1969 Houston Astros season

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.

1969 Houston Astros
League	National League
Division	West
Ballpark	Astrodome
City	Houston, Texas
Record	81–81 (.500)
Divisional place	5th
Owners	Roy Hofheinz
General managers	Spec Richardson
Managers	Harry Walker
Television	KTRK-TV
Radio	KPRC (AM) (Gene Elston, Loel Passe, Harry Kalas)
← 1968 Seasons 1970 →

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

• October 14, 1968: Nate Colbert was drafted from the Astros by the San Diego Padres as the 18th pick in the 1968 MLB expansion draft.^[1]
• December 2, 1968: Bo Belinsky was drafted from the Astros by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1968 rule 5 draft.^[2]
• December 4, 1968: Mike Cuellar, Enzo Hernández, and Elijah Johnson were traded by the Astros to the Baltimore Orioles for Curt Blefary and John Mason.^[3]
• January 22, 1969: Rusty Staub was traded by the Astros to the Montreal Expos for Jesús Alou and Donn Clendenon. Clendenon refused to report to the Astros. The Expos sent Jack Billingham, Skip Guinn, and $100,000 to the Astros on April 8, 1969, as compensation.^[4]
• February 12, 1969: Byron Browne was purchased from the Astros by the St. Louis Cardinals.^[5]

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

• v
• t
• e

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
Houston Astros	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 v t e Sources:
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
Houston	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

• May 7, 1969: Oscar Zamora was signed as a free agent by the Astros.^[15]
• June 5, 1969: Pitcher J. R. Richard was selected by the Astros in the first round (second pick) of the 1969 Major League Baseball draft.^[16]
• August 24, 1969: Dooley Womack and Roric Harrison were traded by the Astros to the Seattle Pilots for pitcher Jim Bouton.^[17]

Roster

1969 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers 42 Jack Billingham 36 Wade Blasingame 44 Jim Bouton 31 Danny Coombs 49 Larry Dierker 48 Fred Gladding 38 Tom Griffin 35 Skip Guinn 41 Bill Henry 23 Denny Lemaster 45 Jim Ray 41 Dan Schneider 37 Scipio Spinks 47 Bob Watkins 43 Ron Willis 40 Don Wilson 37 Dooley Womack		Catchers  6 Don Bryant  7 Johnny Edwards Infielders 13 Curt Blefary 17 Julio Gotay 11 Denis Menke 18 Joe Morgan 12 Doug Rader 15 Héctor Torres		Outfielders 22 Jesús Alou 10 Tommy Davis 19 Gary Geiger 34 César Gerónimo 26 Keith Lampard 14 Marty Martínez 20 Leon McFadden 21 Norm Miller 28 Sandy Valdespino 27 Bob Watson 24 Jimmy Wynn Other batters 33 John Mayberry		Manager 25 Harry Walker Coaches  4 Buddy Hancken  3 Mel McGaha  5 Jim Owens  2 Salty Parker

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