| 1983 Houston Astros | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | National League | |||
| Division | West | |||
| Ballpark | Astrodome | |||
| City | Houston,Texas | |||
| Record | 85–77 (.525) | |||
| Divisional place | 3rd | |||
| Owners | John McMullen | |||
| General managers | Al Rosen | |||
| Managers | Bob Lillis | |||
| Television | KTXH HSE | |||
| Radio | KRBE (Gene Elston,Dewayne Staats,Larry Dierker) | |||
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The1983Houston Astros season was the22nd season for theMajor League Baseball (MLB) franchise located inHouston,Texas, their 19th as the Astros, 22nd in theNational League (NL), 15th in theNL West division, and 19th at TheAstrodome. The Astros entered the season having posted a 77–85record for fifth place and 12games behind the division-championAtlanta Braves.
On April 5,Joe Niekro made his secondOpening Day start for Houston, who hosted theLos Angeles Dodgers but lost, 16–7. In theamateur draft, Houston'sfirst round selection was catcherRobbie Wine at eighth overall.
ShortstopDickie Thon and pitcherBill Dawley each represented the Astros at theMLB All-Star Game and played for the National League, the first career selection for both.
The Astros concluded the season with an 85–77 record, for third place and 6 games behind the division-champion Dodgers. Following the season, Thon and outfielderJosé Cruz both won their first careerSilver Slugger Awards for their respective positions, also the first Astros to win the award.
| 24 | Omar Moreno | CF |
| 19 | Bill Doran | 2B |
| 10 | Dickie Thon | SS |
| 3 | Phil Garner | 3B |
| 25 | José Cruz | LF |
| 22 | Ray Knight | 1B |
| 21 | Terry Puhl | RF |
| 6 | Luis Pujols | C |
| 36 | Phil Niekro | P |
| Venue: | Astrodome • LAD 16, | HOU 7 |
On April 17,Nolan Ryan struck outAndre Dawson for the 3500th strikeout in his career.[6]
On April 27, Ryan struck outBrad Mills[Note 1] of theExpos to breakWalter Johnson's all time mark for strikeouts in a career. Mills was the 3,509th strikeout of Ryan's career.[6]
On June 4,Alan Ashby homered twice, doubled and had sixruns batted in (RBI) to backMike Scott, who earned his first win as a Houston Astro. The final score was 13–0 over theCincinnati Reds.[7]
ShortstopDickie Thon homered twice offSan Diego Padres starterEric Show on June 17. This generated enough offense for Ryan, as he struck out six in a 4–1 win. Ryan also ended the contest just one strikeout behindPhiladelphia Phillies starterSteve Carlton for the all-time strikeout race.[8]
On July 10, Cruz collected his 10th career four-hit game, slashing two doubles with two RBI. This was his first four-hit game of the season.[9]
On July 22, Cruz was 4-for-5 for his 11th career four-hit game and second of the campaign. He also scored twice.[9]
On August 11,José Cruz went 2-for-4—including atriple—and produced his first game of the season with at least four RBI.[9]
On August 15, Cruz went 3-for-5 and launched his fifth career multi-home run game, and his sixth career with 5 RBI.[9]
On September 13,José Cruz received ahit by pitch for the seventh time—third as an Astro—and final time in his major league career.[9]
On September 18, Cruz poasted his 14th career contest with at least three walks, otherwise going 0-for-2.[9]
On September 20, Cruz realized his third career six-RBI game, going 2-for-3 with anintentional base on balls. With Houston up 5–0, Cruz launched his second careergrand slam offBurt Hooton during the second inning.[10]Denny Walling was 3-for-5 with three RBI, and doubled twice.Nolan Ryan (14–8) allowed four hits and two runs over six innings with seven strikeouts, andJeff Heathcock closed out the last three innings for his firstsave. The Astros ran away with a 15–2 drubbing of theLos Angeles Dodgers.[11]
Houston concluded the 1983 season with an 85–77 (.525) record, in third place in the NL West divions and six games behind the division-champion Dodgers. The Astros also had the fourth-best record in the National League.[12] For the third instance in franchise annals, the club reached the 85-win threshold (previously, the1979 and1980 squads), and for the fifth time, a .525winning percentage—including the former, along with the1972 and1981 strike-shortened campaigns. Moreover, since 1972, this was the eighth campaign with a record at .500 or above.[13]
Left fielderJosé Cruz remained in contention for the batting championship until the final day, winding up third.[14] Cruz led the National League in hits (189),[a] becoming the first Astro to accomplish this feat.[15]
For the seventh time, an Astros pitcher claimed the title forhits per nine innings surrendered:Nolan Ryan at 6.143 H/9. The major league leader in this category for the third consecutive season (all as an Astro), Ryan followedDon Wilson in1971 (6.549 H/9), andJ. R. Richard (thrice—6.835 in1976, 6.278 in1978, and 6.773 in1979).[16]
Cruz and Thon both won their first careerSilver Slugger Awards for their respective positions, while becoming the first Astros to receive the honor.[17]
Moreover, Cruz won his third Houston Astros' teamMost Valuable Player Award (MVP), having previously received the honor for the1977 and1980 campaigns. As a third-time winner, Cruz surpassedRusty Staub for the club record, who won in1966 and1967.[18]
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 91 | 71 | .562 | — | 48–32 | 43–39 |
| Atlanta Braves | 88 | 74 | .543 | 3 | 46–34 | 42–40 |
| Houston Astros | 85 | 77 | .525 | 6 | 46–36 | 39–41 |
| San Diego Padres | 81 | 81 | .500 | 10 | 47–34 | 34–47 |
| San Francisco Giants | 79 | 83 | .488 | 12 | 43–38 | 36–45 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 74 | 88 | .457 | 17 | 36–45 | 38–43 |
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 | — | 5–7 | 12–6 | 11–7 | 7–11 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 7–5 | |||||
| Chicago | 7–5 | — | 4–8 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 7–11 | 9–9 | 5–13 | 9–9 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 10–8 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 6–12 | 8–4 | — | 5–13 | 7–11 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 10–8 | 6–6 | |||||
| Houston | 7–11 | 7–5 | 13–5 | — | 6–12 | 8–4 | 9–3 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 11–7 | 12–6 | 2–10 | |||||
| Los Angeles | 11–7 | 6–6 | 11–7 | 12–6 | — | 7–5 | 7–5 | 11–1 | 6–6 | 6–12–1 | 5–13 | 9–3 | |||||
| Montreal | 5–7 | 11–7 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 5–7 | — | 8–10 | 8–10–1 | 8–10 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 9–9 | |||||
| New York | 4–8 | 9–9 | 5–7 | 3–9 | 5–7 | 10–8 | — | 6–12 | 9–9 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 6–12 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 5-7 | 13–5 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 1–11 | 10–8–1 | 12–6 | — | 11–7 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 14–4 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 6–6 | 9–9 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 7–11 | — | 9–3 | 6–6 | 10–8 | |||||
| San Diego | 9–9 | 7–5 | 9–9 | 7–11 | 12–6–1 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 3–9 | — | 11–7 | 6–6 | |||||
| San Francisco | 9–9 | 8–4 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 13–5 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 7–11 | — | 4–8 | |||||
| St. Louis | 5–7 | 8–10 | 6–6 | 10–2 | 3–9 | 9–9 | 12–6 | 4–14 | 8–10 | 6–6 | 8–4 | — | |||||
| 1983 Houston Astros | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders | Manager Coaches
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| 1983 regular season game log: 85–77 (home: 46–36; away: 39–41) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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April: 8–14 (home: 5–10; away: 3–4)
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May: 14–14 (home: 7–7; away: 7–7)
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June: 15–11 (home: 10–3; away: 5–8)
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July: 15–11 (home: 10–6; away: 5–5)
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August: 18–12 (home: 8–4; away: 10–8)
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September: 14–14 (home: 7–6; away: 7–8)
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| Legend: = Win = Loss = Postponement Bold = Astros team member | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| = Indicates team leader |
| = Indicates league leader |
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 | 87 | 275 | 63 | .229 | 8 | 34 |
| 1B | Ray Knight | 145 | 507 | 154 | .304 | 9 | 70 |
| 2B | Bill Doran | 154 | 535 | 145 | .271 | 8 | 39 |
| SS | Dickie Thon | 154 | 619 | 177 | .286 | 20 | 79 |
| 3B | Phil Garner | 154 | 567 | 135 | .238 | 14 | 79 |
| LF | José Cruz | 160 | 594 | 189 | .318 | 14 | 92 |
| CF | Omar Moreno | 97 | 405 | 98 | .242 | 0 | 25 |
| RF | Terry Puhl | 137 | 465 | 136 | .292 | 8 | 44 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Bass | 88 | 195 | 46 | .236 | 2 | 18 |
| Tony Scott | 80 | 186 | 42 | .226 | 2 | 17 |
| Jerry Mumphrey | 44 | 143 | 48 | .336 | 1 | 17 |
| Denny Walling | 100 | 135 | 40 | .296 | 3 | 19 |
| Craig Reynolds | 65 | 98 | 21 | .214 | 1 | 6 |
| Luis Pujols | 40 | 87 | 17 | .195 | 0 | 12 |
| John Mizerock | 33 | 85 | 13 | .153 | 1 | 10 |
| Harry Spilman | 42 | 78 | 13 | .167 | 1 | 9 |
| George Bjorkman | 29 | 75 | 17 | .227 | 2 | 14 |
| Tim Tolman | 43 | 56 | 11 | .196 | 2 | 10 |
| Scott Loucks | 7 | 14 | 3 | .214 | 0 | 0 |
| Bert Peña | 4 | 8 | 1 | .125 | 0 | 0 |
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 | 38 | 263.2 | 15 | 14 | 3.48 | 152 |
| Bob Knepper | 35 | 203.2 | 6 | 13 | 3.19 | 125 |
| Nolan Ryan | 29 | 196.1 | 14 | 9 | 2.98 | 183 |
| Mike Scott | 24 | 145.0 | 10 | 6 | 3.72 | 73 |
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 | 38 | 138.0 | 5 | 7 | 4.43 | 53 |
| Vern Ruhle | 41 | 114.2 | 8 | 5 | 3.69 | 43 |
| Mike Madden | 28 | 94.2 | 9 | 5 | 3.14 | 44 |
| Jeff Heathcock | 6 | 28.0 | 2 | 1 | 3.21 | 12 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank DiPino | 53 | 3 | 4 | 20 | 2.65 | 67 |
| Bill Dawley | 48 | 6 | 6 | 14 | 2.82 | 60 |
| Dave Smith | 42 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 3.10 | 41 |
| Frank LaCorte | 37 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5.06 | 48 |
| Julio Solano | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6.00 | 3 |
