Baseball Teams - National League Central
Houston Astros
| Team's name: Houston Astros League: National League Division: Central  Location: Houston, Texas Nickname: The Astros, The "Stros" Mascot: Junction Jack Team Colours: Brick Red, black and sand Joined the League: 1962 Team's President: Drayton McLane Jr. Baseball Manager: Brad Mills Baseball Field: Minute Maid Park Current Capacity: 40,950 First Year of Baseball: 1962 League Titles: NL Pennants: 2005 Central Div: 1997, '98, '99, 2001 West Div: 1980, '86 Wild Card berths: 2004, '05 World Series: 0 |
The Houston Astros, also known as the “Colts,” are members of the National League’s Central division. The team was established in 1962 after a group of would-be owners in Houston threatened to begin a rival league to the MLB, the Continental League. The Continental League folded, but the National League offered Houston a team. From the controversy emerged the Houston Colt .45s.
The .45s defeated their first opponents, the Chicago Cubs, in their inaugural game in April of 1962. The next years were spent building the team, mixing hardened veterans with fresh talent. In 1965, the Colts moved into their new stadium, an indoor complex called Astrodome that drew crowds from miles. The Colts were renamed the Astros.
Finally, in 1966, under new manager Grady Hatton, the Astros briefly lifted themselves from the bottom of the league to second place – but then fell back down again. Despite the strong talent on the roster, the team consistently slid into last place in the league for the next several years.
The first season in which the Astros did not have a losing record was 1969. They almost clawed their way out of last place but lost to the Braves. The team would not claim a winning record until 1972, when the Astros would go 84-69 in a strike-shortened season. Then, after a change in ownership, the Astros would slip again to the bottom; in fact, 1975 was the franchise’s worst season, at 64-97.
A series of trades led to a much-improved game in the late 1970s. The Astros began challenging their division rivals, the Cincinnati Reds, for the NL division title. 1980 saw much the same. With a hot pitching lineup, the Astros were left to battle the LA Dodgers for the division title, and managed to clinch the NLDS for the first time in franchise history. The postseason was difficult for the Astros, and they eventually lost to the Phillies. The team would again claim the division title in 1986.
In 1990 the Astros acquired pitcher Jeff Bagwell, who won the 1990 Eastern League MVP award for the AA New Britain Red Sox. Bagwell would become the Astros all-time home run leader and, in 1994, would become the first team member to win MVP. In 1997, the Astros would claim their third division title – the first in 11 years – and go on to claim the NL Central title twice in a row. In 1998, the team set a franchise-best with 102 wins.
After years of dissatisfaction with the Astrodome, the Astros moved into their new stadium, the Minute Maid Park, in 2000.
The early 2000s were fairly good years for the team, and in 2004, after hiring manager Phil Garner, the Astros moved again into the postseason. The team would defeat the Braves and move into the NLDS, but lost against the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.
In 2007, the Astros finished fourth in the NL Central with a losing record. In 2008, the team entered its 47th season. The Astros signed Brandon Backe to a one-year deal and also acquired players Ty Winninton, Dave Borkowski, and Shawn Chacon. With the new players, the Astros were able to claw themselves up to third in NL Central with a winning percentage of 86-75.
Houston 2010 Roster
| Pitchers | |||||||
| NO. | NAME | POS | BAT | THW | AGE | HT | WT |
| 93 | Fernando Abad | RP | R | L | 24 | 6-2 | 207 |
| 50 | Alberto Arias | RP | R | R | 26 | 5-11 | 181 |
| 60 | Josh Banks | SP | R | R | 27 | 6-3 | 215 |
| 58 | Yorman Bazardo | SP | R | R | 25 | 6-2 | 230 |
| 48 | Tim Byrdak | RP | L | L | 36 | 5-11 | 196 |
| 73 | Gustavo Chacin | SP | L | L | 29 | 5-11 | 207 |
| 62 | Roy Corcoran | RP | R | R | 29 | 5-10 | 190 |
| 41 | Casey Daigle | SP | R | R | 28 | 6-5 | 226 |
| 54 | Evan Englebrook | RP | R | R | 27 | 6-8 | 255 |
| 47 | Jeff Fulchino | RP | R | R | 30 | 6-5 | 286 |
| 63 | Sammy Gervacio | RP | R | R | 25 | 6-0 | 175 |
| 22 | Matt Lindstrom | RP | R | R | 30 | 6-3 | 218 |
| 67 | Chia-Jen Lo | RP | R | R | 23 | 5-11 | 186 |
| 59 | Wilton Lopez | RP | R | R | 26 | 6-0 | 188 |
| 65 | Shane Loux | SP | R | R | 30 | 6-2 | 235 |
| 37 | Brandon Lyon | RP | R | R | 30 | 6-1 | 195 |
| 56 | Gary Majewski | RP | R | R | 30 | 6-2 | 217 |
| 38 | Brian Moehler | SP | R | R | 38 | 6-3 | 222 |
| 39 | Brett Myers | SP | R | R | 29 | 6-4 | 238 |
| 91 | Matt Nevarez | RP | R | R | 23 | 6-4 | 220 |
| 20 | Bud Norris | SP | R | R | 25 | 6-0 | 228 |
| 44 | Roy Oswalt | SP | R | R | 32 | 6-0 | 192 |
| 52 | Felipe Paulino | SP | R | R | 26 | 6-2 | 271 |
| 51 | Wandy Rodriguez | SP | B | L | 31 | 5-11 | 193 |
| 43 | Chris Sampson | RP | R | R | 31 | 6-1 | 195 |
| 82 | Polin Trinidad | SP | L | L | 25 | 6-3 | 196 |
| 83 | Jose Valdez | RP | R | R | 27 | 6-4 | 186 |
| 92 | Henry Villar | RP | R | R | 22 | 5-11 | 172 |
| 53 | Wesley Wright | RP | R | L | 25 | 5-11 | 175 |
| Catchers | |||||||
| NO. | NAME | POS | BAT | THW | AGE | HT | WT |
| 36 | Kevin Cash | C | R | R | 32 | 6-0 | 190 |
| 15 | Jason Castro | C | L | R | 22 | 6-3 | 200 |
| 70 | Brian Esposito | C | R | R | 31 | 6-1 | 205 |
| 55 | Humberto Quintero | C | R | R | 30 | 5-9 | 221 |
| 72 | Lou Santangelo | C | R | R | 27 | 6-1 | 200 |
| 46 | J.R. Towles | C | R | R | 26 | 6-2 | 192 |
| Infielders | |||||||
| NO. | NAME | POS | BAT | THW | AGE | HT | WT |
| 17 | Lance Berkman | 1B | B | L | 34 | 6-1 | 229 |
| 27 | Geoff Blum | 3B | B | R | 36 | 6-3 | 221 |
| -- | Marcos Cabral | SS | R | R | 25 | 6-0 | 180 |
| -- | Koby Clemens | 1B | R | R | 23 | 5-11 | 193 |
| 77 | Pedro Feliz | 3B | R | R | 34 | 6-1 | 210 |
| 23 | Chris Johnson | 3B | R | R | 25 | 6-3 | 220 |
| -- | Matt Kata | 2B | B | R | 32 | 6-1 | 185 |
| 28 | Jeff Keppinger | 3B | R | R | 29 | 6-0 | 187 |
| 12 | Tommy Manzella | SS | R | R | 26 | 6-2 | 200 |
| 3 | Kazuo Matsui | 2B | B | R | 34 | 5-10 | 183 |
| 18 | Edwin Maysonet | 2B | R | R | 28 | 6-1 | 196 |
| 64 | Drew Meyer | SS | L | R | 28 | 5-10 | 205 |
| 69 | Oswaldo Navarro | SS | R | R | 25 | 6-0 | 155 |
| 16 | Chris Shelton | 3B | R | R | 29 | 6-0 | 215 |
| 71 | Wladimir Sutil | SS | R | R | 25 | 5-10 | 156 |
| 68 | Jose Vallejo | SS | B | R | 23 | 6-0 | 198 |
| Outfielders | |||||||
| NO. | NAME | POS | BAT | THW | AGE | HT | WT |
| -- | Brandon Barnes | CF | R | R | 23 | 6-2 | 210 |
| 19 | Brian Bogusevic | RF | L | L | 26 | 6-3 | 212 |
| 11 | Jason Bourgeois | RF | R | R | 28 | 5-9 | 190 |
| 21 | Michael Bourn | CF | L | R | 27 | 5-11 | 180 |
| 45 | Carlos Lee | LF | R | R | 33 | 6-2 | 266 |
| -- | Andrew Locke | RF | R | R | 27 | 6-1 | 205 |
| 4 | Jason Michaels | LF | R | R | 33 | 6-0 | 212 |
| 9 | Hunter Pence | RF | R | R | 26 | 6-4 | 218 |
| 30 | Yordany Ramirez | CF | R | R | 25 | 6-1 | 190 |
| 66 | Alex Romero | RF | L | R | 26 | 6-0 | 198 |
| -- | Jack Shuck | CF | L | L | 22 | 5-11 | 185 |
| -- | Thomas Steele | CF | R | R | 23 | 6-3 | 185 |
| 26 | Cory Sullivan | CF | L | L | 30 | 6-0 | 198 |
| Designated Hitters | |||||||
| NO. | NAME | POS | BAT | THW | AGE | HT | WT |
| -- | James Van Ostrand | DH | R | R | 25 | 6-4 | 220 |
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