1985 Houston Astros season

1985 Houston Astros
LeagueNational League
DivisionWest
BallparkThe Astrodome
CityHouston, Texas
Record83–79 (.512)
Divisional place3rd—tied
OwnersJohn McMullen
General managersAl Rosen
Dick Wagner
ManagersBob Lillis
TelevisionKTXH
HSE
RadioKTRH
(Gene Elston, Milo Hamilton, Larry Dierker, Jim Durham, Jerry Trupiano)

The 1985 Houston Astros season was the 24th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 21st as the Astros, 24th in the National League (NL), 17th in the NL West division, and 21st at the Astrodome. The Astros entered the season as having tied for second place in the NL West with an 80–82 record and 12 games behind the division-champion and NL pennant-winning San Diego Padres.

On April 5, Nolan Ryan made his second Opening Day start for Houston, who hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers and won, 2–1. In the amateur draft, Houston's first round selection was outfielder Cameron Drew at 12th overall. Knuckleball pitcher Joe Niekro earned his 200th win on July 2, and, on July 11, Ryan became the first pitcher to reach 4,000 career strikeouts.

Left fielder José Cruz and Ryan each represented the Astros at the MLB All-Star Game and played for the National League. This was the second career selection for Cruz and seventh for Ryan. Cruz recorded his 2,000th career hit on September 15.

In September, Dick Wagner became the ninth general manager in franchise history, replacing Al Rosen.

The Astros concluded the season with an 83–79 record, tying for third place with San Diego in the NL West, and 12 games behind Los Angeles, the division-winners.

Offseason

Regular season

Summary

Opening Day

Opening Day starting lineup
Uniform Player Position
10 Dickie Thon Shortstop
23 Enos Cabell First baseman
3 Phil Garner Third baseman
25 José Cruz Left fielder
28 Jerry Mumphrey Center fielder
21 Terry Puhl Right fielder
14 Alan Ashby Catcher
19 Bill Doran Second baseman
34 Nolan Ryan Pitcher
Venue: Astrodome • Final: Houston 2, Los Angeles 1

Sources:[2][3]

On April 9, Houston celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Opening of the Astrodome, where they hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers and won, 2–1, in front of a crowd of 42,876. Nolan Ryan made his second Opening Day start for the Astros,[4] opposite Fernando Valenzuela, as both hurlers sought to reestablish dominance. Ryan's full power had been usurped by injury—he was limited to 183+2⁄3 innings pitched, a 12–11 win–loss record and "only" 197 strikeouts—while Valenzuela slumped to a 12–17 record. The gala featured celebrities, events and guests. Micky Mantle, who hit the first-ever home run at Astrodome during an exhibition game with the New York Yankees on same date in 1965, was honored. Sprinter Carl Lewis tossed the ceremonial first pitch. It also featured the return of shortstop Dickie Thon after almost exactly one year, who had been ominously struck in the temple by a pitch from Mike Torrez, resulting in an orbital fracture and an absence for the remainder of the season.[5]

One "guest" not invited onto the field was Morganna, dubbed "The Kissing Bandit," who leapt over the wall during the first inning and ran to the mound. Upon spotting her, Ryan obliged, taking to one knee with arms opened wide, and reportedly said, "Hurry up, Morganna! The cops are right behind you!" Morganna bent to kiss Ryan on the check, then zipped to Thon and gave him a peck as well, before reaching the Dodgers' dugout, where members of Houston's Finest awaited.[5]

After play resumed, the Dodgers opened the scoring during the top of the second inning. Mike Marshall doubled with one out, and Sid Bream singled him home. Ryan was unstoppable after that, retiring 16 of the next 17 batters faced prior to Frank DiPino taking over for the eighth. During the bottom of the third inning, Thon singled, advanced when Dodgers catcher Mike Scioscia threw wildly in a pickoff attempt, and scored to tie the game 1–1 when Phil Garner singled. The next inning, the Astros took the lead for good. Bill Doran doubled with one out. Ryan then hit a ground ball to second baseman Mariano Duncan, which Duncan misplayed, allowing Doran to race home for the go-ahead tally, 2–1, also the game's final score.[5]

May

Astros infielder Jim Pankovits posted a career day on May 19, leading a 7–3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. He collected up four hits, including a home run and two doubles.[6]

Ryan obtained his 200th complete game on May 24, a 6–2 defeat of the Cubs.

On May 29, Pankovits broke 3-all tie by crushing a grand slam in the seventh versus the Pittsburgh Pirates. Starter Nolan Ryan got the win, locking down a 7–3 decision for the Houston Astros.[7] Each Astros starter had at least one hit, save for Terry Puhl. Denny Walling and Phil Garner both doubled. Ryan struck out eight over seven innings.[8]

June

On June 9, Joe Niekro was the winning pitcher after tossing a two-hit shutout versus the San Francisco Giants. The 138th of his career, Niekro took over the lead in franchise history. In spite of the strong effort against the Giants, he had failed in six previous attempts to secure this win.[9]

Southpaw Bob Knepper led an 8–1 rout of the Giants on June 29, driving in four runs while hurling a four-hit complete game. Knepper (8–4) also homered and struck out seven. Batterymate Mark Bailey also homered (5) and had three hits. Phil Garner tripled, pilfered a base and swatted a sacrifice fly.[10] This was Knepper's fourth home run as an Astro, while tying his career high in runs batted in.[11]

July

Nolan Ryan surrendered the only walk-off home run of his career on July 1 at Jack Murphy Stadium. Pitching into extra innings for the first time as Astro with a 5–5 score, former Astros catcher Bruce Bochy hit the game-winner in the 10th inning, also his first career walk-off home run.[12]

Niekro realized another victory milestone on July 2, earning the 200th overall of his career. Niekro tossed seven innings, and allowed two runs, four walks and six hits, while striking out seven. The final score was Houston 3, San Diego 2.

Kevin Bass launched two solo home runs on July 5 to pace a 4–2 victory over the Montreal Expos. José Cruz drove home the other two runs to establish a new franchise record for runs batted in (783 RBI), later broken by Jeff Bagwell.[13]

Nolan Ryan's 4,000th strikeout

On July 11, Ryan fanned Danny Heep of the New York Mets in the top of the sixth inning for the 4,000th of his career. Ryan became the first pitcher in major league history to reach this milestone.[4] He struck out 11 Mets in the outing before an Astrodome crowd of 30,921. The Astros won it, 4–3, in 12 innings on Bill Doran's fifth hit of the contest and walk-off single to score Dickie Thon.[14]

In the top of the fifth, Ryan froze Darryl Strawberry and Gary Carter on called punchouts for the final two outs of the frame, ticking his total up to 3,999. The moment prompted chants of "Ryan... Ryan... Ryan" from the fans.[14]

In the bottom of the sixth, Bass homered to give Houston a 3–1 advantage. However, in the seventh, the Mets, benefiting from Astros' defensive miscues, parlayed that into two unearned runs, eventually sending the contest into extra innings.[14] Center fielder Ty Gainey made a long sprint for a Lenny Dykstra fly ball only to drop that for a two-base error. Keith Hernandez bounced a grounder to Ryan, but Ryan lost the battle in a rundown with Dykstra, who took third, while Hernandez glided into second on the play. Strawberry then smacked a sacrifice fly and Carter followed with a run-scoring single to tie the contest, 3–3.[14]

In the second inning, Ryan executed his trademark by whiffing Sid Fernandez and Rafael Santana. Carter and Heep followed with singles, and a wild pitch advanced both baserunners, presenting a chance for things to spiral. A bloop double by Howard Johnson plated New York's first run. Dykstra bounded out to second to stay the threat.[14]

Wildness returned for Ryan in the third, who walked the bases loaded via Fernandez, Strawberry and Carter. This time, he found a more expedient escape when Heep grounded into a double play.[14]

In the fourth, Ryan fanned Fernandez for the 3.997th of his career. In the bottom of the frame, Phil Garner singled and Glenn Davis also singled to score Garner and extend a hitting streak to six games.[14]

Dickie Thon batted to a 7-for-14 hike spanning his previous three games. Dave Smith (5–3) tossed the final three innings, all scoreless, to pick up the victory.[15]

In the 12th inning, Thon singled, and advanced on Smith's sacrifice hit.[15] Doran followed with his fifth hit of the game to drive home Thon for a 4–3 Astros walk-off triumph.[13] The five-hit game was the second of Doran's career,[16] and the first by an Astro on the season. With that hit, Doran had collected eight hits in ten at bats.[14]

Ryan's 11 strikeouts represented a season high, putting him 96 ahead of Steve Carlton, who was on the disabled list (DL) at the time due to a rotator cuff strain.[14]

Rest of July

The Astros played to an eventful series against the Mets at Shea Stadium. On July 25, rookie slugger Glenn Davis smashed the only inside-the-park home run of his major league career, off Dwight Gooden in the top of the seventh.[17] Gooden (15–3), in spite of yielding another bomb to catcher Mark Bailey polished off a masterful complete game performance which led New York to a 6–3 win. Errors by Baily and Jerry Mumphrey cost the Astros of a different outcome. Upstart hurler Mike Scott fell to 9–5. He yielded five runs in six innings, with two being earned. Scott's earned run average (ERA) stood at 2.80.[18]

On July 27, the Astros lost to the Mets, 16–4, despite not allowing a single earned run in the game.[19]

On July 31, Mike Scott connected for his first major league home run while batting. The shot was off Tom Browning of the Cincinnati Reds during the top of the fifth inning at Riverfront Stadium.[20] On the mound, the Reds swatted 10 hits off the righty but Scott (10–5) limited the damage to two runs over seven frames to lead a 9–2 Houston victory. Rookie first baseman Glenn Davis paced the offense with his eighth home run of the year and drove in four. Catcher John Mizerock's first double cleared the bases in the top of sixth for Houston.[21]

August

The Astros romped on the Cardinals on August 20, 17–2, at the Astrodome to the backdrop of a screening of Jaws on the Diamond Vision scoreboard,[13] representing a club-high in runs scored for the season.[22] Catcher Mark Bailey launched a grand slam while Dickie Thon added a triple, home run and 4 RBI to lead the 19-hit charge. Bailey, Glenn Davis and Terry Puhl collected three hits each,[13] while both Bailey and Davis scored four runs. The Astros scored in each of the first six frames. Mike Scott (13–6) surrendered just three hits and two runs to cruise to victory.[23]

September—October

From September 11–19, Houston posted a season-high nine-game winning streak.[22]

José Cruz reached the 2,000 career hits plateau on September 15,[4][24] to become the first player to do so in Astros' uniform.[25] His 1,702nd safety with Houston, Cruz' first 298 arrived as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals.[26] The milestone hit, a single during the fourth inning off LaMarr Hoyt, drove home Denny Walling to tie the score, 1–1. In the bottom of the eighth, Glenn Davis cranked a tie-breaking home run which provided the margin in a 2–1 Astros triumph over the San Diego Padres.[27] Davis' home run, his 15th, actuated another milestone that broke the club record for home runs by a rookie, set by Joe Morgan in 1965.[24]

Meanwhile, on September 15, in a deal with the New York Yankees, the Astros swapped veteran right-hander Joe Niekro for rookie southpaw Jim Deshaies.[13] A knuckleball specialist, Niekro arrived in Houston in 1975, and won 144 games during his tenure with the Astros. In 1979 and 1980, Niekro became the first Astros hurler to win 20 or more games in two seasons,[28] earning both an All-Star selection, and The Sporting News NL Pitcher of the Year Award, during the former campaign.[29] Upon departing Houston, Niekro ranked either first or second in club history in games pitched, starts, wins, complete games, and shutouts.[28]

On October 5, catcher Alan Ashby slugged his second career grand slam, and first in an Astros uniform.[30] His drive came off Ed Wojna of the Padres in the top of the second to break a scoreless tie and cap a 9–3 Astros win. Each starter except leadoff hitter Bill Doran logged at least one hit, including pitcher Nolan Ryan, with two. José Cruz doubled and homered. Phil Garner had three hits and three runs scored. Ryan (10–12) cruised over 7 innings with seven hits, two runs allowed, and eight strikeouts to earn his 10th win on the penultimate day of the regular season.[31] This was a 15th consecutive season Ryan had attained double-figures in victories.[32]

Performance overview

First baseman Glenn Davis established a club record for rookies by hitting 20 home runs, doing so over 100 games played.[a][24][33][34] Davis led the Astros in home runs though he ranked ninth in total appearances.[35]

Season standings

NL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Los Angeles Dodgers 95 67 .586 — 48‍–‍33 47‍–‍34
Cincinnati Reds 89 72 .553 5½ 47‍–‍34 42‍–‍38
Houston Astros 83 79 .512 12 44‍–‍37 39‍–‍42
San Diego Padres 83 79 .512 12 44‍–‍37 39‍–‍42
Atlanta Braves 66 96 .407 29 32‍–‍49 34‍–‍47
San Francisco Giants 62 100 .383 33 38‍–‍43 24‍–‍57

Record vs. opponents

1985 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 — 5–7 7–11 8–10 5–13 3–9 2–10 10–2 6–6 7–11 10–8 3–9
Chicago 7–5 — 5–6 5–7 5–7 7–11 4–14 13–5 13–5 8–4 6–6 4–14
Cincinnati 11–7 6–5 — 11–7 7–11 8–4 4–8 7–5 9–3 9–9 12–6 5–7
Houston 10–8 7–5 7–11 — 6–12 6–6 4–8 4–8 6–6 12–6 15–3 6–6
Los Angeles 13–5 7–5 11–7 12–6 — 7–5 7–5 4–8 8–4 8–10 11–7 7–5
Montreal 9–3 11–7 4–8 6–6 5–7 — 9–9 8–10 9–8 5–7 7–5 11–7
New York 10–2 14–4 8–4 8–4 5–7 9–9 — 11–7 10–8 7–5 8–4 8–10
Philadelphia 2-10 5–13 5–7 8–4 8–4 10–8 7–11 — 11–7 5–7 6–6 8–10
Pittsburgh 6–6 5–13 3–9 6–6 4–8 8–9 8–10 7–11 — 4–8 3–9 3–15
San Diego 11–7 4–8 9–9 6–12 10–8 7–5 5–7 7–5 8–4 — 12–6 4–8
San Francisco 8–10 6–6 6–12 3–15 7–11 5–7 4–8 6–6 9–3 6–12 — 2–10
St. Louis 9–3 14–4 7–5 6–6 5–7 7–11 10–8 10–8 15–3 8–4 10–2 —

Notable transactions

Roster

1985 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders 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 Mark Bailey 114 332 88 .265 10 45
1B Glenn Davis 100 350 95 .271 20 64
2B Bill Doran 148 578 166 .287 14 59
SS Craig Reynolds 107 379 103 .272 4 32
3B Phil Garner 135 463 124 .268 6 51
LF José Cruz 141 544 163 .300 9 79
CF Kevin Bass 150 539 145 .269 16 68
RF Jerry Mumphrey 130 444 123 .277 8 61

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
Denny Walling 119 345 93 .270 7 45
Dickie Thon 84 251 63 .251 6 29
Terry Puhl 57 194 55 .284 2 23
Alan Ashby 65 189 53 .280 8 25
Jim Pankovits 75 172 42 .244 4 14
Enos Cabell 60 143 35 .245 2 14
Harry Spilman 44 66 9 .136 1 4
Tim Tolman 31 43 6 .140 2 8
John Mizerock 15 38 9 .237 0 6
Ty Gainey 13 37 6 .162 0 0
Germán Rivera 13 36 7 .194 0 2
Bert Peña 20 29 8 .276 0 4
Chris Jones 31 25 5 .200 0 1
Eric Bullock 18 25 7 .280 0 2

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
Bob Knepper 37 241.0 15 13 3.55 131
Nolan Ryan 35 232.0 10 12 3.80 209
Mike Scott 36 221.2 18 8 3.29 137
Joe Niekro 32 213.0 9 12 3.72 117
Mark Knudson 2 11.0 0 2 9.00 4

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
Ron Mathis 23 70.0 3 5 6.04 34
Jeff Heathcock 14 56.1 3 1 3.36 25
Charlie Kerfeld 11 44.1 4 2 4.06 30

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 64 9 5 27 2.27 40
Frank DiPino 54 3 7 6 4.03 49
Bill Dawley 49 5 3 2 3.56 48
Jeff Calhoun 44 2 5 4 2.54 47
Julio Solano 20 2 2 0 3.48 17
Mike Madden 13 0 0 0 4.26 16
Mark Ross 8 0 2 1 4.85 3
Jim Deshaies 2 0 0 0 0.00 2

Awards and achievements

Grand slams

No. Date Astros batter Venue Inning Pitcher Opposing team Box
1 May 29 Jim Pankovits Astrodome 7₰ John Candelaria Pittsburgh Pirates [8]
2 August 20 Mark Bailey Astrodome 3 Ricky Horton St. Louis Cardinals [23]
3 October 5 Alan Ashby Jack Murphy Stadium 2₰ Ed Wojna San Diego Padres [31]
₰—Tied score or took lead

Awards

League leaders

NL 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 Carlos Alfonso
A Osceola Astros Florida State League Dave Cripe
A Asheville Tourists South Atlantic League Fred Hatfield
A-Short Season Auburn Astros New York–Penn League Bob Hartsfield
Rookie GCL Astros Gulf Coast League Julio Linares

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Surpassed 14 home runs hit by Joe Morgan in 1965. Davis' record stood until Lance Berkman hit 21 home runs during the 2000 season.
  2. ^ Premier year for this award.

References

  1. ^ "Manuel Lee stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  2. ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers (1) vs Houston Astros (2) box score". Baseball Almanac. April 9, 1985. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  3. ^ "1985 Houston Astros uniform numbers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c "Astros history – Timeline". MLB.com. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c King, Norm (April 9, 1985). "Morganna smooches Nolan Ryan at the Astrodome". Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Retrieved December 28, 2025.
  6. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (May 19, 2025). "Today in Astros history—May 18–19". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved August 26, 2025.
  7. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (May 29, 2025). "Today in Astros history - May 29". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Pittsburgh Pirats (3) vs Houston Astros (8) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. May 29, 1985. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
  9. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 9, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 9". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
  10. ^ "Houston Astros (8) vs San Francisco Giants (1) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. June 29, 1985. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  11. ^ "Top performances for Bob Knepper". Retrosheet. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  12. ^ O'Neill, Shawn (July 5, 2025). "Nolan Ryan allowed one walk-off HR: This legendary manager hit it". MLB.com. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
  13. ^ a b c d e Hulsey, Bob. "This date in Astros history". Astros Daily. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i McLemore, Ivy (July 11, 1985). "Ryan strikes out 11, sails past 4000". Houston Post. Retrieved November 28, 2025 – via Astros Daily.
  15. ^ a b Hohfeld, Neil (July 11, 1985). "Ryan hits milestone as Astros top Mets". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
  16. ^ "Top performances for Bill Doran". Retrosheet. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
  17. ^ "Glenn Davis career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
  18. ^ "Houston Astros (3) vs New York Mets (6) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. July 25, 1985. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
  19. ^ "Houston Astros at New York Mets box score and play by play". Baseball-Reference.com. July 27, 1985. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
  20. ^ "Mike Scott career batting home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  21. ^ "Houston Astros (9) vs Cincinnati Reds (2) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. July 31, 1985. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
  22. ^ a b "1985 Houston Astros schedule". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
  23. ^ a b "St. Louis Cardinals (2) vs Houston Astros (17) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. August 26, 1985. Retrieved November 22, 2025.
  24. ^ a b c Greene, Nelson "Chip" (October 1, 2018). "September 15, 1985: José Cruz collects his 2,000th hit". Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Retrieved November 4, 2025.
  25. ^ Kawahara, Matt (August 19, 2023). "Astros' Jose Altuve reaches milestone of 2,000 career hits". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved January 1, 2026.
  26. ^ "José Cruz stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 1, 2026.
  27. ^ "San Diego Padres (1) Houston Astros (2) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. September 15, 1985. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
  28. ^ a b "Player profile—Joe Niekro". Astros Daily. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
  29. ^ "The Sporting News Pitchers of the Year & The Sporting News Major League Players of the Year". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  30. ^ "Alan Ashby career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
  31. ^ a b "Houston Astros (9) vs San Diego Padres (3) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. October 5, 1985. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
  32. ^ "Nolan Ryan stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
  33. ^ "Player profile—Glenn Davis". Astros Daily. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
  34. ^ McTaggart, Brian (October 2, 2015). "Astros, Correa enjoy record-setting night". MLB.com. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
  35. ^ "1985 Houston Astros statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
  36. ^ "Mike Simms stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  37. ^ "Brad Gulden stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
  38. ^ "Jim Deshaies stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
  39. ^ a b McTaggart, Brian (December 21, 2009). "Bourn highlights Astros' awards season". MLB.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
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