1969 Houston Astros season

1969 Houston Astros
LeagueNational League
DivisionWest
BallparkAstrodome
CityHouston, Texas
Record81–81 (.500)
Divisional place5th
OwnersRoy Hofheinz
General managersSpec Richardson
ManagersHarry Walker
TelevisionKTRK-TV
RadioKPRC (AM)
(Gene Elston, Loel Passe, Harry Kalas)
Seasons

The 1969 Houston Astros season was the eighth season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their fifth as the Astros, eighth in the National League (NL), first in the inaugural season of the NL West division, and fifth at The Astrodome. The Astros entered the season with a record of 72–90, in tenth place and 25 games behind the NL pennant-winning St. Louis Cardinals.

Don Wilson made his first Opening Day start for the Astros, hosted by the San Diego Padres—who were playing their inaugural game in franchise history as one of four expansion teams in MLB—but were defeated, 2–1.

One day after the Astros were no-hit by Jim Maloney of the Cincinnati Reds at Crosley Field, Wilson tossed the fourth no-hitter in franchise history on May 1, a 4–0 victory over the Reds. The second of two no-hitters he pitched for the Astros, Wilson also became the first in franchise history to achieve this feat.

In the MLB amateur draft, the Astros' first round selection was pitcher J. R. Richard, at second overall. At the time, Richard became the highest-selected player in the amateur draft for Houston.

Shortstop Denis Menke and pitcher Larry Dierker represented the Astros and played for the National League at the MLB All-Star Game. It was the first career selection for both players.

The Astros concluded the season with an 81–81 record and in fifth place, 12 games behind the NL West-champion Atlanta Braves. This represented the first time in franchise history that Houston finished with a record of .500 or higher.

With Wilson, Dierker, and Tom Griffin all reaching the 200 strikeout threshold, this Astros pitching staff became the second to accomplish this feat, following the 1967 Minnesota Twins. Griffin was also named The Sporting News NL Rookie Pitcher of the Year.[a] Astros pitchers threw 1,221 strikeouts, a major league record that lasted until 1996.

Offseason

Regular season

On April 8, the expansion team San Diego Padres hosted the Houston Astros, from the prior expansion class of 1962, for the first-ever game in Padres history.

On May 4, first baseman Curt Blefary participated in seven double plays, an MLB record for first basemen in a 9-inning game.[6]

On May 27, Don Wilson had tossed a 13-strikeout gem keeping the score tied 2–2 with the Philadelphia Phillies going in the bottom of the ninth inning. Doug Rader proceeded to hit the game-winning grand slam for a 6–2 Houston win.[7] With the game tied 6–6 in the May 28 contest, in the 10th inning, Rader drew the bases-loaded walk to decide a 7–6 victory over the Phillies. This also gave Houston a 10-game winning streak to set a then-franchise record.[8]

On June 5, Joe Morgan's 4-fort-4 day with a home run and four runs scored led a Houston win over the St. Louis Cardinals, 11–6.[9] Astros starter Larry Dierker, on 24-hour leave from duty with the Army on June 8, outdueled Cardinals ace Steve Carlton over 11 innings. Dierker capped off the night by hitting the game-winning run batted in (RBI) for a 2–1 win.[10]

The Astros season from August 26 to October 2 was featured in Jim Bouton's book, Ball Four.[11] On September 19, Bouton struck out Tony Pérez of the Cincinnati Reds and made baseball history. With that strikeout, the pitching staff of the 1969 edition of the Houston Astros broke the then-National League record for most strikeouts in a season with 1,123 strikeouts.[11] The team finished the year with 1,221 strikeouts, which stood as the National League record until 1996, when it was broken by the Atlanta Braves.[12][13] The Astros were the second team to have three pitchers with 200 strikeouts, with only the 1967 Minnesota Twins having accomplished the feat. Since then, only the 2013 Detroit Tigers have accomplished the feat.[14]

Season standings

NL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Atlanta Braves 93 69 .574 — 50‍–‍31 43‍–‍38
San Francisco Giants 90 72 .556 3 52‍–‍29 38‍–‍43
Cincinnati Reds 89 73 .549 4 50‍–‍31 39‍–‍42
Los Angeles Dodgers 85 77 .525 8 50‍–‍31 35‍–‍46
81 81 .500 12 52‍–‍29 29‍–‍52
San Diego Padres 52 110 .321 41 28‍–‍53 24‍–‍57

Record vs. opponents

1969 National League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Team ATL CHC CIN HOU LAD MTL NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL
Atlanta — 3–9 12–6 15–3 9–9 8–4 4–8 6–6 8–4 13–5 9–9 6–6
Chicago 9–3 — 6–6–1 8–4 6–6 10–8 8–10 12–6 7–11 11–1 6–6 9–9
Cincinnati 6–12 6–6–1 — 9–9 10–8 8–4 6–6 10–2 5–7 11–7 10–8 8–4
3–15 4–8 9–9 — 6–12 11–1 10–2 8–4 3–9 10–8 10–8 7–5
Los Angeles 9–9 6–6 8–10 12–6 — 10–2 4–8 8–4 8–4 12–6 5–13 3–9
Montreal 4–8 8–10 4–8 1–11 2–10 — 5–13 11–7 5–13 4–8 1–11 7–11
New York 8–4 10–8 6–6 2–10 8–4 13–5 — 12–6 10–8 11–1 8–4 12–6
Philadelphia 6-6 6–12 2–10 4–8 4–8 7–11 6–12 — 10–8 8–4 3–9 7–11
Pittsburgh 4–8 11–7 7–5 9–3 4–8 13–5 8–10 8–10 — 10–2 5–7 9–9
San Diego 5–13 1–11 7–11 8–10 6–12 8–4 1–11 4–8 2–10 — 6–12 4–8
San Francisco 9–9 6–6 8–10 8–10 13–5 11–1 4–8 9–3 7–5 12–6 — 3–9
St. Louis 6–6 9–9 4–8 5–7 9–3 11–7 6–12 11–7 9–9 8–4 9–3 —


Notable transactions

Roster

1969 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

Manager

Coaches

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

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

Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
C Johnny Edwards 151 496 115 .232 6 50
1B Curt Blefary 155 542 137 .253 12 67
2B Joe Morgan 147 535 126 .236 15 43
SS Denis Menke 154 553 149 .269 10 90
3B Doug Rader 155 569 140 .246 11 83
LF Jesús Alou 115 452 112 .248 5 34
CF Jim Wynn 149 495 133 .269 33 87
RF Norm Miller 119 409 108 .264 4 50

Other batters

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
Marty Martínez 78 198 61 .308 0 15
Gary Geiger 93 125 28 .224 0 16
Sandy Valdespino 41 119 29 .244 0 12
Julio Gotay 46 81 21 .259 0 9
Tommy Davis 24 79 19 .241 1 9
Leon McFadden 44 74 13 .176 0 3
Héctor Torres 34 69 11 .159 1 8
Don Bryant 31 59 11 .186 1 6
Bob Watson 20 40 11 .275 0 3
Keith Lampard 9 12 3 .250 1 2
César Gerónimo 28 8 2 .250 0 0
John Mayberry 5 4 0 .000 0 0

Pitching

= Indicates league leader

Starting pitchers

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

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Larry Dierker 39 305.1 20 13 2.33 232
Denny Lemaster 38 244.2 13 17 3.16 173
Don Wilson 34 225.0 16 12 4.00 235
Tom Griffin 31 188.1 11 10 3.54 200

Other pitchers

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

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Jim Ray 40 115.0 8 2 3.91 115
Wade Blasingame 26 52.0 0 5 5.37 33

Relief pitchers

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

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Fred Gladding 57 4 8 29 4.21 40
Jack Billingham 52 6 7 2 4.25 71
Dooley Womack 30 2 1 0 3.51 32
Skip Guinn 28 1 2 0 6.67 33
Jim Bouton 16 0 2 1 4.11 32
Danny Coombs 8 0 1 0 6.75 3
Dan Schneider 6 0 1 0 13.50 3
Bob Watkins 5 0 0 0 5.17 11
Bill Henry 3 0 0 0 0.00 2
Ron Willis 3 0 0 0 0.00 2
Scipio Spinks 1 0 0 0 0.00 4
Marty Martínez 1 0 0 0 13.50 0

Awards and honors

1969 MLB All-Star Game

  • Larry Dierker
  • Denis Menke

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Oklahoma City 89ers American Association Cot Deal
AA Savannah Senators Southern League Hub Kittle
A Peninsula Astros Carolina League Tony Pacheco
A Cocoa Astros Florida State League Leo Posada
A-Short Season Williamsport Astros New York–Penn League Billy Smith
Rookie Covington Astros Appalachian League Dick Bogard

Savannah affiliation shared with Washington Senators

References

Footnotes
  1. ^ From 1961–2003, The Sporting News declared one rookie pitcher and position player from each league, the NL and the American League (AL), for this award.
Sources
  1. ^ "Nate Colbert Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com.
  2. ^ "Bo Belinsky Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com.
  3. ^ "Curt Blefary Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com.
  4. ^ "Jesús Alou Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com.
  5. ^ "Byron Browne Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com.
  6. ^ "MLB Double Play Records for First Basemen". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
  7. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (May 27, 2025). "Today in Astros history - May 27". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  8. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (May 28, 2025). "Today in Astros history - May 28". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  9. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 5, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 5". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  10. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 8, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 8". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 4, 2025.
  11. ^ a b Ball Four, 20th Anniversary Edition, pp. 324–396, Jim Bouton, Edited by Leonard Schecter, Wiley Publishing Inc., 1990, ISBN 0-02-030665-2
  12. ^ "Smoltz smothers Expos". Ledger-Enquirer. Associated Press. September 28, 1996. pp. C3. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
  13. ^ "Major League Leaders - Teams - Pitching". FanGraphs.
  14. ^ "Teams with Three 200+ Strikeout Pitchers - A Diverse Bunch of Hurlers". Baseball Roundtable. February 21, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
  15. ^ Oscar Zamora at Baseball Reference
  16. ^ J. R. Richard at Baseball Reference
  17. ^ Jim Bouton at Baseball Reference
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