1990 Houston Astros season

1990 Houston Astros
LeagueNational League
DivisionWest
BallparkThe Astrodome
CityHouston, Texas
Record75–87 (.463)
Divisional place4th—tied
OwnersJohn McMullen
General managersBill Wood
ManagersArt Howe
TelevisionKTXH
HSE
RadioKTRH
(Bill Brown, Milo Hamilton, Larry Dierker, Bruce Gietzen, Bill Worrell)
KXYZ
(Orlando Sánchez-Diago, Rolando Becerra)

The 1990 Houston Astros season was the 29th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 26th as the Astros, 29th in the National League (NL), 22nd in the NL West division, and 26th at The Astrodome. The Astros entered the season having posted a record of 86–76 for third place in the NL West, six games behind the division-champion and NL pennant-winning San Francisco Giants.

On April 9, pitcher Mike Scott made his fourth Opening Day start for Houston, who hosted the Cincinnati Reds, but were defeated, 8–4. In the amateur draft, the Astros' first round selections included shortstop Tom Nevers (21st overall) and pitcher Brian Williams (31st).

Pitcher Dave Smith earned his second career MLB All-Star selection, representing the Astros and playing for the National League. Second baseman Joe Morgan was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, at the time the longest-tenured former, and earliest, member of the Colt .45s/Astro to receive this honor. He started his major league career with Houston in 1963 and played 10 of his 22 major league seasons for the franchise. Pitcher Danny Darwin, who worked primarily out of the bullpen, was the NL earned run average (ERA) leader (2.21), the third ERA title by an Astros pitcher within the previous five seasons.

The Astros concluded the season with a 75–87 record, tied for fourth place with the San Diego Padres and 16 games behind the division- and World Series-champion Reds. The 87 losses were the most for Houston since 1978.

Offseason

Regular season

Summary

April

Opening Day starting lineup
Uniform Player Position
2 Gerald Young Center fielder
7 Craig Biggio Catcher
19 Bill Doran Second baseman
27 Glenn Davis First baseman
13 Glenn Wilson Right fielder
23 Eric Anthony Left fielder
11 Ken Caminiti Third baseman
16 Rafael Ramírez Shortstop
33 Mike Scott Pitcher
Venue: Astrodome • Final: Cincinnati 8, Houston 4

Sources:[4][5]

Hosting the Cincinnati Reds for Opening Day on April 9—also the event for the 25th anniversary since the opening of the Astrodome—the Astros built a 4–2 lead in the bottom of the second inning. However, Cincinnati came back to drop the Astros, 8–4. The most pain went to first baseman Glenn Davis, who was hit by pitch three times, which tied a major-league record.[6] Right-hander Mike Scott made his fourth Opening Day start, joining Larry Dierker and J. R. Richard (five) to have done so as the starting pitcher.[7] Shortstop Rafael Ramírez attained his fourth bout of four hits as a member of the Astros.[8]

May

On May 17, Houston outfielder Eric Anthony launched the first-ever home run by a member of the home team into the upper reserve seating at the Astrodome, a monster blast in the eighth inning during a 5–4 win over the Chicago Cubs.[9] Ken Oberkfell cranked a sacrifice fly in the eleventh inning to score Ken Caminiti for the game-winning run. Anthony's drive came off Mike Bielecki. The only previous home run that had landed in the first upper deck was launched by Bernie Carbo of the Reds in 1970.[10]

On May 26, the Cubs hosted the Astros at Wrigley Field for their first doubleheader since July 7, 1979. The Astros swept, led by Glenn Davis homering thrice over the two games to tie a club record for a doubleheader, set by Román Mejías, on May 6, 1962, against the Milwaukee Braves. Davis was 6-for-9 with 9 runs batted in (RBI). In the opener, Mike Scott (2–5) tossed his first complete game of the season. Jim Deshaies (2–2) started the second contest and allowed six hits over 5+2⁄3 innings to earn the win, while Larry Andersen closed out the final 3+1⁄3 innings for his second save.[11]

June

Astros slugger Glenn Davis connected for three home runs and five runs batted in (RBI) in one game on June 1.[12] That was nearly enough offense for Houston, who managed just two additional hits, though they worked six walks. Davis homered in each of the fourth, sixth, and eighth innings. San Francisco scored thrice in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game, 4–4. Davis' final shot gave the Astros the lead, 5–4; however, in the bottom of the eighth, Will Clark singled home Brett Butler to tie the score. In the bottom of the 12th, Greg Litton .[13] It was the second time that he had hit three home runs in a game during his career,[14] and the fourth time overall by a Houston Astro.[a][15]

Mike Scott's 15-strikeout game

Mike Scott tossed both a career-best 10-inning complete game and 15 strikeouts on June 8, a three-hitter which was his 12th complete game of three hits or fewer.[16] After exchanging shutout ball with Tom Browning for nine innings, the Cincinnati Reds broke through in the top of the 10th inning on an RBI single.[17] by Todd Benzinger to score Barry Larkin. During the bottom of the tenth, Ken Caminiti whiffed against Randy Myers before Eric Anthony drew a base on balls, who was replaced by Louie Meadows. Rafael Ramírez singled on ground ball to left. One out later, Glenn Wilson smoked a walk-off home run to right fieldfor a 3–1 Houston win. Scott's (3–6) effort earned a game score of 96.[18]

In the bottom of the first, Scott struck out the side, all swinging, He followed that up by registering a pair of whiffs in each of the next two frames. Scott retired each hitter during the initial rotation through the order while peppering 26 of the first 30 offerings for strikes.[19] This performance eclipsed the previous career high of 14 attained three times (twice in 1986, September 14, and Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, and June 15, 1987).[16]

July

After having been inserted into the starting rotation beginning in July, Danny Darwin responded with a 4–0 win–loss record (W–L), 1.04 earned run average (ERA), two home runs surrendered, 28 strikeouts, and 0.808 walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) over 43+1⁄3 innings pitched.[20] Hence, Darwin received the NL Pitcher of the Month award, succeeding Mike Scott as the most recent Astro, who had received the award in June of the previous year.[21]

September

On September 21, Houston turned the sixth triple play in club history, doing so in the bottom of the fourth inning against the Atlanta Braves.[22] During the bottom of the fourth, David Justice and Jim Presley opened with consecutive singles off Jim Deshaies. Francisco Cabrera hit a grounder to Ken Caminiti, who made the forceout at third, rifled to Dave Rohde at second, who relayed to Mike Simms at first to complete the play. During the top of the sixth, Eric Anthony slugged a three-run home run. The Braves came back to tie the game, 3–3, during the bottom of the ninth. However, Simms slugged the game-winning home run for Houston in the top of the tenth.[23]

On September 28, Casey Candaele stunned Atlanta with the fourth walk-off triple in club history,[b][24] to plate Mark Davidson and Eric Yelding in the bottom of the tenth inning. The final score was Houston 2, Atlanta 1. Starter Danny Darwin spun seven shutout frames to lower his earned run average (ERA) to 2.21, by which claiming the NL ERA title.[6]

Performance overview

The Astros concluded the season with a 75–87 record, tied for fourth place with the San Diego Padres, and 16 games behind the division- and World Series-champion Reds.[25] A decline by 11 wins from the year prior, the 87 losses were the most for Houston since 1978.[26]

The Astros played in 27 extra-inning games, tying a league record.[27]

Danny Darwin led the National League in earned run average (2.21 ERA), to become the third Houston Astro within the previous five years to attain the ERA title, following Scott in 1986 (2.22) and Nolan Ryan in 1987 (2.76). This was the fifth ERA title overall in franchise history.[28] Darwin, who made 31 of 48 total appearances out of the bullpen, also led the major leagues in walks plus hits per inning pitched (1.027 WHIP).[27]

Glenn Davis became the first Astro in franchise history to swat 20 or more home runs over six consecutive campaigns. Both Jeff Bagwell (1999) and Lance Berkman (2007) exceeded this string and beyond.[29]

Left fielder Franklin Stubbs set a club record for home runs by a left-handed batter, with 23.[10]

Eric Yelding established a club rookie record for stolen bases with 64, breaking the record of 49 set by Sonny Jackson in 1966.

Season standings

NL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Cincinnati Reds 91 71 .562 — 46‍–‍35 45‍–‍36
Los Angeles Dodgers 86 76 .531 5 47‍–‍34 39‍–‍42
San Francisco Giants 85 77 .525 6 49‍–‍32 36‍–‍45
Houston Astros 75 87 .463 16 49‍–‍32 26‍–‍55
San Diego Padres 75 87 .463 16 37‍–‍44 38‍–‍43
Atlanta Braves 65 97 .401 26 37‍–‍44 28‍–‍53

Record vs. opponents

1990 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 — 6–6 8–10 5–13 6–12 6–6 4–8 5–7 5–7 8–10 5–13 7–5
Chicago 6–6 — 4–8 6–6 3–9 11–7 9–9 11–7 4–14 8–4 7–5 8–10
Cincinnati 10–8 8–4 — 11–7 9–9 9–3 6–6 7–5 6–6 9–9 7–11 9–3
Houston 13–5 6–6 7–11 — 9–9 5–7 5–7 5–7 5–7 4–14 10–8 6–6
Los Angeles 12–6 9–3 9–9 9–9 — 6–6 5–7 8–4 4–8 9–9 8–10 7–5
Montreal 6–6 7–11 3–9 7–5 6–6 — 8–10 10–8 13–5 7–5 7–5 11–7
New York 8–4 9–9 6–6 7–5 7–5 10–8 — 10–8 10–8 5–7 7–5 12–6
Philadelphia 7-5 7–11 5–7 7–5 4–8 8–10 8–10 — 6–12 7–5 8–4 10–8
Pittsburgh 7–5 14–4 6–6 7–5 8–4 5–13 8–10 12–6 — 10–2 8–4 10–8
San Diego 10–8 4–8 9–9 14–4 9–9 5–7 7–5 5–7 2–10 — 7–11 3–9
San Francisco 13–5 5–7 11–7 8–10 10–8 5–7 5–7 4–8 4–8 11–7 — 9–3
St. Louis 5–7 10–8 3–9 6–6 5–7 7–11 6–12 8–10 8–10 9–3 3–9 —

Notable transactions

  • April 3, 1990: Roger Mason was released by the Houston Astros.[30]
  • August 21, 1990: Signed outfielder Bobby Abreu as amateur free agent.[31]
  • August 30, 1990: Pitcher Larry Andersen was traded by the Astros to the Boston Red Sox for third baseman Jeff Bagwell.[32]
  • August 30, 1990: Bill Doran was traded by the Houston Astros to the Cincinnati Reds for players to be named later.[33]
  • September 10, 1990: Dan Schatzeder was traded by the Astros to the New York Mets for Nick Davis (minors) and Steve LaRose (minors).[2]
  • September 7, 1990: Butch Henry was sent by the Cincinnati Reds to the Houston Astros to complete an earlier deal made on August 30, 1990.[34] Catcher Terry McGriff was also sent by the Cincinnati Reds to complete the deal.[35]

Roster

1990 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

Manager

Coaches

Game log

Regular season

Legend
  Astros win
  Astros loss
  Postponement
  Eliminated from playoff race
Bold Astros team member
1990 regular season game log: 75–87 (Home: 49–32; Away: 26–55)[36]
April: 9–10 (Home: 5–8; Away: 4–2)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
May: 11–17 (Home: 6–6; Away: 5–11)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
June: 12–16 (Home: 11–3; Away: 1–13)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
July: 11–18 (Home: 7–4; Away: 4–14)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
— July 10 7:35 p.m. CDT 61st All-Star Game in Chicago, IL
August: 16–11 (Home: 10–6; Away: 6–5)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
September: 15–13 (Home: 10–5; Away: 5–8)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
October: 1–2 (Home: 0–0; Away: 1–2)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak

Detailed records

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 Craig Biggio 150 555 153 .276 4 42
1B Glenn Davis 93 327 82 .251 22 64
2B Bill Doran 109 344 99 .288 6 32
3B Ken Caminiti 153 541 131 .242 4 51
SS Rafael Ramírez 132 445 116 .261 2 37
LF Franklin Stubbs 146 448 117 .261 23 71
CF Eric Yelding 142 511 130 .254 1 20
RF Glenn Wilson 118 368 90 .245 10 55

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
Casey Candaele 130 262 75 .286 3 22
Eric Anthony 84 239 46 .192 10 29
Gerald Young 57 154 27 .175 1 4
Ken Oberkfell 77 150 31 .207 1 12
Mark Davidson 57 130 38 .292 1 11
Rich Gedman 40 104 21 .202 1 10
Dave Rohde 59 98 18 .184 0 5
Tuffy Rhodes 38 86 21 .244 1 3
Javier Ortiz 30 77 21 .273 1 10
Alex Treviño 42 69 13 .188 1 10
Carl Nichols 32 49 10 .204 1 11
Terry Puhl 37 41 12 .293 0 8
Luis Gonzalez 12 21 4 .190 0 0
Louie Meadows 15 14 2 .143 0 0
Mike Simms 12 13 4 .308 1 2
Jeff Baldwin 7 8 0 .000 0 0
Andújar Cedeño 7 8 0 .000 0 0
Terry McGriff 4 5 0 .000 0 0
Steve Lombardozzi 2 1 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
Jim Deshaies 34 209.1 7 12 3.78 119
Mike Scott 32 205.2 9 13 3.81 121
Mark Portugal 32 196.2 11 10 3.62 136
Bill Gullickson 32 193.1 10 14 3.82 73
Terry Clark 1 4.0 0 0 13.50 2

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
Danny Darwin 48 162.2 11 4 2.21 109
Jim Clancy 33 76.0 2 8 6.51 44
Randy Hennis 3 9.2 0 0 0.00 4

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 6 6 23 2.39 50
Juan Agosto 82 9 8 4 4.29 50
Larry Andersen 50 5 2 6 1.95 68
Dan Schatzeder 45 1 3 0 2.39 37
Xavier Hernandez 34 2 1 0 4.62 24
Brian Meyer 14 0 4 1 2.21 6
Al Osuna 12 2 0 0 4.76 6
Charlie Kerfeld 5 0 2 0 16.20 4
Brian Fisher 4 0 0 0 7.20 1

Awards and achievements

Career honors
Astros elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
Individual Pos. Colt .45s / Astros career Induction
No. Yr. Gm. St. Fin.
Joe Morgan[c] 2B 18[d] 10 1,032 1963 1980 1990 Plaque
See also: Members of the Baseball Hall of Fame • Ref:[37]
Annual awards
NL batting leaders
NL pitching leaders[41]

Minor league system

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Tucson Toros Pacific Coast League Bob Skinner
AA Columbus Mudcats Southern League Rick Sweet
A Osceola Astros Florida State League Sal Butera
A Asheville Tourists South Atlantic League Frank Cacciatore
A-Short Season Auburn Astros New York–Penn League Ricky Peters
Rookie GCL Astros Gulf Coast League Julio Linares

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Davis became the first Houston Astro with multiple-3 homer games, having blasted the previous by an Astros hitter on September 10, 1987, and this achievement was followed by Jeff Bagwell on June 24, 1994.
  2. ^ The most recent walk-off triple was by César Cedeño on July 29, 1979. The subsequent event was prosecuted by Luke Scott on September 11, 2007.
  3. ^ Morgan played two separate stints for the Colts .45s/Astros, first from 1963–1971, and again in 1980.
  4. ^ Also wore numbers 12 (1963), 35 (1964), and 8 (1980).

References

  1. ^ "Bill Gullickson stats, height, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Dan Schatzeder stats, height, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
  3. ^ "Dave Silvestri stats, height, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
  4. ^ "Cincinnati Reds (8) vs Houston Astros (4) box score". Baseball Almanac. April 9, 1990. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  5. ^ "1990 Houston Astros uniform numbers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  6. ^ a b Hulsey, Bob. "This date in Astros history". Astros Daily. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
  7. ^ "Houston Astros Opening Day starters". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  8. ^ "Top performances for Rafael Ramírez". Retrosheet. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  9. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (May 17, 2025). "Today in Astros history - May 17". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Astros history – Timeline". MLB.com. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  11. ^ Muskat, Carrie (May 26, 1990). "Astros 8, Cubs 1, 1st game; Astros 12, Cubs 3, 2nd game". United Press International (UPI). Retrieved September 27, 2025.
  12. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 1, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 1". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
  13. ^ "Houston Astros (5) vs San Francisco Giants (6) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. June 1, 1990. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  14. ^ "Glenn Davis career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 13, 2025.
  15. ^ "3 home runs in a game". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  16. ^ a b "Top performances for Mike Scott". Retrosheet. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  17. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 8, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 8". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 4, 2025.
  18. ^ "Cincinnati Reds (1) vs Houston Astros (3) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. June 8, 1990. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  19. ^ Huber, Mike (June 8, 1990). "Mike Scott strikes out 15 as Astros walk it off in 10th". Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  20. ^ "Danny Darwin 1990 pitching splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 17, 2026.
  21. ^ a b "Major League Baseball Pitchers of the Month". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
  22. ^ "MLB triple plays". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  23. ^ "Houston Astros (4) vs Atlanta Braves (3) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. September 21, 1990. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  24. ^ "HOU: 5 triples in 1962–2025—Walk-off". Stathead. Sports Reference. February 23, 2026.
  25. ^ "1990 National League team statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  26. ^ "Houston Astros team history & encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  27. ^ a b "1990 Houston Astros statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  28. ^ "Yearly league leaders & records for earned run average". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  29. ^ "Lance Berkman stats, height, weight, research & history". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved February 14, 2026.
  30. ^ "Roger Mason stats, height, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
  31. ^ "Bobby Abreu stats, height, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 19, 2025.
  32. ^ "Larry Andersen stats, height, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
  33. ^ "Bill Doran Stats".
  34. ^ "Butch Henry Stats".
  35. ^ "Terry McGriff stats, height, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
  36. ^ "1990 Houston Astros Schedule & Results". Baseball Reference. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
  37. ^ "Houston Astros Hall of Fame register". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  38. ^ a b c McTaggart, Brian (December 21, 2009). "Bourn highlights Astros' awards season". MLB.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
  39. ^ "Lou Gehrig Memorial Award". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved September 26, 2025.
  40. ^ "MLB Players of the Week Awards". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
  41. ^ "1990 National League pitching leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
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