Jump to content

1984 Houston Astros season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1984 Houston Astros
LeagueNational League
DivisionWest
BallparkThe Astrodome
CityHouston, Texas
Record80–82 (.494)
Divisional place2nd—tied
OwnersJohn McMullen
General managersAl Rosen
ManagersBob Lillis
TelevisionKTXH
HSE
RadioKRBE
(Gene Elston, Dewayne Staats, Larry Dierker, Mike Elliott, Jim Durham, Larry Hirsch)
← 1983
1985 →

The 1984 Houston Astros season was the 23rd season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 20th as the Astros, 23rd in the National League (NL), 16th in the NL West, and 20th at The Astrodome. The Astros entered the season having posted an 85–77 record, in third place and 6 games behind the division-champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

On April 3, Joe Niekro made his third Opening Day start for Houston, who hosted the Montreal Expos but lost, 4–2. During the amateur draft, the Astros' first round selection was pitcher Don August, and third round selection was third baseman Ken Caminiti.

Outfielder Jerry Mumphrey was selected to represent the Astros in the MLB All-Star Game and play for the National League, his lone career selection.

The Astros concluded the season with an 80–82 record, tied for second place with the Atlanta Braves and 12 games behind the division-champion and NL pennant-winning San Diego Padres. Following the season, outfielder José Cruz won his second career Silver Slugger Award. Fellow outfielder Terry Puhl was recognized with the Tip O'Neill Award.

Offseason

[edit]

Regular season

[edit]

Summary

[edit]

April

[edit]
Opening Day starting lineup
Uniform Player Position
19Bill DoranSecond baseman
21Terry PuhlRight fielder
10Dickie ThonShortstop
25José CruzLeft fielder
28Jerry MumphreyCenter fielder
22Ray KnightFirst baseman
29Denny WallingThird baseman
14Alan AshbyCatcher
36Joe NiekroPitcher
Venue: Astrodome • Final: Montreal 4, Houston 2

Sources:[2][3]

The Astros lost to the Montreal Expos, 4–2, on Opening Day. Charlie Lea outdueled Joe Niekro over seven frames each. During the top of the eighth, Andre Dawson tripled in Tim Raines. Later in the inning, Miguel Diloné scored Gary Carter for a 4–1 Expos lead.[4]

On the Sunday evening of April 8 at the Astrodome, shortstop Dickie Thon was struck near the left eye by a rising fastball from pitcher Mike Torrez, an incident that changed the course of Thon's career. Craig Reynolds pinch ran for Thon, and though the Astros subsequently loaded the bases, Jerry Mumphrey popped out to extinguish the threat. The New York Mets won the contest, 3–1, which clinched a series sweep for New York, their first at the Astrodome since 1966. X-rays revealed a fractured orbital bone and Thon missed the rest of the season due to the injury.[5][6]

May

[edit]

With 39,924 fans in attendance at Shea Stadium on May 6, the second-largest of the season thus far had presented to witness the marquee duel between nineteen-year-old phenom Dwight "Doc" Gooden, and 37-year old Nolan Ryan. In the first inning, Ryan allowed one run on two hits, but then became unstoppable, polishing off the final eight innings yielding just four singles and two walks, while fanning seven. Meanwhile, Gooden started with two scoreless innings, but the Astros pummeled him in the third inning for eight runs on six hits. Ryan chipped in the offensive surge, executing a bunt single over Gooden's head that drove in a run. The Astros defeated the Mets for the second straight contest, 10–1, as Ryan went the distance.[7] Ryan also lined a double to left in the sixth inning and later scored the Astros' ninth run.[8]

On May 22, a pre-game incident took place during warmups when St. Louis Cardinals mascot Fredbird tackled Astros first baseman Enos Cabell, which exacerbated his knee injury. The two clubs exchanged words, but the Astros ultimately walked the game off in the 12th inning.[9]

Riding a five-hit shutout on May 26, Nolan Ryan fanned nine to regain the all-time strikeout lead from Steve Carlton, 3,758 to 3,757. Ryan (6–2) also won his fifth straight decision while having aggregated a scoreless innings streak of 27 as the Astros defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2–0. In the Astros' fifth inning, Bill Doran stroked a tripled to the right field corner off starter José DeLeón (2–2). With one out, Terry Puhl doubled, scoring Doran, and Craig Reynolds followed with single to right, which scored Puhl. The most recent date that Ryan had led Carlton was on July 26, 1983 (3,591—3,588).[10]

Ryan was named NL Player of the Week for May 27.[11] Over two outings—one each against St. Louis (May 21) and Pittsburgh—Ryan launched 14 shutout innings with 16 strikeouts. He issued just four walks and surrendered seven hits.[12]

Ryan accreted a string of 27+2⁄3 scoreless frames, which represented the best such work during his Astros tenure.[a][13]

Moreover, Ryan assembled just the fifth calendar month in the Major Leagues since 1913[b] having surrendered just one earned run over 45 or greater innings pitched, which, at the time, equaled a Major League league record.[c][14]

Following this superb performance, Nolan Ryan was commended as the NL Pitcher of the Month.[15] Nolan Ryan went 5–0 W–L over 6 starts, with a 0.20 earned run average (ERA), over 45+1⁄3 innings pitched. He surrendered three runs total, 26 hits, and 16 walks, while whiffing 50 batters. Ryan amassed three complete games with two shutouts.[16] Ryan also had been Houston's most recent recipient of the Pitcher of the Month accolade, recognized in August 1982.[15]

June

[edit]

During the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 1, Mike Scioscia singled in two runs off Nolan Ryan to halt his scoreless streak. Ryan lasted four innings with five hits and the two runs surrendered this time as the Dodgers eventually won, 6–2.[17]

During the month of June, José Cruz hit .303/.333/.443/.776, 37 hits, 24 runs scored, four doubles, five triples, one home run, 29 RBI, and four stolen bases over 30 games.[18] This was the most RBI in a calendar month since Bob Watson produced a club-record 30 RBI in September—October 1977, and the third in team history with 29 or more, previously accomplished by Jimmy Wynn in June 1967.[d][19]

July

[edit]

For the week of June 25–July 1, José Cruz was named NL Player of the Week,[11] during which he batted .500 (18-for-36), 10 runs scored, 8 runs batted in (RBI) and a stolen base over 8 contests. Five of the games featured three hits, and during the final game that week, July 1, Cruz went 4-for-6, capping an 11-for-19 output over a four-game set versus the Philadelphia Phillies.[20]

José Cruz slugged his 100th home run as a member of the Astros on July 6, off Steve Rogers of the Montreal Expos. It was Cruz' 126th career blast overall.[21] The first run to break a scoreless tie in the top of the fourth, the Astros went on to score 8, winning by 6. Joe Niekro (9–7) went the distance, allowing two runs, and produced a game score of 71.[22]

On July 24, Cabell, Phil Garner, and Cruz each went deep back-to-back-to-back off San Francisco Giants starter Mark Davis to cap a nine-run explosion during the fifth inning.[23] This was the first-ever instance where three Astros hitters homered consecutively.[24] Cruz burnished an exclamation point with another blast off Bob Lacey in the seventh. Garner also doubled during the Astros' 10–3 thrashing. Nolan Ryan (8–6) tossed seven solid frames to earn the quality start and win.[23]

Cruz continued his excellent offensive performance throughout the month of July, and was rewarded as NL Player of the Month.[25] He torched National League pitching for 47 hits, 11 doubles and 22 runs scored for a slash line of .443 / .516 / .632 / 1.148.[18] The first 25 games featured all 47 hits, during which he hit .495, prior to ending the final four games in an 0-for-14 slump.[20]

August

[edit]

At Wrigley Field on August 22, José Cruz ripped his third career grand slam[26] in the second inning during which Houston exploded for seven total, on the way to a rout of the Chicago Cubs, 8–3. Earlier in the second inning, Garner had blasted his fourth home run, and also worked two bases on balls during the contest. Craig Reynolds added two hits. Nolan Ryan (11–7) went the distance, surrendering seven hits and two walks while two of the three runs were earned, and tallied 12 punchouts. The victory evened the Astros' record at 64–64.[27]

September

[edit]

On September 6, Glenn Davis swatted his first major league home run, launching an offering from Scott Garrelts in the seventh inning at Candlestick Park. This was a solo shot with Houston ahead, 13–1.[28]

Hosting the San Diego Padres on September 16, switch-hitting catcher Mark Bailey became the 13th National Leaguer—on the 19th occasion—and second Houston Astro to homer from both sides of the plate in the same game.[e][29] Every score counted as the Astros triumphed in a 10–9 thriller. Bailey connected in the bottom of the second off Mark Thurmond (right side), and in the bottom of the sixth off Luis DeLeón (left). Going into the bottom of the eighth, San Diego led, 9–8. With Glenn Davis at bat and the bases loaded, Rich Gossage uncorked a wild pitch, on which Bill Doran raced home. Next, Davis stroked the game-winning sacrifice fly to plate Kevin Bass. Dave Smith (4–3) then hurled a clean ninth to pick up the victory.[30]

Performance overview

[edit]

The Astros concluded the season with an 80–82 record, tied with the Atlanta Braves for second place in the NL West and 12 games behind the division-champion and NL pennant-winning Padres.[31] It was the 10th season since 1969 that the Astros won at least 80 games, and 11th in which they finished two games or fewer below the .500 line.[f][32]

As a team, the Astros swatted 67 triples, tying the club record set in 1980. It was the third season within the last four in which they had hit at least 60.[g][33]

Outfielder José Cruz batted .312 and drove in a career-high 95 runs batted in (RBI).[34] He won his second consecutive Silver Slugger Award to become the first Astro to win more than once.[35]

Terry Puhl, a native of Saskatchewan, was recognized with the inaugural edition of the Tip O'Neill Award, voted to single out the year's best Canadian player in baseball.[36]

Cruz was also honored with an unprecedented fourth Houston Astros' team Most Valuable Player Award (MVP), extending his club record after having won for each of the 1977, 1980, and 1983 campaigns. Cruz also joined Rusty Staub, the previous record-holder, to win in successive campaigns (1966 and 1967).[37]

Season standings

[edit]
NL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
San Diego Padres 9270 .568 — 48‍–‍33 44‍–‍37
Atlanta Braves 8082 .494 12 38‍–‍43 42‍–‍39
Houston Astros 8082 .494 12 43‍–‍38 37‍–‍44
Los Angeles Dodgers 7983 .488 13 40‍–‍41 39‍–‍42
Cincinnati Reds 7092 .432 22 39‍–‍42 31‍–‍50
San Francisco Giants 6696 .407 26 35‍–‍46 31‍–‍50

Record vs. opponents

[edit]
1984 National League record

Sources:
Team ATL CHC CIN HOU LAD MON NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL
Atlanta —3–913–512–66–125–74–87–58–47–1110–85–7
Chicago 9–3—7–56–67–510–712–69–98–106–69–313–5
Cincinnati 5–135–7—8–107–117–53–95–77–57–1112–64–8
Houston 6–126–610–8—9–97–54–86–66–66–1212–68–4
Los Angeles 12–65–77–119–9—6–63–93–94–810–810–86–6
Montreal 7–57–105–75–76–6—7–1111–77–117–57–59–9
New York 8–46–129–38–49–311–7—10–812–66–64–87–11
Philadelphia 5-79–97–56–69–37–118–10—7–117–58–48–10
Pittsburgh 4–810–85–76–68–411–76–1211–7—4–86–64–14
San Diego 11–76–611–712–68–105–76–65–78–4—13–57–5
San Francisco 8–103–96–126–128–105–78–44–86–65–13—7–5
St. Louis 7–55–138–44–86–69–911–710–814–45–75–7—

Notable transactions

[edit]

Roster

[edit]
1984 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders

Other batters

 Manager

Coaches

Player stats

[edit]

Batting

[edit]

Starters by position

[edit]

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
CMark Bailey10834473.212934
1BEnos Cabell127436135.310844
2BBill Doran147548143.261441
SSCraig Reynolds146527137.260660
3BPhil Garner128374104.278445
LFJosé Cruz160600187.3121295
CFJerry Mumphrey151524152.290983
RFTerry Puhl132449135.301955

Other batters

[edit]

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 Bass12133186.260229
Ray Knight8827862.223229
Denny Walling8724970.281331
Alan Ashby6619150.262427
Jim Pankovits538123.284114
Harry Spilman327219.264215
Glenn Davis186113.21328
Bert Peña24398.20514
Tony Scott25214.19000
Alan Bannister9204.20000
Dickie Thon5176.35301
Tim Tolman14173.17600
Mike Richardt16154.26702
Tom Wieghaus6100.00001

Pitching

[edit]

Starting pitchers

[edit]

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 Niekro38248.116123.04127
Bob Knepper35233.215103.20140
Nolan Ryan30183.212113.04197
Mike Scott31154.05114.6883

Other pitchers

[edit]

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 LaCoss39132.0754.0286
Vern Ruhle4090.1194.5860
Mike Madden1740.2235.5329

Relief pitchers

[edit]

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

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Frank DiPino5749143.3565
Bill Dawley6011451.9347
Dave Smith535452.2145
Joe Sambito320003.0226
Julio Solano311301.9533
Jeff Calhoun90101.1711
Mark Ross21000.001

Awards and achievements

[edit]

Grand slams

[edit]
No.DateAstros batterVenueInningPitcherOpposing teamBox
1 August 22 José Cruz Wrigley Field 2 Dick Ruthven Chicago Cubs [27]
2 September 6 Craig Reynolds Candlestick Park 1 Bill Laskey San Francisco Giants

Awards

[edit]
1984 Houston Astros award winners
Name of award Recipient Ref.
Houston Astros Most Valuable Player (MVP) José Cruz [34]
MLB All-Star Game Reserve outfielder Jerry Mumphrey
National League (NL) Pitcher of the Month May Nolan Ryan [15]
National League (NL) Player of the Month July José Cruz [25]
National League (NL) Player of the Week May 27 Nolan Ryan [11]
July 1 José Cruz
Silver Slugger Award Outfielder José Cruz [35]
The Sporting News NL All-Star Outfielder José Cruz [43]
Tip O'Neill Award[h] Terry Puhl [36]

League leaders

[edit]
Batting leaders
Pitching leaders

Minor league system

[edit]
Level Team League Manager
AAA Tucson Toros Pacific Coast League Matt Galante
AA Columbus Astros Southern League Bob Bailey and Jimmy Johnson
A Daytona Beach Astros Florida State League Dave Cripe
A Asheville Tourists South Atlantic League Tom Spencer
A-Short Season Auburn Astros New York–Penn League Bob Hartsfield
Rookie GCL Astros Gulf Coast League José Tartabull
Championships

Notes

[edit]
  1. ↑ Ryan catapulted his career-longest scoreless innings streak of 34+2⁄3 as a member of the California Angels from August 18—September 4, 1972.
  2. ↑ When earned run became an official statistic.
  3. ↑ Surpassed by Orel Hershiser in September 1988 with a completely scoreless month during his record 59 scoreless innings streak. Criteria: In the regular season, from 1913 to 2025, for any choice in months, requiring earned runs ≤ 1 and innings pitched ≥ 45, sorted by lowest year.
  4. ↑ Criteria: In the regular season, from 1962 to 1986, playing for HOU, for any choice in months, requiring runs batted in ≥ 27, sorted by lowest year.
  5. ↑ The first was fellow catcher and teammate Alan Ashby, on September 27, 1982, also against the Padres. Kevin Bass had the subsequent achievement on August 3, 1987.
  6. ↑ In 1983, the Astros aggregated 60 triples.
  7. ↑ Premier season for this award.

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 "J. R. Richard stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 26, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Montreal Expos (4) vs Houston Astros (2) box score". Baseball Almanac. April 3, 1984. Retrieved September 26, 2025.
  3. ↑ "1984 Houston Astros uniform numbers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 26, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Montreal Expos (4) vs Houston Astros (2) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. April 3, 1984. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  5. ↑ McCurdy, Bill (September 20, 2018). "April 8, 1984: Dickie Thon beaned in head in Astros' loss to Mets". Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Retrieved September 26, 2025.
  6. ↑ LeMoine, Bob. "Dickie Thon". Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  7. ↑ Schwartzberg, Seth (May 6, 2025). "Today in Astros history - May 6". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
  8. ↑ Rhoden, William C. (May 7, 1984). "Astros rout Mets and Gooden". The New York Times. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
  9. ↑ Schwartzberg, Seth (May 22, 2025). "Today in Astros history - May 22". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Nolan Ryan hurled a five-hitter and regained the all-time..." United Press International (UPI). May 26, 1984. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
  11. 1 2 3 "MLB Players of the Week Awards". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
  12. ↑ "Nolan Ryan 1984 pitching game logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 22, 2025.
  13. ↑ "Top performances for Nolan Ryan". Retrosheet. Retrieved December 22, 2025.
  14. ↑ "Player pitching split finder–baseball". Stathead. Sports Reference. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  15. 1 2 3 "Major League Baseball Pitchers of the Month". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Nolan Ryan 1984 pitching splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Houston Astros (2) vs Los Angeles Dodgers (6) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. June 1, 1984. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
  18. 1 2 "José Cruz 1984 batting splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Player batting season & career split finder–baseball". Stathead. Sports Reference. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  20. 1 2 "José Cruz 1984 batting game logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
  21. ↑ "José Cruz career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2026.
  22. ↑ "Houston Astros (8) vs Montreal Expos (2)—Game 1". Baseball-Reference.com. July 6, 1984. Retrieved March 27, 2026.
  23. 1 2 "Houston Astros (10) vs San Francisco Giants (3) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. July 24, 1984. Retrieved December 11, 2025.
  24. ↑ Hulsey, Bob. "1984—season recap". Astros Daily. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  25. 1 2 "MLB Player of the Month Award". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
  26. ↑ "José Cruz career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  27. 1 2 "Houston Astros (8) vs Chicago Cubs (3) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. August 22, 1984. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  28. ↑ "Glenn Davis career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
  29. ↑ "Home runs from both sides of the plate in one game". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
  30. ↑ "Houston Astros (10) vs San Diego Padres (9) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. September 16, 1984. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
  31. ↑ "1984 National League team statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
  32. ↑ "Houston Astros team history & encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
  33. ↑ "Houston Astros team yearly batting stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  34. 1 2 "Astros history – Timeline". MLB.com. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  35. 1 2 "Silver Slugger Award". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  36. 1 2 "The James 'Tip' O'Neill Award". Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 26, 2025.
  37. ↑ McTaggart, Brian (December 21, 2009). "Bourn highlights Astros' awards season". MLB.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved October 18, 2025.
  38. ↑ "Mike Richardt stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 26, 2025.
  39. ↑ "Ken Caminiti stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball Reference. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  40. ↑ "John Vander Wal stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball Reference. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  41. ↑ "Brad Mills stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
  42. ↑ "Ray Knight stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
  43. ↑ "José Cruz stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 13, 2025.
  44. ↑ "1984 awards voting". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 7, 2026.
  45. ↑ "Champions by league | South Atlantic League". MLB.com. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1984_Houston_Astros_season&oldid=1370900414"