The 2001 Houston Astros season was the 40th season for the

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) franchise in Houston, Texas. For the fourth time in five seasons, the Astros won the

National League Central The National League Central is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was created in 1994, by moving two teams from the National League West (the Cincinnati Reds and the Houston Astros) and three teams from the National League ...

division title, having won 93 games by virtue of beating the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

in the final game of the year on October 7 (after the season had been stopped for ten days due to the September 11 attacks). Although St. Louis had also won 93 games, no tie-breaker game was played, since each were assured a postseason spot; as such, the Astros were awarded the division title by winning the season series 9–7 between them and the Cardinals. In addition to the win,

Shane Reynolds Richard Shane Reynolds (born March 26, 1968) is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from 1992 through 2004 for the Houston Astros, Atlanta Braves and Arizona Diamondbacks. Listed at 6' 3", 210 lb., Reynolds batted and th ...

became the seventh Astro to win 100 games and the first since Mike Scott in 1989.

Offseason

*January 2, 2001: Charlie Hayes was signed as a free agent with the Houston Astros.Charlie Hayes Statistics
Baseball-Reference.com *January 3, 2001: Kent Bottenfield was signed as a free agent with the Houston Astros.

Regular season

With a triple on May 7 against the Chicago Cubs,

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

Jeff Bagwell Jeffrey Robert Bagwell (born May 27, 1968) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and coach who spent his entire 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) playing career with the Houston Astros. Originally a Boston Red Sox fourth- ...

achieved the 700th

extra base hit In baseball, an extra-base hit (EB, EBH or XBH), also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire ano ...

of his career. On June 8, the first

interleague Interleague play in Major League Baseball refers to regular-season baseball games played between an American League (AL) team and a National League (NL) team. Interleague play was first introduced during the 1997 Major League Baseball season. Pri ...

game between the Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers took place at

The Ballpark at Arlington Choctaw Stadium, formerly Globe Life Park, is an American multi-purpose stadium in Arlington, Texas, between Dallas and Fort Worth. Originally built as a baseball stadium, it was home to the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball and the T ...

, part of a rivalry known as the

Lone Star Series The Lone Star Series (also known as the Silver Boot Series) is a Major League Baseball (MLB) rivalry featuring Texas' two major league franchises, the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers. It is an outgrowth of the "natural rivalry" established by ...

. The Astros won the game by a score of 5-4. The team that would win the most games between the two in a season would be awarded the Silver Boot. For the second time in his career, Bagwell reached seven

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

(RBI) in a game – the second time he tied the club record – against the Kansas City Royals on July 7. Over four successive games from July 8–13, Bagwell homered and totaled five home runs in that span. In a contest at Enron Field against the

on July 18, Bagwell

hit for the cycle In baseball, hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter who hits a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle". Cycles are rare in Major League B ...

. He went 4-for-5 with a BB and five RBI as the Astros won, 17–11. He was the NL Player of the Month that July after batting .333 with nine HR, breaking his own club record with 36 RBI in a month, exceeding 34 RBI in August 2000. While hitting his 32nd HR on August 19, 2001, against

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

, Bagwell collected his 100th RBI. It was the sixth consecutive season he reached at least 30 HR and 100 RBI, making him the eighth player in MLB history to achieve such a streak, and the only Houston player to do so. Five days later, also against Pittsburgh, he scored his 100th run, joining

Jimmie Foxx James Emory Foxx (October 22, 1907 – July 21, 1967), nicknamed "Double X" and "The Beast", was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox, ...

Lou Gehrig Henry Louis Gehrig (born Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig ; June 19, 1903June 2, 1941) was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was renowned f ...

, and

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

as the only players in MLB history with six consecutive seasons of 30 homers, 100 RBI and 100 runs scored. On September 30 at Chicago, Bagwell walked for his 100th of the season, thus making him the only player in MLB history register six consecutive seasons of at least 30 HR, 100 RBI, 100 runs scored, and 100 walks. On October 4, Barry Bonds hit his 70th home run of the season off Houston pitcher Wilfredo Rodríguez to tie

Mark McGwire Mark David McGwire (born October 1, 1963), nicknamed "Big Mac", is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 2001 for the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Card ...

's single season home run record.

Standings

Record vs. opponents

Transactions

*June 5, 2001: Kirk Saarloos was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 3rd round of the 2001 amateur draft. Player signed June 24, 2001. *July 9, 2001: Charlie Hayes was released by the Houston Astros.

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''

National League Divisional Playoffs

Houston Astros vs. Atlanta Braves

Atlanta wins the series, 3-0

Farm system

References

External links

2001 Houston Astros season at Baseball Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:2001 Houston Astros Season Houston Astros seasons Houston Astros Season, 2001 National League Central champion seasons 2001 in sports in Texas