[10]
Catcher Tony Eusebio cranked his first career grand slam on May 19, in the bottom of the seventh off Reid Cornelius.[11] 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.[12]
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.[13]
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.[14]
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.[15]
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.[16]
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.[17]
On June 25, the Astros erupted for a club-record 19 runs, pulverizing Cubs pitching in a 19–6 final at the Astrodome. Bagwell connected for a three-run blast in the seventh and led the way with five RBI. The home team poured it on during their final at bat in the eighth. John Cangelosi drilled a three-run blast off Bryan Hickerson as the Astros scored nine more times.[18]
Orlando Miller crushed a three-run blast on June 26 and drove in five to lead an 11–0 blanking of the St. Louis Cardinals. Greg Swindell spun a complete game shutout as he received 10 runs of support within the opening two frames. Luis Gonzalez provided three hits and plated three runs.[18]
On June 28, Eusebio launched his career grand slam and second of the season, during the bottom of the eighth inning at the Astrodome,[11] to put the finishing touches on a 9–0 blowout over the 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.[19]
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,[20] 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.[c][21][22]
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 southpaw who bore jersey number 13.[23] 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.[24]
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.[d][20]
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.[25]
The 1995 Astros set club records for runs scored (747) and on-base percentage (.353 OBP), surpassing the 1970 (744 runs) and 1994 squads (.347 OBP), while finishing second to the latter team in batting average (.278, .275). The Astros broke the franchise runs-scored record again the following year and for OBP in 1998. In the National League, Houston ranked first in OBP and bases on balls (566), second in each of batting, hits (1403), and stolen bases (176), and fourth in on-base plus slugging (.752 OPS).[26]
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.[6] 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.[27] 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).[28]
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.[29]
- July 19, 1995: Phil Plantier was traded by the Astros to the San Diego Padres for Rich Loiselle and Jeff Tabaka.[30]
- 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.[31]
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 | [12] |
| 2 | June 28 | Tony Eusebio | Astrodome | 8 | Jeff Parrett | St. Louis Cardinals | [19] |
| ₰—Tied score or took lead | |||||||
Awards
- Associated Press (AP) All-Star—Second base: Craig Biggio[32]
- Baseball Digest Rookie All-Star—Outfielder: Brian L. Hunter
- ESPY Award Best Breakthrough Athlete:[33] Jeff Bagwell
- ESPY Award Best Major League Baseball Player:[33] Jeff Bagwell
- Fred Hartman Award for Long and Meritorious Service to Baseball:[34] Larry Dierker
- Gold Glove Award at second base:[35] Craig Biggio
- Houston-Area Major League Player of the Year:[34] Jay Buhner (SEA)
- Houston Astros Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award:[20] Craig Biggio
- Houston Astros Rookie of the Year:[34] Brian L. Hunter
- MLB All-Star Game—Starting second baseman:[20] Craig Biggio
- NL Player of the Week[36]
- May 21—Craig Biggio
- July 2—Derek Bell
- July 30—Doug Drabek
- Silver Slugger Award at second base:[37] Craig Biggio
- The Sporting News NL All-Star—Second base: Craig Biggio[38]
- 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:[39] Donne Wall
- Pacific Coast League All-Star:[40]
- Second baseman—Dave Hajek
- Pitcher—Donne Wall
- Pacific Coast League Most Valuable Player Award (PCL MVP):[41] Donne Wall, P
- Texas League All-Star—Pitcher:[42] Billy Wagner
- Triple-A All-Star—Pitcher:[43] Donne Wall
See also
Notes
- Succeeded Carl Hubbell (1936), Orlando Cepeda (1967), and Mike Schmidt (1980.)
- Tied with Larry Walker of the Montreal Expos.
- Chosen as the starting second baseman in the 1966 All-Star Game, Morgan was unable to participate due to injury.