| 1979 Houston Astros | |
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| Major League affiliations | |
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| Results | |
| Record | 89–73 (.549) |
| Divisional place | 2nd |
| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | John McMullen |
| General manager(s) | Tal Smith |
| Manager(s) | Bill Virdon |
| Local television | KRIV |
| Local radio | KPRC (AM) (Gene Elston, Dewayne Staats, Larry Dierker) |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
The 1979 Houston Astros season was a season in American baseball. The team finished second in the National League West, 1½ games behind the first-place Cincinnati Reds. The 1979 Astros were the last National League franchise in the 20th century to hit more triples than home runs. The club had 52 triples compared to 49 home runs.[1]
Offseason[edit]
- December 8, 1978: Floyd Bannister was traded by the Astros to the Seattle Mariners for Craig Reynolds.[2]
Regular season[edit]
Season standings[edit]
| NL West | W | L | GB | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds | 90 | 71 | -- | .559 |
| Houston Astros | 89 | 73 | 1.5 | .549 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 79 | 83 | 11.5 | .488 |
| San Francisco Giants | 71 | 91 | 19.5 | .438 |
| San Diego Padres | 68 | 93 | 22 | .422 |
| Atlanta Braves | 66 | 94 | 23.5 | .413 |
Record vs. opponents[edit]
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1979 National League Records
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | |||||
| Atlanta | — | 4–8 | 6–12 | 7–11 | 12–6 | 1–9 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 6–12 | 11–7 | 4–8 | |||||
| Chicago | 8–4 | — | 7–5 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 6–12 | 8–10 | 9–9 | 6–12 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 8–10 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 12–6 | 5–7 | — | 8–10 | 11–7 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 10–7 | 6–12 | 8–4 | |||||
| Houston | 11–7 | 6–6 | 10–8 | — | 10–8 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 14–4 | 7–11 | 6–6 | |||||
| Los Angeles | 6–12 | 7–5 | 7–11 | 8–10 | — | 6–6 | 9–3 | 3–9 | 4–8 | 9–9 | 14–4 | 6–6 | |||||
| Montreal | 9–1 | 12–6 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 6–6 | — | 15–3 | 11–7 | 7–11 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 10–8 | |||||
| New York | 8–4 | 10–8 | 4–8 | 3–9 | 3–9 | 3–15 | — | 5–13 | 8–10–1 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 7–11 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 5-7 | 9–9 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 7–11 | 13–5 | — | 8–10 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 7–11–1 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 8–4 | 12–6 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 11–7 | 10–8–1 | 10–8 | — | 7–5 | 9–3 | 11–7 | |||||
| San Diego | 12–6 | 3–9 | 7–10 | 4–14 | 9–9 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 3–9 | 5–7 | — | 8–10 | 4–8 | |||||
| San Francisco | 7–11 | 4–8 | 12–6 | 11–7 | 4–14 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 3–9 | 10–8 | — | 5–7 | |||||
| St. Louis | 8–4 | 10–8 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 11–7–1 | 7–11 | 8–4 | 7–5 | — | |||||
Notable transactions[edit]
- April 27, 1979: The Astros traded a player to be named later to the Kansas City Royals for George Throop. The Astros completed the deal by sending Keith Drumright to the Royals on October 26.[3]
- June 13, 1979: Bob Watson was traded by the Astros to the Boston Red Sox for Pete Ladd, a player to be named later, and cash. The Red Sox completed the deal by sending Bobby Sprowl to the Astros on June 19.[4]
Draft picks[edit]
- June 5, 1979: 1979 Major League Baseball Draft
- Bill Doran was drafted by the Astros in the 6th round.[5]
- Mark Ross was drafted by the Astros in the 7th round.[6]
- Lemmie Miller was drafted by the Astros in the 1st round (20th pick) of the secondary phase, but did not sign.[7]
Roster[edit]
| 1979 Houston Astros | |||||||||
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| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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Player stats[edit]
Batting[edit]
Starters by position[edit]
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 | Ashby, AlanAlan Ashby | 108 | 336 | 68 | .202 | 2 | 35 |
| 1B | Cedeño, CésarCésar Cedeño | 132 | 470 | 123 | .262 | 6 | 54 |
| SS | Reynolds, CraigCraig Reynolds | 146 | 555 | 147 | .265 | 0 | 39 |
| LF | Cruz, JoséJosé Cruz | 157 | 558 | 161 | .289 | 9 | 72 |
| CF | Puhl, TerryTerry Puhl | 157 | 600 | 172 | .287 | 8 | 49 |
Other batters[edit]
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| González, JulioJulio González | 68 | 181 | 45 | .249 | 0 | 10 |
| Watson, BobBob Watson | 49 | 163 | 39 | .239 | 3 | 18 |
| Walling, DennyDenny Walling | 82 | 147 | 48 | .327 | 3 | 31 |
| Alou, JesúsJesús Alou | 42 | 43 | 11 | .256 | 0 | 10 |
| Heep, DannyDanny Heep | 14 | 14 | 2 | .143 | 0 | 2 |
| Knicely, AlanAlan Knicely | 7 | 6 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Wiedenbauer, TomTom Wiedenbauer | 4 | 6 | 4 | .667 | 0 | 2 |
Pitching[edit]
Starting pitchers[edit]
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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| Richard, J. R.J. R. Richard | 38 | 292.1 | 18 | 13 | 2.71 | 313 |
| Forsch, KenKen Forsch | 26 | 177.2 | 11 | 6 | 3.04 | 58 |
Other pitchers[edit]
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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| Andújar, JoaquínJoaquín Andújar | 46 | 194 | 12 | 12 | 3.43 | 77 |
| LaCorte, FrankFrank LaCorte | 12 | 27 | 1 | 2 | 5.00 | 24 |
| Riccelli, FrankFrank Riccelli | 11 | 22 | 2 | 2 | 4.09 | 20 |
Relief pitchers[edit]
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roberge, BertBert Roberge | 26 | 32 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1.69 | 13 |
| Dixon, TomTom Dixon | 19 | 25.2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6.66 | 9 |
| Throop, GeorgeGeorge Throop | 14 | 22.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.22 | 15 |
| McLaughlin, BoBo McLaughlin | 12 | 16.1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5.51 | 12 |
| Ladd, PetePete Ladd | 10 | 12.1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.92 | 6 |
| Wilson, GaryGary Wilson | 6 | 7.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12.27 | 6 |
| Sprowl, BobbyBobby Sprowl | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 |
Farm system[edit]
See also: Minor league baseball
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: GCL Astros
References[edit]
- ^ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 96, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, NY, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
- ^ Floyd Bannister page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Keith Drumright page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Bob Watson page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Bill Doran page at Baseball-Reference
- ^ Mark Ross page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Lemmie Miller page at Baseball Reference
External links[edit]
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