1982 Houston Astros season

1982 Houston Astros
LeagueNational League
DivisionWest
BallparkAstrodome
CityHouston, Texas
Record77–85 (.475)
Divisional place5th
OwnersJohn McMullen
General managersAl Rosen
ManagersBill Virdon (49–62)
Bob Lillis (28–23)
TelevisionKRIV
RadioKENR
(Gene Elston, Dewayne Staats, Larry Dierker)

The 1982 Houston Astros season was the 21st season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 18th as the Astros, 21st in the National League (NL), 14th in the NL West division, and 18th at The Astrodome. The Astros entered the season as second-half division champions, ended in defeat to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series (NLDS), the eventual World Series champions.

On April 6, Nolan Ryan made his first Opening Day start for Houston, who hosted the St. Louis Cardinals but were defeated, 14–3. On July 7, Don Sutton earned his 250th career victory, while, twenty days later, Ryan earned the 200th of his career.

First baseman Ray Knight represented the Astros at the MLB All-Star Game and played for the National League, his second career selection.

The Astros concluded the season with a 77–85 record, in fifth place and 12 games behind the division-champion Atlanta Braves.

Offseason

Summary

The Astros concluded the 1981 season with an overall record of 61–49 for third-best in the division.[1] As a response to the players' strike, a one-time format with a split regular season was implemented and modified playoffs were introduced. Houston qualified for the second-half division title. In the National League Division Series (NLDS), Houston faced the first-half division-champion Los Angeles Dodgers, but were defeated prior to the Dodgers winning the World Series.

The 1981 Astros' pitching staff led the league in each of earned run average (2.66 ERA), fewest hits (842), fewest home runs (40), shutouts,[a] and strikeouts (610).[2] The 2.66 ERA set an all-time franchise mark, and the team tied their 1979 counterpart for most team shutouts in franchise history (19).[3] Nolan Ryan posted an ERA of 1.69 to lead MLB, and became the second Astros pitcher to lead the NL.[4]

Former Colt .45s infielder Pete Runnels, a native of Lufkin, Texas, was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1982. Runnels played in Houston during the 1963 and 1964 campaigns.[5]

Transctions

Regular season

Summary

April

Prior to the start of the season's first game, the Astros were announced as the hosts for the 1986 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.[8]

Opening Day starting lineup
Uniform Player Position
21 Terry Puhl Right fielder
30 Tony Scott Center fielder
3 Phil Garner Second baseman
25 José Cruz Left fielder
14 Alan Ashby Catcher
22 Ray Knight Third baseman
18 Art Howe First baseman
12 Craig Reynolds Shortstop
34 Nolan Ryan Pitcher
Venue: Astrodome • Final: St. Louis 14, Houston 3

Sources:[9][10]

For Opening Day, on April 6, the Astros hosted the St. Louis Cardinals. Nolan Ryan made his first Opening Day start for Houston; however, he took the loss as the Cardinals sent nine men to the plate and scored five runs during the first inning. St. Louis never looked back, pounding out 18 hits and taking the season's inaugural contest, 14–3. This was the first time that Ryan surrendered more than three runs in any game at the Astrodome. Art Howe banged out a sacrifice fly during the bottom of the second inning off Cardinals starter Bob Forsch and swatted a home run in the seventh. Alan Ashby also homered off Forsch in the sixth to account for all of Houston's tallies. Jim Kaat tossed a scoreless ninth inning for St. Louis to become the first pitcher in major league history to appear in 24 seasons. This was the second consecutive Opening Day that the Astros were matched up against that season's eventual World Series champions.[8]

José Cruz smashed his 100th career home run on April 26, a two-run shot off John Martin of the St. Louis Cardinals.[11] Ray Knight slugged a home run of his own, collected three runs batted in (RBI) and was 3-for-4 as Houston triumphed, 6–2. Nolan Ryan (1–4) went the distance, struck out five, and earned his first win of the season [12]

May

On May 26, reliever Frank LaCorte, after having walked the bases loaded to the Montreal Expos, became so furious that he torched his jersey upon returning to the clubhouse. LaCorte considered his jersey number 31 a bad omen, representing the many instances he had fallen behind in the count to the batter. The team later gave him number 27.[13] George Cappuzzello relieved LaCorte, and all three runners scored—first on a sacrifice fly by Tim Raines, then on Tim Wallach's home run, rallying Montreal to a 4–0 victory in 10 innings. For the first nine innings, Charlie Lea had one-hit the Astros, while Don Sutton countered with five-hit shutout ball.[14]

Don Sutton's 250th career win

During his brief stay as an Astro, right-hander Don Sutton earned his 250th career victory on July 7, 1982, via a 5–1 tally versus the Chicago Cubs. It was his ninth win of the campaign. In support, Phil Garner slugged a two-run home run, and José Cruz drove in two others.[15]

July

From July 24 to August 14, Dickie Thon manufactured a 21-game hitting streak, which was the fifth in team history of 20 games or longer, and just two games short of Art Howe's then-club record of 23 from May 1 to May 24 of the prior campaign.[16]

Nolan Ryan's 200th career win

On July 27, Nolan Ryan earned the 200th victory of his career with a five-hit, 3–2 triumph over the Cincinnati Reds.[15] Ryan whiffed 13, issued two bases on balls and earned a solid game score of 82. During the first inning, he picked off Eddie Milner. Meanwhile, Tony Scott doubled, collected an RBI, and swiped two of Houston's four bags. During the bottom of the eighth,[17] Terry Puhl smashed a line drove of reliever Jim Kern, which second baseman Ron Oester slung wildly as Ray Knight charged around third base, ahead of the throw to home plate to score the winning run.[15]

August

On August 11, Nolan Ryan hurled his first one-hit complete game as an Astro, the eighth of his career, and lowest-hit effort since his no-hitter on September 26, 1981. Ryan's most recent one-hitter was on July 13, 1979, as a member of the California Angels.[18] Ryan (12–8) walked three and struck out six for a game score of 88, and, at the plate, hit an RBI single and drew a base on balls to lead a 3–0 win over the San Diego Padres. Terry Puhl slashed three hits, while Phil Garner and Ray Knight each logged RBI singles.[19] Dickie Thon extended his hitting streak to 20 games.[15]

On August 28, knuckleball specialist Joe Niekro (13–9) garnered his 100th career victory as a member of the Astros, leading a 2–0 defeat of the Montreal Expos. He went the distance with a six-hit shutout with four whiffs. In four previous outings on the season with Charlie Lea starting, Montreal had shut out Houston, while the Astros mustered 9 hits over the most recent three. In the fifth inning, Luis Pujols tripled in Art Howe for Houston's first run. In the eighth, a single by Thon, a wild pitch, followed by another single from Phil Garner accounted for the second score. A winner of 58 contests prior to joining Houston, Niekro followed Larry Dierker (137), J. R. Richard (107) and Don Wilson (104) as hurlers to win 100 games for the Astros.[20]

September

On September 27, switch-hitting catcher Alan Ashby became the 12th National League player—on the 17th occasion—and first Houston Astro to homer from both sides of the plate in the same game.[21] However, it was Ashby's single to right in the top of the eighth which plated José Cruz for the go-ahead tally at 4–3 over the Padres. Two innings earlier, Ashby had homered from the left side off Padres starter John Montefusco to tie it 3-all. In the top of the ninth, from the right side, Ashby took lefty Chris Welsh deep for a three-run bomb for the 7–3 score. Houston batters aggregated 15 hits, led by Ashby and Cruz with three each. Meanwhile, Vern Ruhle (9–13) posted scoreless ball over the final five innings in relief, with four strikeouts to pick up the victory.[22]

Performance overview

The Astros concluded the 1982 season with an 77–85 (.475) record, for fifth place and 12 games behind the NL West division-champion Atlanta Braves.[23] Hence, the Astros missed the playoffs for the first time since 1979 after having qualified for the first two times in franchise history. It was the just third time since 1969 that Houston had finished more than four games under .500.[b][24]

Dickie Thon collected 10 triples to lead the National League. Thon was the fourth Astros hitter to lead the league in triples, succeeding teammate Craig Reynolds from the year prior.[25]

Nolan Ryan led the major leagues in fewest hits per nine innings surrendered (7.047), the seventh time in club history for an Astros pitcher. Having the led the league the year prior, Ryan joined J. R. Richard as the second Astros pitcher to lead the league in the category multiple times.[26]

However, Ryan also led the major leagues in most walks issued (109) to extend his major-league record for leading the league to an eighth season, and for the second time in the National League.[27] Ryan already held the American League record with six, as a member of the California Angels. This was his second time as member of the Astros.[28]

Season standings

NL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Atlanta Braves 89 73 .549 — 42‍–‍39 47‍–‍34
Los Angeles Dodgers 88 74 .543 1 43‍–‍38 45‍–‍36
San Francisco Giants 87 75 .537 2 45‍–‍36 42‍–‍39
San Diego Padres 81 81 .500 8 43‍–‍38 38‍–‍43
Houston Astros 77 85 .475 12 43‍–‍38 34‍–‍47
Cincinnati Reds 61 101 .377 28 33‍–‍48 28‍–‍53

Record vs. opponents

1982 National League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Team ATL CHC CIN HOU LAD MON NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL
Atlanta — 8–4 14–4 10–8 7–11 5–7 9–3 6–6 4–8 11–7 8–10 7–5
Chicago 4–8 — 6–6 9–3 5–7 6–12 9–9 9–9 9–9 4–8 6–6 6–12
Cincinnati 4–14 6–6 — 7–11 7–11 4–8 7–5 5–7 4–8 6–12 6–12 5–7
Houston 8–10 3–9 11–7 — 7–11 4–8 8–4 7–5 9–3 9–9 5–13 6–6
Los Angeles 11–7 7–5 11–7 11–7 — 8–4 6–6 4–8 5–7 9–9 9–9 7–5
Montreal 7–5 12–6 8–4 8–4 4–8 — 11–7 8–10 7–11 7–5 4–8 10–8
New York 3–9 9–9 5–7 4–8 6–6 7–11 — 7–11 8–10 6–6 4–8 6–12
Philadelphia 6-6 9–9 7–5 5–7 8–4 10–8 11–7 — 9–9 7–5 10–2 7–11
Pittsburgh 8–4 9–9 8–4 3–9 7–5 11–7 10–8 9–9 — 6–6 6–6 7–11
San Diego 7–11 8–4 12–6 9–9 9–9 5–7 6–6 5–7 6–6 — 10–8 4–8
San Francisco 10–8 6–6 12–6 13–5 9–9 8–4 8–4 2–10 6–6 8–10 — 5–7
St. Louis 5–7 12–6 7–5 6–6 5–7 8–10 12–6 11–7 11–7 8–4 7–5 —

Notable transactions

Roster

1982 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 Alan Ashby 100 339 87 .257 12 49
1B Ray Knight 158 609 161 .274 6 70
2B Phil Garner 155 588 161 .274 13 83
SS Dickie Thon 136 496 137 .276 3 36
3B Art Howe 110 365 87 .238 5 38
LF José Cruz 155 570 157 .275 9 68
CF Tony Scott 132 460 110 .239 1 29
RF Terry Puhl 145 507 133 .262 8 50

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
Danny Heep 85 198 47 .237 4 22
Luis Pujols 65 176 35 .199 4 15
Denny Walling 85 146 30 .205 1 14
Alan Knicely 59 133 25 .188 2 12
Craig Reynolds 54 118 30 .254 1 7
Bill Doran 26 97 27 .278 0 6
Kiko Garcia 34 76 16 .211 1 5
Harry Spilman 38 61 17 .279 3 11
Scott Loucks 44 49 11 .224 0 3
Tim Tolman 15 26 5 .192 1 3
Kevin Bass 12 24 1 .042 0 1
Joe Pittman 15 10 2 .200 0 0
Larry Ray 5 6 1 .167 0 1
Mike Ivie 7 6 2 .333 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
Joe Niekro 35 270.0 17 12 2.47 130
Nolan Ryan 35 250.1 16 12 3.16 245
Don Sutton 27 195.0 13 8 3.00 139
Bob Knepper 33 180.0 5 15 4.45 108
Vern Ruhle 31 149.0 9 13 3.93 56
Frank DiPino 6 28.1 2 2 6.04 25

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
Mike LaCoss 41 115.0 6 6 2.90 51

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
Dave Smith 49 5 4 11 3.84 28
Frank LaCorte 55 1 5 7 4.48 51
Randy Moffit 30 2 4 3 3.02 20
Bert Roberge 22 1 2 3 4.21 18
George Cappuzzello 17 0 1 0 2.79 13
Danny Boone 10 0 1 1 3.55 4
Joe Sambito 9 0 0 4 0.71 7
Mark Ross 4 0 0 0 1.50 4
Gordie Pladson 2 0 0 0 54.00 0

Awards and achievements

Career honors
Awards
Batting leaders
Pitching leaders

Minor league system

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Tucson Toros Pacific Coast League Jimmy Johnson
AA Columbus Astros Southern League Matt Galante
A Daytona Beach Astros Florida State League Eric Swanson[35]
A Asheville Tourists South Atlantic League Dave Cripe
A-Short Season Auburn Astros New York–Penn League Bob Hartsfield
Rookie GCL Astros Gulf Coast League José Tartabull

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Tied with the Dodgers.
  2. ^ Save for the win–loss records, each of the first-place team, and Astros' ranking and games behind in the division were all identical to the 1969 season.

References

  1. ^ "1981 National League team statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 24, 2026.
  2. ^ "1981 National League stats and history". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
  3. ^ "Houston Astros team yearly pitching stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 19, 2025.
  4. ^ "Yearly league leaders & records for earned run average". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  5. ^ a b Poland, Hugh. "Pete Runnels". Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Retrieved October 18, 2025.
  6. ^ "Pete Ladd stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 18, 2025.
  7. ^ "Ray Knight stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 18, 2025.
  8. ^ a b Schott, Tom (April 6, 1982). "Jim Kaat becomes first major leaguer to pitch in 24 seasons as Cardinals blast Astros, 14–3, on Opening Day". Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Retrieved January 24, 2026.
  9. ^ "St. Louis Cardinals (14) vs Houston Astros (3) box score". Baseball Almanac. April 6, 1982. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
  10. ^ "1982 Houston Astros uniform numbers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
  11. ^ "José Cruz career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
  12. ^ "Houston Astros (6) vs St. Louis Cardinals (2) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. April 26, 1982. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
  13. ^ "1982—season recap". Astros Daily. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
  14. ^ "Montreal Expos (4) vs Houston Astros (0) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. May 26, 1982. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
  15. ^ a b c d Hulsey, Bob. "This date in Astros history". Astros Daily. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
  16. ^ Smith, David. "Houston Astros hitting streaks". Astros Daily. Retrieved October 3, 2025 – via Retrosheet.
  17. ^ "Cincinnati Reds (2) vs Houston Astros (3) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. July 27, 1982. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
  18. ^ "Top performances for Nolan Ryan". Retrosheet. Retrieved January 31, 2026.
  19. ^ "Houston Astros (3) vs San Diego Padres (0) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. August 11, 1982. Retrieved January 31, 2026.
  20. ^ Shattock, Harry (August 28, 1982). "Niekro shuts down Expos, 2–0". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved February 28, 2026 – via Astros Daily.
  21. ^ "Home runs from both sides of the plate in one game". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
  22. ^ "Houston Astros (7) vs San Diego Padres (3) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. September 27, 1982. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
  23. ^ "1982 National League team statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  24. ^ "Houston Astros team history & encyclopedia". Baaseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
  25. ^ "Yearly league leaders & records for triples". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  26. ^ "Yearly league leaders and records for hits per 9 IP". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  27. ^ "Year by year leaders for bases on balls / walks allowed". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
  28. ^ "MLB bases on balls records". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
  29. ^ "Danny Boone Statistics, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie status & More". Baseball Reference.com. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  30. ^ "Don Sutton Statistics, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie status & More". Baseball Reference.com. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  31. ^ "Kevin Bass statistics, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball Reference.com. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  32. ^ "Pete Runnels stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 18, 2025.
  33. ^ McTaggart, Brian (December 21, 2009). "Bourn highlights Astros' awards season". MLB.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
  34. ^ "Major League Baseball Pitchers of the Month". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  35. ^ "Eric Swanson minor leagues statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
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