1995 Houston Astros season

1995 Houston Astros
LeagueNational League
DivisionCentral
BallparkThe Astrodome
CityHouston, Texas
Record76–68 (.528)
Divisional place2nd
OwnersDrayton McLane, Jr.
General managersBob Watson
ManagersTerry Collins
TelevisionKTXH
Prime Sports Southwest
RadioKPRC (AM)
(Bill Brown, Milo Hamilton, Larry Dierker, Vince Controneo, Bill Worrell)
KXYZ
(Francisco Ernesto Ruiz, Danny Gonzalez)

The 1995 Houston Astros season was the 34th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 31st as the Astros, 34th in the National League (NL), second in the NL Central division, and 31st at The Astrodome. The Astros entered the season with a 66–49 record, a second-place finish and 1⁄2 game behind the first-place Cincinnati Reds, prior to the cancellation of the remaining 47 games of the regular season and entire playoffs as a response to the players' strike.

The strike continued to impact the start of the 1995 season, leading to further cancellation of the first 18 games of the regular season. The season began for Houston on April 26 at Jack Murphy Stadium, where pitcher Doug Drabek made his second Opening Day start for the Astros, who defeated the San Diego Padres, 10–2.

Second baseman Craig Biggio was selected to represent the Astros at the MLB All-Star game, his fourth career selection. The Astros' first-round draft pick in the amateur draft was pitcher Tony McKnight, at 22nd overall.

With a 76–68 finish and 9 games out of first place behind the division-champion Cincinnati in the NL Central, the Astros secured their fourth consecutive season with a record of at least .500—an unprecedented feat for the organization at the time—and a second-consecutive finish as high as second place. The Astros were also runners-up in the NL Wild Card race, trailing the Colorado Rockies by 1 game.

Following the season, Biggio earned his third career Silver Slugger Award, and second career Gold Glove Award, while shortstop Orlando Miller was selected to the Topps All-Star Rookie Team. Former Astros outfielder Terry Puhl was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

Offseason

Summary

The Houston Astros concluded the strike-shortened 1994 campaign with a 66–49 (.574) record through 115 games, trailing the Cincinnati Reds by a 1⁄2 game for the National League (NL) Central division lead and the Atlanta Braves by 2+1⁄2 games in the NL Wild Card race.[1] No playoffs were held, either, as a response to the players' strike.[2] Awards were still bestowed in spite of the truncated campaign, and first baseman Jeff Bagwell became the fourth National Leaguer to be unanimously selected for the Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award,[a] and first Astro to win an MVP.[3] Bagwell ranked second in the league each with a .368 batting average and 39 home runs, while leading with 104 runs scored, 116 runs batted in (RBI), and .750 slugging percentage (SLG),[4] the latter figure of which was highest in the National League since Rogers Hornsby in 1925 (.756).[5] Second baseman Craig Biggio led the NL in doubles (44)[b] and stolen bases (39).[4] Moreover, the infield duo became the first players in club history to be conferred with the both Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards for their respective positions during the same season.[6]

Transactions

Regular season

Summary

April—May

Opening Day starting lineup
Uniform Player Position
7Craig BiggioSecond baseman
26Luis GonzalezLeft fielder
5Jeff BagwellFirst baseman
14Derek BellCenter fielder
17Phil PlantierRight fielder
18Dave MagadanThird baseman
9Scott ServaisCatcher
24Orlando MillerShortstop
15Doug DrabekPitcher
Venue: Jack Murphy Stadium • Houston 10, San Diego 2

Sources:[8][9]

The Astros commenced their 1995 campaign on April 26 at Jack Murphy Stadium, where they defeated the San Diego Padres, 10–2. During the top of the third inning, Jeff Bagwell cranked the premier home run of the season off his final pitcher faced from the year prior—a hit by pitch had fractured his left hand—Padres starter Andy Benes. The following batter, Derek Bell, took Benes deep to give the Astros a 3–0 advantage. Former Padre Phil Plantier also homered and delivered two runs batted in (RBI). During the top of the eighth, the Astros scored five unearned runs as Bagwell and Bell coaxed bases-loaded walks, and Luis Gonzalez scored on an error by new Padres third baseman Ken Caminiti. Dave Magadan then singled in Bagwell and Bell. Doug Drabek made his second Opening Day start for Houston, worked five innings, and picked up the victory.[10]

Catcher Tony Eusebio cranked his first career grand slam on May 19, in the bottom of the seventh off Reid Cornelius.[11] This punctuated a 10-2 triumph over the Montreal Expos. Earlier in the contest, young pitcher Pedro Martinez yielded a home run to Jeff Bagwell, his third of the season.[12]

With the score tied 1–1 on May 20, Expos pitcher Jeff Shaw walked in Craig Biggio for the game-winning run as Houston won, 2–1.[13]

June

Greg Swindell got a run batted in (RBI)-double on June 5 to bring the Astros back against the Florida Marlins. Meanwhile, Biggio delivered a three-run, walk-off home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to secure a 6–5 Houston win.[14]

On June 16, the Astros outlasted the New York Mets in a 16-inning thriller to win, 7-5. Houston had gained the lead two separate times in extra innings, first in the 12th and again in the 15th. The Astros recaptured the lead for good after loading the bases for Jeff Bagwell.[15]

Bagwell crushed his 100th career home run on June 20, launching a Gil Heredia offering over the left field wall at Olympic Stadium in the top of the seventh inning. The solo home run extended Houston's lead to 5–2 over the Montreal Expos.[16]

Derek Bell had four hits on June 23 against the Chicago Cubs, while the Astros tied the game 2–2 in the bottom of the ninth. Bell's fourth hit came in the 12th inning, where he delivered the game-winning RBI for a 3–2 Astros win.[17]

On June 25, the Astros erupted for a club-record 19 runs, pulverizing Cubs pitching in a 19–6 final at the Astrodome. Bagwell connected for a three-run blast in the seventh and led the way with five RBI. The home team poured it on during their final at bat in the eighth. John Cangelosi drilled a three-run blast off Bryan Hickerson as the Astros scored nine more times.[18]

Orlando Miller crushed a three-run blast on June 26 and drove in five to lead an 11–0 blanking of the St. Louis Cardinals. Greg Swindell spun a complete game shutout as he received 10 runs of support within the opening two frames. Luis Gonzalez provided three hits and plated three runs.[18]

On June 28, Eusebio launched his career grand slam and second of the season, during the bottom of the eighth inning at the Astrodome,[11] to put the finishing touches on a 9–0 blowout over the Cardinals. The Astros cranked five doubles, including two from Bagwell. Mike Hampton fired eight shutout innings to pick up his second win of the season. Meanwhile, coinciding with the contest of Eusebio's first grand slam, a Pedro Martínez took the mound, this time for the Astros, with the left-hander finishing off the contest with a scoreless ninth inning.[19]

MLB All-Star Game

Second baseman Craig Biggio was selected to the starting lineup for the National League at the MLB All-Star game, where he slugged a home run,[20] the first Astro to hit a home run in the All-Star Game since César Cedeño in the 1976 Classic. The first Houston Astros All-Star starter at any position since pitcher Mike Scott in 1987, Biggio joined Joe Morgan as Astros second basemen to be elected as starters. However, it was Biggio who became first in club history to be in the All-Star starting lineup at second base.[c][21][22]

Rest of July—October

During consecutive games on July 14 and 15, Jeff Bagwell became the fifth hitter in team history to record four hits each over consecutive games, succeeding César Cedeño on September 12 and 13, 1977. Bagwell homered twice and drove in five runners.[d][23]

Left-hander Billy Wagner landed his major league debut on September 13, facing a single batter during the one and only major league appearance of the season for the southpaw who bore jersey number 13.[24] Wagner entered during the bottom of the sixth at Shea Stadium and faced and retired Rico Brogna on fly ball to center field. The Mets ran away with this one, 10–5. Damon Buford took Astros starter Mike Hampton (9–7) deep twice. Future Astros Carl Everett and Jeff Kent also feasted on mistake offerings, taking them deep.[25]

The Astros took the chase for MLB's first-ever Wild Card since the conclusion of the players' strike to the final day of the regular season, and finished as runners-up to the Colorado Rockies for the NL title by one game. Thus, they made their closest bid to their first playoff berth in nine seasons.[e][20]

Performance overview

With a final record of 76–68, this Astros club produced the fourth consecutive arc since 1992 with a record of at least .500—unprecedented in any prior instance in franchise history—while also matching the 1979, 1980, 1981 clubs with three successive winning campaigns, the longest to that point in franchise history. Not losing momentum, Houston surpassed this franchise record the following year, and would continue to intervene to extend this new record through the 1999 campaign.[26]

The 1995 Astros set club records for runs scored (747) and on-base percentage (.353 OBP), surpassing the 1970 (744 runs) and 1994 squads (.347 OBP), while finishing second to the latter team in batting average (.278, .275). The Astros broke the franchise runs-scored record again the following year and for OBP in 1998. In the National League, Houston ranked first in OBP and bases on balls (566), second in each of batting, hits (1403), and stolen bases (176), and fourth in on-base plus slugging (.752 OPS).[27]

Biggio was recognized with both the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Awards for the second consecutive year, becoming the first Astros player with both awards over successive campaigns, and the first Astro to win either award for the position at second base.[6] Having won the Silver Slugger at catcher in 1989, Biggio took over the lead for total Silver Sluggers won in club history, with three. He joined José Cruz (1983 and 1984) as just the second Astro to win the Silver Slugger in consecutive years.[28] Biggio became the first Astro since César Cedeño (1975 and 1976) to win consecutive Gold Glove Awards, while also joining Cedeño and Doug Rader as the third Astro with multiple Gold Gloves (5 each).[29]

Rookie right-hander Dave Veres whiffed 94 batters to establish a club rookie record for rookie relievers, exceeding Dave Smith, who fanned 85 hitters during the 1980 campaign.[f][30] Veres also led NL rookie relievers in the category for the season, while equaling Troy Percival of the California Angels for the major league lead.[g][31]

Season standings

NL Central
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Cincinnati Reds 8559 .590 — 44‍–‍28 41‍–‍31
Houston Astros 7668 .528 9 36‍–‍36 40‍–‍32
Chicago Cubs 7371 .507 12 34‍–‍38 39‍–‍33
St. Louis Cardinals 6281 .434 22½ 39‍–‍33 23‍–‍48
Pittsburgh Pirates 5886 .403 27 31‍–‍41 27‍–‍45

Record vs. opponents

1995 National League record
Source: MLB Standings Grid – 1995
Team ATL CHC CIN COL FLA HOU LAD MON NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL
Atlanta —8–48–59–410–36–65–49–45–87–64–25–27–17–5
Chicago 4–8—3–76–78–45–87–53–54–36–18–55–75–79–4
Cincinnati 5–87–3—5–76–612–14–38–47–59–38–53–63–38–5
Colorado 4–97–67–5—5–74–44–97–15–44–28–49–48–55–7
Florida 3–104–86–67–5—8–43–76–77–66–75–83–25–34–3
Houston 6–68–51–124–44–8—3–29–36–65–79–47–45–39–4
Los Angeles 4–55–73–49–47–32–3—7–56–64–99–47–68–57–5
Montreal 4–95–34–81–77–63–95–7—7–68–54–47–57–64–3
New York 8–53–45–74–56–76–66–66–7—7–64–36–75–83–4
Philadelphia 6-71–63–92–47–67–59–45–86–7—6–36–66–65–4
Pittsburgh 2–45–85–84–88–54–94–94–43–43–6—4–86–66–7
San Diego 2–57–56–34–92–34–76–75–77–66–68–4—6–77–5
San Francisco 1–77–53–35–83–53–55–86–78–56–66–67–6—7–6
St. Louis 5–74–95–87–53–44-95–73–44–34–57–65–76–7—

Notable transactions

Roster

1995 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders

Other batters

 Manager

Coaches

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

Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
CTony Eusebio113368110.299658
1BJeff Bagwell114448130.2902187
2BCraig Biggio141553167.3022277
SSOrlando Miller9232485.262536
3BDave Magadan127348109.313251
LFLuis Gonzalez5620954.258635
CFBrian Hunter7832197.302228
RFDerek Bell112452151.334886

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
James Mouton10429878.262427
Craig Shipley9223261.263324
Derrick May7820662.301841
John Cangelosi9020164.318218
Ricky Gutiérrez5215643.276012
Milt Thompson9213229.220219
Mike Simms5012131.256924
Scott Servais288920.225112
Phil Plantier226817.250415
Phil Nevin18607.11701
Andy Stankiewicz43526.11507
Rick Wilkins154010.25015
Pat Borders11354.11400
Chris Donnels19309.30002
Jerry Goff12264.15413
Mike Brumley18181.05612
Eddie Tucker572.28611
Dave Hajek520.00000

Pitching

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
Shane Reynolds30189.110113.47175
Doug Drabek31185.01094.77143
Greg Swindell33153.01094.4796
Mike Hampton24150.2983.35115
Darryl Kile25127.04124.96113

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
Doug Brocail3677.1644.1939
Donne Wall624.1315.5516

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
Todd Jones6865153.0796
Dave Veres725112.2694
Jim Dougherty568404.9249
Dean Hartgraves402003.2224
Pedro Martínez250007.4017
Jeff Tabaka241002.2219
Mike Henneman210183.0019
John Hudek192275.4029
Ross Powell1500011.008
Craig McMurtry110107.844
John Cangelosi10000.000
Billy Wagner10000.000

Awards and achievements

Grand slams

Terry Puhl at his induction into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame
No.DateAstros batterVenueInningPitcherOpposing teamBox
1 May 19[i] Tony Eusebio Astrodome 7 Reid Cornelius Montreal Expos [12]
2 June 28 8 Jeff Parrett St. Louis Cardinals [19]
3 September 5 Derrick May 7 Kevin Jarvis Cincinnati Reds
  1. ↑ 1st MLB grand slam

Career honors

Annual awards

League leaders

NL batting leaders
NL pitching leaders
NL fielding leaders

Milestones

Major League debuts

Player—Appeared at position
Date and opponent
  • September 13 vs NYM
 Box

[25]

Also: [44]

Minor league system

Level Team League Manager
AAA Tucson Toros Pacific Coast League Rick Sweet
AA Jackson Generals Texas League Tim Tolman
A Kissimmee Cobras Florida State League Dave Engle
A Quad Cities River Bandits Midwest League Jim Pankovits
A-Short Season Auburn Astros New York–Penn League Manny Acta
Rookie GCL Astros Gulf Coast League Bobby Ramos
Awards

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Succeeded Carl Hubbell (1936), Orlando Cepeda (1967), and Mike Schmidt (1980.)
  2. ↑ Tied with Larry Walker of the Montreal Expos.
  3. ↑ Chosen as the starting second baseman in the 1966 All-Star Game, Morgan was unable to participate due to injury.
  4. ↑ Next accomplished for Houston by Miguel Tejada on April 21 and 22, 2008. Criteria: Longest streak of consecutive games, playing for HOU, in the regular season, requiring Hits ≥ 4, sorted by most games matching criteria.
  5. ↑ Though the Astros trailed the Reds for first place by 1⁄2 game at the conclusion of the 1994 campaign, no playoff bid was possible due to its cancellation.
  6. ↑ Surpassed by Brad Lidge (97) in 2003. Criteria: For single seasons, at least 80% games in relief, playing for HOU, a rookie, in the regular season, requiring strikeouts ≥ 65, sorted by ascending season.
  7. ↑ For single seasons, in 1995, at least 80% games in relief, a rookie, in the regular season, requiring strikeouts ≥ 50, sorted by descending strikeouts.

References

  1. ↑ "1994 National League season summary". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  2. ↑ Chass, Murray (September 15, 1994). "Baseball: The season; Owners terminate season, without the World Series". The New York Times. p. A1. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  3. ↑ "MLB Most Valuable Player Award". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  4. 1 2 "1994 National League batting leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  5. ↑ Erion, John (August 1, 2017). "Jeff Bagwell biography". Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  6. 1 2 "Silver and Gold Club: MLB players who won Silver Slugger and Gold Glove in same year". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved December 24, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Ken Caminiti stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Houston Astros (10) vs San Diego Padres (2) box score". Baseball Almanac. April 26, 1995. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  9. ↑ "1995 Houston Astros uniform numbers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Houston Astros (10) vs San Diego Padres (2) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. April 28, 1995. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  11. 1 2 "Tony Eusebio career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
  12. 1 2 "Montreal Expos (2) vs Houston Astros (10) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. May 19, 1995. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
  13. ↑ Schwartzberg, Seth (May 20, 2025). "Today in Astros history - May 20". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  14. ↑ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 5, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 5". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  15. ↑ Schwartzburg, Seth (June 16, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 16". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Jeff Bagwell career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
  17. ↑ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 23, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 23". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
  18. 1 2 Hulsey, Bob. "This date in Astros history". Astros Daily. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  19. 1 2 "St. Louis Cardinals (0) vs Houston Astros (9) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. June 28, 1995. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
  20. 1 2 3 4 "Astros history – Timeline". MLB.com. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  21. ↑ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 25, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 25". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Houston Astros All-Star player register". Baseball-Refererence.com. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  23. ↑ "Player batting streak stats finder—baseball". Stathead. Sports Reference. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
  24. ↑ "Billy Wagner stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
  25. 1 2 "Houston Astros (5) vs New York Mets (10) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. September 13, 1995. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
  26. ↑ "Houston Astros team history & encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
  27. ↑ "Houston Astros team yearly batting stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  28. ↑ "MLB Silver Slugger Award winners—National League". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
  29. ↑ "MLB Gold Glove Award winners—National League". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
  30. ↑ "Player pitching season & career stats". Stathead. Sports Reference. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
  31. ↑ "Player pitching season & career stats". Stathead. Sports Reference. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
  32. ↑ "Johan Santana stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
  33. ↑ "Phil Plantier stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
  34. ↑ "Mike Henneman stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
  35. ↑ "Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved July 12, 2026.
  36. ↑ "Terry Puhl stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 12, 2026.
  37. ↑ "Associated Press All-Star Awards & Teams". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved July 19, 2025.
  38. ↑ "The 2001 ESPY Awards—ESPN Awards past winners". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
  39. 1 2 3 McTaggart, Brian (December 21, 2009). "Bourn highlights Astros' awards season". MLB.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2025.
  40. ↑ "Gold Glove second basemen". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
  41. ↑ "MLB Players of the Week Awards". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
  42. ↑ "Silver Slugger Award". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  43. ↑ "Craig Biggio stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
  44. ↑ "1995 Major League Baseball new debuts". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
  45. ↑ "Baseball American 1st Team Minor League All-Star award history". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  46. ↑ "Houston Astros Minor League Player of the Year". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
  47. ↑ "Pacific Coast League All-Stars". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
  48. ↑ "Pacific Coast League MVP Award". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  49. ↑ "Texas League All-Stars". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
  50. ↑ "Triple-A All-Stars". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
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