The 1989

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

season was the 28th season for the

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) franchise located in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, their 25th as the Astros, 28th in the

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(NL), 21st in the

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

division, and 25th at The

Astrodome The NRG Astrodome, formerly and also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, was the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas, United States. It seated around 50,000 fans, with a record atte ...

. The season was best remembered for the Astros winning 16 of 17 games in late May through mid June.

Offseason

* December 4, 1988: The Astros traded a player to be named later to the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

for Mark Portugal. The Astros completed the deal by sending Todd McClure (minors) to the Twins on December 7. * December 21, 1988: Bob Forsch was signed as a free agent by the Astros. * January 10, 1989: John Fishel, Mike Hook (minors), and Pedro DeLeon (minors) were traded by the Astros to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

for Rick Rhoden. * January 30, 1989: Dan Schatzeder was signed as a free agent by the Astros. * February 16, 1989: Roger Mason was signed as a free agent with the Houston Astros. * March 31, 1989: Dave Johnson and Victor Hithe (minors) were traded by the Astros to the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

for Carl Nichols.

Regular season

Summary

A 22-inning context on June 4 against the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

lasted seven hours, 14 minutes. This ended with a 5–4 Astros win when Rafael Ramírez' single grazed the glove of first baseman

Fernando Valenzuela Fernando Valenzuela Anguamea (; November 1, 1960 – October 22, 2024), nicknamed "El Toro", was a Mexican professional baseball pitcher. Valenzuela played 17 Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons, from 1980 to 1997 (except for a one-year sabba ...

for the game-winning RBI. On June 13, right fielder

Terry Puhl Terry Stephen Puhl (born July 8, 1956) is a Canadian former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a outfielder from 1977 to 1991, most prominently as a member of the Houston Astros where he helped the fra ...

played his 1,403rd game to pass Jack Graney for most all-time in the major leagues among

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

-born players. Reliever Dave Smith established an Astros club record by converting each of the first 21 save opportunities to start the season. This record stood until

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

, when

Josh Hader Joshua Ronald Hader (born April 7, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres. Hader is a five-time Ma ...

extended his streak to 22.

Standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* April 5, 1989: Greg Gross was signed as a free agent with the Houston Astros. * April 6, 1989: Troy Afenir was traded by the Astros to the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

for Matt Sinatro. * June 5, 1989: Jeff Juden was drafted by the Astros in the 1st round (12th pick) of the 1989 Major League Baseball draft. Player signed June 30, 1989.

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

1989 Houston Astros season at Baseball Reference
{{Houston Astros Houston Astros seasons Houston Astros season

1989 in Houston