Astros By Decade
1980-1989
Rainbow Uniforms
(1980-1986)
Rainbow Sleeve
Uniforms (1987-1989)
Now we're talking, this is the team I grew up watching. The 1980s were
the first decade of significant success for the Astros. They made the playoffs three times, in a
decade of amazing parity in all of baseball.
They spent the majority of the first half of the decade in the top half
of the league, then started a downturn that lasted into the 1990s.
As usual, the
calling card of the Astros was dominant pitching. Mike Scott, brought over from the Mets,
turned into one of the best pitchers in the league in the middle of the
decade. Nolan Ryan, the first million
dollar man, came home and did not disappoint.
Well, maybe his records did, but that was because for some reason they
had him on a strict pitch count limit and the bullpen often dropped games for
him or the offense did not do enough to back up his effort.
The Astros made
the playoffs for the first time in 1980.
They tied for first place in the National League West, and beat the
Dodgers in a one-game playoff to face the Phillies in the NLCS. The Astros went up 2-1 in the series, and had
a 2-0 lead in game four before giving up three runs in the top of the
eighth. They tied it with a run in the
bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra innings, in which they promptly
gave up two runs to lose it. Game five
in Houston looked like another win as they had a 5-2 lead going into the
eighth. Once again the bullpen failed,
giving up five runs. The Astros again
tied it with two in the bottom of the inning, and eventually lost in the
tenth. All of this may have been avoided
if not for the devastating loss of J.R. Richard. While throwing before the game on July 30, he
collapsed on the field from a stroke. He
would never pitch again. After losing in
the League Championship Series for the second time in seven seasons in 1986, it
would take another ten years for the Astros to return to the postseason with
the new crop of talent.
Record:
819-750, .522
Best Year: 1986 (96-66, 1st of 6, reached NLCS)
Honestly
it's a toss-up between 1986 and 1980, the first year the Astros made the
playoffs. I give 1986 the edge because
they had a better record and they took the World Series winning Mets to the
brink, and probably should have won.
Overall it was probably a better team, though maybe not if Richard had
played the rest of '80.
Worst Year: 1982 (77-85, 5th of 6)
Team of the Decade:
C: Alan Ashby (1980-1989) The starting or co-starting catcher for
basically the entire decade. His best
full season was 1987, when he hit 14 home runs with a .288/.367/.438 slash
line. From all accounts he was also
quite good behind the plate.
1B:
Glenn Davis (1984-1989) The "Big
Bopper," probably the Astros' best first baseman until a certain future
Hall of Famer showed up. Had three years
of 30+ home runs in the 1980s playing half his games in the Astrodome, not an
easy feat.
2B:
Bill Doran (1982-1989) The
starter for most of the decade, and the first constant at the position since
Joe Morgan. Received MVP votes three
years in a row, and always had a good BB/SO ratio.
3B:
Phil Garner (1983-1987) "Scrap
Iron" was a tough player who found himself on a number of good teams
throughout the years. He sported one of
the great mustaches in Astros history.
Unfortunately his success did not pan out in the dugout.
SS:
Dickie Thon (1981-1987) One of
the great "what if" stories in baseball history, his 1983 season
showed just how good he could have been.
A beaning in April 1984 forever changed his career.
LF:
Jose Cruz (1980-1988) Ask any
Astros fan from the 1980s, and one of their fondest memories has to be
"CRUUUUUZ" being yelled in the Astrodome, making him one of the most
beloved players in franchise history. He
had a tendency to wear his cap loose on the top of his head so it always flew
off when he raced down flyballs. He has
been featured a number of times in lists of "could have been Hall of
Famers if" he hadn't played in the Astrodome.
CF:
Billy Hatcher (1986-1989) It
always surprises me how short he actually played for the Astros, because it
seemed like he was always on the team when I was growing up. He was the center of a solid outfield in the
last half of the decade.
RF:
Terry Puhl (1980-1989) Superb
defender who transitioned from the everyday right fielder in the first half of
the decade to the fourth outfielder in the second half when Kevin Bass took
over. He was never a great hitter, but
he was good enough to stick around for 15 years. He also was the first Canadian that I was
aware of in the Major Leagues, so there's that.
SP:
Mike Scott (1983-1989) His 1986
to 1989 stretch is one of the best four years for an Astros starter ever. Of course the highlight was the no-hitter to
clinch the 1986 West Division. Unfortunately
he was only able to make two starts in the playoffs, which cost them a spot in
the World Series.
SP:
Nolan Ryan (1980-1988) The man in
Houston for a decade, the most beloved Texan for a generation of baseball
fans. He twice led the league in ERA,
once with an 11-5 record, once with an 8-16 record. This highlights the stupidity of the front
office's strict pitch count limit.
People who deride his won-lost record A.) put too much stock in that
stat, B.) do not talk about the pitch count, and C.) do not talk about how he
pitched for some pretty mediocre teams for his entire career.
SP:
Bob Knepper (1981-1988) Had three
solid years from 1984 to 1986, then a steep decline. He helped to make that mid-80s rotation
probably the best in franchise history.
SP:
Joe Niekro (1980-1985) The
"other" Niekro averaged 16 wins between 1982 and 1984. He was a relief pitcher for much of the early
part of his career and did not become a full member of the rotation until
joining Houston, where he proved very durable.
SP:
Jim Deshaies (1986-1989) Never a
great pitcher, he did win 49 games over these four years in Houston. Perhaps now better known as a broadcaster who
likes to come up with odd lineups (a.k.a. the "All Love" Valentine's
lineup). My favorite story was when the
Astros were playing the Reds with an outfield of Dmitri Young, Mike Frank, and
Chris Stynes; he noted they had a Young Frank 'n' Stynes outfield. Unfortunately it seems the uptight Cubs fans
have not taken to him as much as Astros fans did.
CL:
Dave Smith (1980-1989) The
Astros' first true ace closer, he had some very good seasons in the middle of
the 80s.
Notable Performances:
Dickie Thon 1983: .286/.341/.457, 20 HR,
79 RBIs, 28 2Bs, 34 SBs, 127 OPS+
Jose Cruz 1983: .318/.385/.463, 14 HR,
92 RBIs, 28 2Bs, 30 SBs, 142 OPS+
Kevin Bass 1986: .311/.357/.486, 20 HR, 79 RBIs, 33 2Bs, 22
SBs, 134 OPS+
Glenn Davis 1989: .269/.350/.492, 34 HR, 89 RBIs, 26 2Bs, 142
OPS+
Mike Scott 1986: 18-10, 2.22 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 7 CG, 275 IP, 306 K, 161 ERA+
Nolan Ryan 1981: 11-5, 1.69 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 5 CG, 149 IP, 140
K, 195 ERA+
Joe Niekro 1982: 17-12, 2.47 ERA, 1.07
WHIP, 16 CG, 270 IP, 130 K, 135 ERA+
Dave Smith 1987: 2-3-24, 1.65 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 60 IP, 73 K, 239
ERA+
Best Trade:
Danny Heep to the Mets for Mike Scott
(December 10, 1982)
They
got an ace, and gave up a fourth outfielder.
This is one of a number of good trades during the decade, including
those for Bob Knepper and Mark Portugal.
Worst Trade:
Joaquin Andujar to the Cardinals for
Tony Scott (June 7, 1981)
Andujar
went from a long relief/spot starter for the Astros to having three very good
years out of four plus for the Cardinals.
It would be interesting to see his 1984/1985 added to the
Scott/Ryan/Knepper/Niekro pitching rotation.
After the half year in '81, Scott was a well below average center
fielder for a full season in '82 and partial seasons the next two years. The good news is, this was the only really
bad trade of the decade, reversing the trend of the previous two.
Best Draft:
1987
1st
round (22nd overall) Craig Biggio
2nd
round (54th overall) Randy Hennis - two picks later Pete Schourek
12th
round (313th overall) Andy Mota - eleven picks later Steve Finley
16th
round (417th overall) Al Osuna
30th
round (781st overall) Darryl Kile
34th
round (883rd overall) Scott Erickson - did not sign
By far the best draft to date, and it
would have been even with just Biggio.
Kile made it two All Star players in one draft...29 rounds apart! The next year wasn't too bad either, getting
Scott Servais in the 3rd round and Luis
Gonzalez in the 4th round, plus Dave Silvestri late in the 2nd round, whom they
later sent to the Yankees for Orlando Miller, whom they later packaged in the
deal to the Tigers that netted Brad Ausmus, Jose Lima, Daryle Ward, and others. That being said, they completely whiffed with
their first two picks (Willie Ansley, one pick before Jim Abbot and three
before Robin Ventura; and Mica Lewis).
Oh yes, and they also took Kenny Lofton in the 17th round, which would
have put the 1988 draft over the top if they hadn't traded him away in a stupid
deal a few years later.
Worst Draft:
1981
Not one pick made the bigs.
