1987 Houston Astros
The Astrodome during a baseball game in 1987.
League	National League
Division	West
Ballpark	The Astrodome
City	Houston,Texas
Record	76–86 (.469)
Divisional place	3rd
Owners	John McMullen
General managers	Dick Wagner
Managers	Hal Lanier
Television	KTXH HSE
Radio	KTRH (Bill Brown,Milo Hamilton,Larry Dierker, Dave Hofferth, Bill Worrell) KXYZ (Orlando Sánchez-Diago, Rolando Becerra)
← 1986 Seasons 1988 →

The1987Houston Astros season was the26th season for theMajor League Baseball (MLB) franchise located inHouston,Texas, their 23rd as the Astros, 26th in theNational League (NL), 19th in theNL West division, and 23rd at theAstrodome, The Astros entered the season as defending NL West divisionchampions with a 96–66record; however, the season ended with a 4-games-to-2 defeat to theNew York Mets in the1986 National League Championship Series (NLCS).

The season began for Houston on April 6 hostingLos Angeles Dodgers. PitcherMike Scott made the first of his five consecutiveOpening Day starts for the Astros, who won, 4–3. In theamateur draft, the Astros selected catcherCraig Biggio in thefirst round, at 22nd overall, andDarryl Kile in the 30th round.

Scott represented the Astros at theMLB All-Star Game, his second career selection, where he was the starting pitcher for the National League. On September 9, right-handerNolan Ryan recorded the 4,500thstrikeout of his career.

The Astros concluded the season with a 76–86 record and in third place in the NL West, 14games behind the division championSan Francisco Giants. Ryan led the major leagues in strikeouts (270), inhits per nine innings pitched (6.5), and the National League inearned run average (2.76 ERA), among other categories. Ryan's ERA and strikeout titles were the second consecutive each won by a Houston pitcher, following Scott in 1986 (2.22 ERA and 303 strikeouts).

• October 24, 1986:Matt Keough was released by the Astros.^[1]
• October 24, 1986:John Mizerock was released by the Houston Astros.^[2]
• November 16, 1986:Rocky Childress was purchased by the Astros from thePhiladelphia Phillies.^[3]

Opening Day starting lineup^[4][5]

On May 1,Nolan Ryan belted a home run offCharlie Puleo of theAtlanta Braves.^[6]

On June 27,Kevin Bass became the first player in Astros history to connect for fourextra base hits in one game, including twodoubles, onetriple, and one home run to overshoothitting for the cycle (rather, the "cycle plus one"). This led a 6–5 win over theSan Francisco Giants.^[7]

Astros' Opening Day starter Mike Scott was also named the NL starter for theAll-Star Game hosted at theOakland–Alameda County Coliseum. He tossed two scoreless innings.^[8] Scott became the second Astros pitcher to start the All-Star Game, followingJ. R. Richard in the1980 contest.^[9]

Following Scott's effort, the contest remained scoreless, as the first All-Star Game to go scoreless past five innings. It remained so until the top of the 13th whenTim Rainestripled homeOzzie Virgil Jr. andHubie Brooks.

Astros rookies provided the key roles in a July 16 walk-off win over thePhiladelphia Phillies, including third basemanKen Caminiti, who made his major league debut. His defensive prowess immediately electrified the Astrodome crowd. In the first inning, he pegged an off-balance throw to retireCharlie Hayes, and in the second, an acrobatic catch to snag a line drive off the bat ofLance Parrish. At the plate, Caminiti went 2-for-4, including his first major league triple and, in the seventh inning, his firsthome run, off starterKevin Gross, deep to center that tied the contest, 1–1. In the top of the ninth, fellow rookieGerald Young made two dramatic catches in center field to save runs and keep the scored tied. Caminiti drew abase on balls in the bottom of the ninth, and with one out, Young singled to score him as the game-winner and 2–1 win. Astros hitters drew 10 walks while Houston'sDanny Darwin (6–6) tossed a four-hitcomplete game gem, staying through all the way through to become the winning pitcher.^[10][11]

On August 31, 1987,Billy Hatcher of the Astros was batting against theChicago Cubs when his bat broke and pieces flew down the third base line. Cubs third basemanKeith Moreland sawcork, and Hatcher was subsequently suspended for 10 games. He later claimed that he was using relieverDave Smith's bat, who had allowed him to select one from his bat rack, and not his own.^[12]

On September 9, Ryan struck outMike Aldrete for the 4,500th strikeout in his career.^[13] The final out of the seventh inning in a fantastic outing for "The Express," Ryan fanned 16 total that day to lead a 4–2 victory over San Francisco. At the plate, he contributed two hits of his own, including one that drove in the first run of the contest. Building on another dominant season, Ryan ended the day leading the NL inearned run average (2.76 ERA) and strikeouts (226), though hiswin–loss record stood at 8–15. Speaking on the performance, Ryan predicted that this "old dog" would not reachstrikeout number 5,000.^[14]

Glenn Davis launched three home runs on September 10 atJack Murphy Stadium; however, in spite of this performance, theSan Diego Padres overcame Houston, 8–7. Davis' first two home runs were offMark Grant, and the final was launched offMark Davis on his way to fiveruns batted in. In the bottom of the ninth,Rob Nelson singled homeGarry Templeton offManny Hernández for the walk-off.^[15] This was the first of two occasions that Davis had hit three home runs in a game during his career,^[16] and was the third time by an Astros hitte.^[a][17]

Nolan Ryan concluded the season having maintained his major league lead in numerous pitching categories, including 270 strikeouts, 6.548hits per nine innings (H/9), 11.480strikeouts per nine innings (K/9), 2.47fielding independent pitching (FIP), and 3.103strikeout-to-walk ratio (K/BB),^[18] He also finished as the National League ERA leader at 2.76, earning the distinction as the first Houston Astro to win two ERA titles. It was the fourth occasion that an Astros pitcher led the NL in ERA, followingJ. R. Richard (2.71 in1979), himself (1.69 in1981), and Mike Scott the year before (2.22).^[19] Scott concluded the 1987 season as NL runner-up in strikeouts (233), tied for third in wins (16), and seventh with a 3.23 ERA.^[20] Ryan also joined Richard (303 in1978 and 313 in 1979) and Scott (306 in 1986) as the third Astros pitcher to lead the NL strikeouts.^[21] As league leader in strikeouts and ERA, Ryan contributed the third season in which an Astros pitcher claimed two-thirds of the pitchingTriple Crown (Richard in 1979 and Scott in 1986).^[b][22]

Ryan also led the major leagues inhits per nine innings surrendered (6.548 H/9) for the fourth time in his Astros career, setting a franchise record in this statistic. This was the ninth occasion in club history a Houston pitcher had led the league. Ryan was preceded byDon Wilson, J. R. Richard and Mike Scott..^[23]

Houston finished the season with the third-highestattendance total in baseball (1,909,902).^[8]

Second basemanBill Doran was voted for Houston Astros' teamMost Valuable Player Award (MVP) for the second time, following his selection in1985. He became the third repeat winner, followingRusty Staub (1966 and1967), and teammateJosé Cruz (four times,1977,1980,1983, and1984).^[24]

• April 2, 1987:Jeff Calhoun was traded by the Houston Astros to the Philadelphia Phillies forRonn Reynolds.^[25]
• June 2, 1987:1987 Major League Baseball draft
  • Craig Biggio was drafted by the Astros in the 1st round (22nd pick). Player signed June 8, 1987.^[26]
  • Darryl Kile was drafted by the Astros in the 30th round. Player signed May 18, 1988.^[27]
• June 2, 1987:Eric Bullock was traded by the Astros to theMinnesota Twins forClay Christiansen.^[28]

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Awards

• Fred Hartman Award for Long and Meritorious Service to Baseball:^[24]Gene Elston
• Houston-Area Major League Player of the Year:^[c][24]Roger Clemens (BOS)
• Houston AstrosMost Valuable Player (MVP) Award:^[24]Bill Doran
• MLB All-Star Game—Starting pitcher:Mike Scott
• NL Player of the Week:^[30]
  • April 12—José Cruz
  • June 21—Mike Scott
  • July 19—Ken Caminiti
  • August 23—Bill Doran

NL batting leaders^[31]

• Games played:Bill Doran (162)

NL pitching leaders^[18][20]

• Earned run average (ERA):Nolan Ryan (2.76)
• Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP):Nolan Ryan (2.47—led MLB)
• Games started:Mike Scott (36)
• Hits per nine innings pitched (H/9):Nolan Ryan (6.5—led MLB)
• Losses:Bob Knepper (17)
• Strikeout-to-walk ratio (K/BB):Nolan Ryan (3.10—led MLB)
• Strikeouts:Nolan Ryan (276—led MLB)
• Strikeouts per nine innings pitched (K/9):Nolan Ryan (11.5—led MLB)

Footnotes

Sources

• 1987 Houston Astros season at Baseball Reference

• Houston Astros seasons
• 1987 Major League Baseball season
• 1987 in sports in Texas

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