The 1971

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

season was a season in American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

. The team finished tied for fourth in the

National League West The National League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed for the 1969 season when the National League expanded to 12 teams by adding the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos. For purpose of keeping a re ...

with a record of 79–83, 11 games behind the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...

. The Astros played 75 games that were decided by a one run margin, which is an all-time MLB record. In those games, the team had a record of 32–43.

Offseason

* January 13, 1971:

Doug Konieczny Douglas James Konieczny ( ; September 27, 1951) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. Konieczny pitched in all or part of four seasons between and , all for the Houston Astros. Konieczny graduated from St. Ladislaus High School in H ...

was drafted by the Astros in the 1st round (4th pick) of the 1971 Major League Baseball draft Secondary Phase.

Regular season

*September 5, 1971: In a game against the Giants,

J. R. Richard James Rodney Richard (March 7, 1950 – August 4, 2021) was an American professional baseball player. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as a right-handed starting pitcher for the Houston Astros from 1971 to 1980. Richard led ...

struck out 15 batters in his very first game, tying a Major League record first established by

Karl Spooner Karl Benjamin Spooner (June 23, 1931 – April 10, 1984) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a left-handed pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers. After a meteoric rise during which he set a Major L ...

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* June 8, 1971: 1971 Major League Baseball draft ** Paul Siebert was drafted by the Astros in the 3rd round. **

Rich Troedson Richard LaMonte Troedson (born May 1, 1950) is a retired American pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from through for the San Diego Padres. Listed at , , Troedson batted and threw left-handed. He was selected by the Padres in the ...

was drafted by the Astros in the 1st round (8th pick) of the Secondary Phase, but did not sign.Rich Troedson
at ''Baseball Reference''

Roster

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''

Other batters

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

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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

Other pitchers

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

Relief pitchers

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

Farm system

References

External links

1971 Houston Astros season at Baseball Reference
{{Houston Astros Houston Astros seasons Houston Astros season Houston Astro