2004 Houston Astros
National League Wild Card Winners
LeagueNational League
DivisionCentral
BallparkMinute Maid Park
CityHouston, Texas
Record92–70 (.564)
Divisional place2nd
OwnersDrayton McLane, Jr.
General managersGerry Hunsicker
ManagersJimy Williams and Phil Garner
TelevisionKNWS-TV
FSN Southwest
(Bill Brown, Larry Dierker, Jim Deshaies, Greg Lucas, Bill Worrell)
RadioKTRH
(Milo Hamilton, Alan Ashby)
KLAT
(Francisco Ernesto Ruiz, Alex Treviño)
StatsESPN.com
BB-reference
Seasons

The 2004 Houston Astros season was the 43rd season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise in Houston, Texas. Five years removed from opening Minute Maid Park, the Astros hosted the All-Star Game, which was the first held in Houston since 1986. Having limped into the All-Star break with a 44–44 record, Phil Garner was named to replace Jimy Williams as manager. The Astros finished second in the American League Central and captured the NL Wild Card. The Astros won a postseason series for the first time in franchise history by defeating the Atlanta Braves in the National League Division Series (NLDS), scoring an NLDS-record 36 runs. Roger Clemens won the NL Cy Young Award, becoming the fourth pitcher to win the award in both leagues,[1] and the only one with seven overall.[2]

Offseason

Regular season

Overview

First half

When he hit his sixth career grand slam against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 9, first baseman Jeff Bagwell tied a club record.[7] Starting pitcher Roger Clemens was named National League Pitcher of the Month in April after going 5–0 in a win–loss record (W–L) with a 1.95 earned run average (ERA), 32 strikeouts and 14 bases on balls in 32+1⁄3 innings pitched. In just one start did he allow more than one run.[8] Clemens passed Steve Carlton to move into then-second place behind Nolan Ryan on the all-time strikeout list on May 6 against the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 6–2 victory while striking out nine and bringing his career total to 4,140.[9] In May, outfielder Lance Berkman produced a .785 slugging percentage with 24 runs batted in (RBI), winning his first career National League Player of the Month honors.[10]

In a three-team deal involving the Kansas City Royals and Oakland Athletics, the Astros acquired center fielder Carlos Beltrán. The Royals sent Beltrán to Houston for minor league catcher John Buck and cash. The A's sent minor leaguers pitcher Mike Wood and first baseman Mark Teahen to the Royals. The Astros sent relief pitcher Octavio Dotel to the A's. Dotel, the Astros' closer, had a 0–4 W–L with a 3.12 ERA in 34+1⁄3 innings pitched, 50 strikeouts and 14 saves in 17 opportunities. He had replaced Billy Wagner in that role following his trade to Philadelphia in the previous off-season.[11]

The Astros fired manager Jimy Williams and replaced him with Phil Garner at the All-Star break. With a 44–44 record, the team had been slumping after spending the first month and a half of the season in first place in the National League Central division. That was considered a disappointment due to hopes of reaching the World Series after signing free agent starting pitchers Clemens and Pettitte, and acquiring Beltrán weeks earlier.[12]

Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Minute Maid Park

The 2004 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 75th playing of the midseason exhibition baseball game between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The game was held on July 13, 2004, at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas, the Houston Astros' home stadium. The previous All-Star Game held in Houston was in 1986 in the Astrodome. In the Home Run Derby, Miguel Tejada of the Baltimore Orioles defeated Berkman in the final round, 5–4. Tejada established records of both 27 home runs overall, and 15 in a single round, while Berkman hit the longest home run of the competition at 497 feet (151 m).[13]

Three members of the Astros were in the starting lineup; Roger Clemens, who had played in the 1986 All-Star Game, was the starting pitcher, Jeff Kent was at second base, and Berkman was one of the three outfielders starting in the game. Beltrán, first named to the American League team before the trade, was added to the National League team as a reserve. The game had an attendance of 41,886 and boxing legend Muhammad Ali threw the ceremonial first pitch of the game. The final result was the American League defeating the National League 9–4, thus awarding an AL team (which would eventually be the Boston Red Sox) home-field advantage in the World Series.

Second half

A triple play and a seven-run seventh inning on August 19 against Philadelphia highlighted an Astros 12–10 win. With the Phillies leading 7–2, Todd Pratt grounded into a bases-loaded triple play in the fifth inning, Houston's first in 13 years. Berkman, Craig Biggio, and Eric Bruntlett each homered in the seventh inning.[14]

Bagwell recorded his 200th career stolen base on August 30 against the Cincinnati Reds to become the tenth player in MLB history to reach that plateau while hitting 400 home runs. On September 18, Bagwell collected his 1,500th career RBI with a single in the third inning against the Brewers. Two innings later, he homered for his 1,500th run scored, becoming just 29th player in MLB history and first Astro to reach both milestones. Bagwell finished with 27 home runs, stopping a streak of eight consecutive seasons with at least 30 but extending a streak of 12 with at least 20.[7]

The Astros won 36 of their final 46 games to win the National League wild card.[15]

After the Astros acquired Beltrán from the Royals, he played 90 games batting .258 with 23 home runs, 53 RBI, and 28 stolen bases. His combined totals in 2004 included 159 games with a .267 batting average, 38 home runs, 104 RBI, 42 stolen bases, and 121 runs scored.

Season standings

National League Central

NL Central W L Pct. GB Home Road
St. Louis Cardinals 10557 0.648 — 53–28 52–29
Houston Astros 9270 0.568 13 48–33 44–37
Chicago Cubs 8973 0.549 16 45–37 44–36
Cincinnati Reds 7686 0.469 29 40–41 36–45
Pittsburgh Pirates 7289 0.447 32½ 39–41 33–48
Milwaukee Brewers 6794 0.416 37½ 36–45 31–49

Record vs. opponents

2004 National League record

Source:
Team ARI ATL CHC CIN COL FLA HOU LAD MIL MON NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL AL
Arizona—2–44–23–36–133–42–43–163–30–63–41–52–47–125–141–56–12
Atlanta4–2—3–32–44–214–53–34–34–215–412–710–94–23–34–32–48–10
Chicago2–43–3—9–85–13–310–92–410–73–34–23–313–54–22–48–118–4
Cincinnati3–34–28–9—3–34–26–114–210–84–23–33–39–102–43–35–145-7
Colorado 13–62–41–53–3—1–51–58–112–42–41–55–32–410–98–111–58–10
Florida4–35–143–32–45–1—3–33–34–211–815–412–71–54–22–52–47–11
Houston4–23–39–1011–65–13-3—1–513–62–42–46–012–52–42–410–87–5
Los Angeles 16–33–44–22–411–83–35–1—3–34–33–31–56–010–910–92–410–8
Milwaukee3–32–47–108–104–22–46–133–3—5–12–40–66–122–41–58–98–4
Montreal6–04–153–32–44–28-114–23–41–5—9–107–124–21–61–53–37–11
New York4–37–122–43–35–14–154–23–34–210–9—8–111–51–64–21–510–8
Philadelphia5-19–103–33–33–57–120–65–16–012–711–8—3–35–12–43–39–9
Pittsburgh4–22–45–1310–94–25–15–120–612–62–45–13–3—3–35–15–122–10
San Diego12–73–32–44–29–102–44–29–104–26–16–11–53–3—12–72–48–10
San Francisco14–53–44–23–311–85–24–29–105–15–12–44–21–57–12—3–311–7
St. Louis5–14–211–814–55–14-28–104–29–83–35–13–312–54–23–3—11–1

Transactions

  • April 17, 2004: Kirk Saarloos was traded by the Houston Astros to the Oakland Athletics for Chad Harville.[16]
  • June 7, 2004: Hunter Pence was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 2nd round of the 2004 amateur draft. Player signed July 14, 2004.[17]
  • June 7, 2004: J.R. Towles was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 20th round of the 2004 amateur draft. Player signed June 16, 2004.[18]
  • June 17, 2004: Dave Weathers was traded by the New York Mets with Jeremy Griffiths to the Houston Astros for Richard Hidalgo.[19]
  • June 28, 2004: Carlos Beltrán was traded from the Kansas City Royals to the Houston Astros in a three-team deal, which also sent relief pitcher Octavio Dotel from the Astros to the Oakland Athletics, while the Royals picked up Oakland minor leaguers (pitcher Mike Wood and third-baseman Mark Teahen) and Astros catcher John Buck.[19]
  • September 7, 2004: Dave Weathers was released by the Houston Astros.[19]

Roster

2004 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders 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
CBrad Ausmus129403100.248531
1BJeff Bagwell156572152.2662789
2BJeff Kent145540156.28927107
SSAdam Everett104384105.273831
3BMorgan Ensberg131411113.2751066
LFCraig Biggio156633178.2812463
CFCarlos Beltrán9033386.2582353
RFLance Berkman160544172.31630106

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
José Vizcaíno13835898.274333
Mike Lamb11227880.2881458
Richard Hidalgo5819951.256430
Raúl Chávez6416234.210023
Jason Lane10713637.272419
Orlando Palmeiro10213332.241312
Eric Bruntlett455213.25048
Chris Burke17171.05900
Jason Alfaro7112.18200
Willy Taveras1010.00000
Chris Tremie100----00

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
Roy Oswalt36237.020103.49206
Roger Clemens33214.11842.98218
Pete Munro2199.2475.1563
Wade Miller1588.2773.3574
Andy Pettitte1583.0643.9079
Carlos Hernández942.0136.4326
Jeremy Griffiths14.10010.385

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
Tim Redding27100.2575.7256
Brandon Backe3367.0534.3054
Brandon Duckworth1939.1126.8623
Darren Oliver914.0103.8613
Jared Fernández21.00054.000

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L SV SO
Brad Lidge8065291.90157
Dan Miceli746623.5983
Mike Gallo692004.7434
Chad Harville563204.7546
Octavio Dotel3204143.1250
Kirk Bullinger271016.1611
David Weathers261404.7826
Chad Qualls254013.5524
Ricky Stone161105.6816
Russ Springer160102.639
Dan Wheeler140002.519

National League Divisional Playoffs

Atlanta Braves vs. Houston Astros

In Game 2, Bagwell hit his first career postseason home run off Mike Hampton in the first inning in a 4–2 extra-inning loss.[20]

After seven failed attempts[21] in 43 years of franchise history to win a playoff series, the Astros defeated the Atlanta Braves in five games for their first.[22] Behind the quartet dubbed the "Killer B's" – composed of Bagwell, Beltrán, Berkman and Biggio – who batted .395 (34-for-86) with eight home runs, 21 RBI and 24 runs scored, the Astros' offense ignited, scoring an NLDS-record 36 runs. Beltrán homered four times in this series.[23]

GameScoreDate
1Houston 9, Atlanta 3October 6
2Atlanta 4, Houston 2 (11 innings)October 7
3Houston 8, Atlanta 5October 9
4Atlanta 6, Houston 5October 10
5Houston 12, Atlanta 3October 11

National League Championship Series

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Houston Astros

The Astros faced the St. Louis Cardinals in the playoffs for the first time in 2004 in the National League Championship Series (NLCS). By hitting one home run in each of the first four home runs in the NLCS, including the game-winner in Game 4, Beltrán tied Barry Bonds' record for home runs in single postseason-record with eight, continuing a strong performance from the NLDS. Counting a two home-run performance in Game 5 of the NLDS, that gave Beltrán at least one home run in a record-setting five consecutive postseason games,[24] later eclipsed by Daniel Murphy's home runs in six consecutive postseason games in 2015.[25]

Cardinals center fielder Jim Edmonds hit the game-winning home run off Dan Miceli in the 12th inning of Game 6, for a 6–4 final score and forcing a Game 7. It was the third game Miceli lost of the 2004 postseason.[26]

GameScoreDate
1St. Louis 10, Houston 7October 13, 2004
2St. Louis 6, Houston 4October 14, 2004
3Houston 5, St. Louis 2October 16, 2004
4Houston 6, St. Louis 5October 17, 2004
5Houston 3, St. Louis 0October 18, 2004
6St. Louis 6, Houston 4October 20, 2004
7St. Louis 5, Houston 2October 21, 2004

Awards and honors

Records

Awards

National League leaders

Farm system

Level Team League Manager
AAA New Orleans Zephyrs Pacific Coast League Chris Maloney
AA Round Rock Express Texas League Jackie Moore
A Salem Avalanche Carolina League Russ Nixon
A Lexington Legends South Atlantic League Iván DeJesús
A-Short Season Tri-City ValleyCats New York–Penn League Gregg Langbehn
Rookie Greeneville Astros Appalachian League Jorge Orta and Tim Bogar

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Greeneville

References

  1. ↑ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.236, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
  2. ↑ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.234, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
  3. ↑ "Billy Wagner Stats".
  4. ↑ Andy Pettitte Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  5. ↑ Roger Clemens Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  6. ↑ "Mike Lamb Stats".
  7. 1 2 "Jeff Bagwell player page bio". MLB.com. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
  8. ↑ Footer, Alyson (May 3, 2004). "Clemens is Pitcher of the Month". MLB.com. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Clemens fans nine to pass Carlton". ESPN.com. Associated Press. May 6, 2004. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  10. ↑ Footer, Alyson (June 2, 2004). "Berkman NL Player of the Month". MLB.com. Archived from the original on December 13, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
  11. ↑ "A's acquire Dotel; Royals get 3 prospects". ESPN.com. Associated Press. June 28, 2004. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  12. ↑ Anderson, Joel (July 14, 2004). "Astros fire manager Williams". USA Today. Associated Press. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  13. ↑ Antonen, Mel (July 12, 2004). "Tejada blasts way to victory in Derby". USA Today. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  14. ↑ Gelston, Dan (August 19, 2004). "Astros assist fourth win in row with triple play vs. Phils". USA Today. Associated Press. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Astros GM Hunsicker steps down; Cards dismiss hitting coach". USA Today. Associated Press. November 1, 2004. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Kirk Saarloos Stats".
  17. ↑ "Hunter Pence Stats".
  18. ↑ "J.R. Towles Stats".
  19. 1 2 3 "David Weathers Stats".
  20. ↑ "Furcal drives in winning run in 11th". ESPN.com. Associated Press. October 8, 2004. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  21. ↑ Glier, Ray (October 12, 2004). "Powered by Beltran, Astros break through in playoffs". The New York Times. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  22. ↑ Jenkins, Lee (October 13, 2004). "Finally, Bagwell and Astros advance". The New York Times. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  23. 1 2 McCalvy, Adam (October 12, 2004). "Beltran leads swarm of Killer B's". MLB.com. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  24. 1 2 Habib, Daniel G. (October 25, 2004). "Battle of the big bats". Sports Illustrated. In the bottom of the seventh, with one out and the game tied 5–5, Beltran dipped down like a golfer and scooped a 2-and-2 slider from St. Louis righthander Julián Tavárez into the right-centerfield bullpen. It was a record fifth straight postseason game in which Beltran hit a home run. 'The ump was reaching back to get another ball,' says Astros first baseman Jeff Bagwell, who was watching from the on-deck circle, 'because that [pitch] was in the dirt.'
  25. 1 2 Snyder, Matt (October 21, 2015). "Daniel Murphy homers in record sixth straight postseason game". CBSSports.com. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  26. ↑ Lopresti, Mike (October 20, 2004). "Edmonds homers in 12th, Cards force Game 7". USA Today. Gannett News Service. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  27. ↑ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.288, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
1st Half: Houston Astros Game Log on ESPN.com
2nd Half: Houston Astros Game Log on ESPN.com
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