1983 Houston Astros season

The 1983 Houston Astros season was the 22nd season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 19th as the Astros, 22nd in the National League (NL), 15th in the NL West division, and 19th at The Astrodome. The Astros entered the season having posted a 77–85 record for fifth place and 12 games behind the division-champion Atlanta Braves.

1983 Houston Astros
League	National League
Division	West
Ballpark	Astrodome
City	Houston, Texas
Record	85–77 (.525)
Divisional place	3rd
Owners	John McMullen
General managers	Al Rosen
Managers	Bob Lillis
Television	KTXH HSE
Radio	KRBE (Gene Elston, Dewayne Staats, Larry Dierker)
← 1982 Seasons 1984 →

On April 5, Joe Niekro made his second Opening Day start for Houston, who hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers but lost, 16–7. In the amateur draft, Houston's first round selection was catcher Robbie Wine at eighth overall.

Shortstop Dickie Thon and pitcher Bill Dawley each represented the Astros at the MLB All-Star Game and played for the National League, the first career selection for both.

The Astros concluded the season with an 85–77 record, for third place and 6 games behind the division-champion Dodgers. Following the season, Thon and outfielder José Cruz both won their first career Silver Slugger Awards for their respective positions, also the first Astros to win the award.

Offseason

• December 10, 1982: Danny Heep was traded by the Astros to the New York Mets for Mike Scott.^[1]
• January 11, 1983: Troy Afenir was drafted by the Astros in the 1st round (11th pick) of the 1983 Major League Baseball draft (secondary phase).^[2]
• March 31, 1983: Alan Knicely was traded by the Astros to the Cincinnati Reds for Bill Dawley and Tony Walker.^[3]

Regular season

Summary

On April 17, Nolan Ryan struck out Andre Dawson for the 3500th strikeout in his career.^[4]

On April 27, Ryan struck out Brad Mills^{[Note 1]} of the Expos to break Walter Johnson's all time mark for strikeouts in a career. Mills was the 3,509th strikeout of Ryan's career.^[4]

On June 4, Alan Ashby homered twice, doubled and had six runs batted in (RBI) to back Mike Scott, who earned his first win as a Houston Astro. The final score was 13–0 over the Cincinnati Reds.^[5]

Shortstop Dickie Thon homered twice off San Diego Padres starter Eric Show on June 17. This generated enough offense for Ryan, as he struck out six in a 4–1 win. Ryan also ended the contest just one strikeout behind Philadelphia Phillies starter Steve Carlton for the all-time strikeout race.^[6]

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

NL West

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Los Angeles Dodgers	91	71	.562	—	48‍–‍32	43‍–‍39
Atlanta Braves	88	74	.543	3	46‍–‍34	42‍–‍40
Houston Astros	85	77	.525	6	46‍–‍36	39‍–‍41
San Diego Padres	81	81	.500	10	47‍–‍34	34‍–‍47
San Francisco Giants	79	83	.488	12	43‍–‍38	36‍–‍45
Cincinnati Reds	74	88	.457	17	36‍–‍45	38‍–‍43

Record vs. opponents

1983 National League record v t e Sources:
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MTL	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL
Atlanta	—	5–7	12–6	11–7	7–11	7–5	8–4	7–5	6–6	9–9	9–9	7–5
Chicago	7–5	—	4–8	5–7	6–6	7–11	9–9	5–13	9–9	5–7	4–8	10–8
Cincinnati	6–12	8–4	—	5–13	7–11	4–8	7–5	6–6	6–6	9–9	10–8	6–6
Houston	7–11	7–5	13–5	—	6–12	8–4	9–3	4–8	6–6	11–7	12–6	2–10
Los Angeles	11–7	6–6	11–7	12–6	—	7–5	7–5	11–1	6–6	6–12–1	5–13	9–3
Montreal	5–7	11–7	8–4	4–8	5–7	—	8–10	8–10–1	8–10	8–4	8–4	9–9
New York	4–8	9–9	5–7	3–9	5–7	10–8	—	6–12	9–9	6–6	5–7	6–12
Philadelphia	5-7	13–5	6–6	8–4	1–11	10–8–1	12–6	—	11–7	5–7	5–7	14–4
Pittsburgh	6–6	9–9	6–6	6–6	6–6	10–8	9–9	7–11	—	9–3	6–6	10–8
San Diego	9–9	7–5	9–9	7–11	12–6–1	4–8	6–6	7–5	3–9	—	11–7	6–6
San Francisco	9–9	8–4	8–10	6–12	13–5	4–8	7–5	7–5	6–6	7–11	—	4–8
St. Louis	5–7	8–10	6–6	10–2	3–9	9–9	12–6	4–14	8–10	6–6	8–4	—

Notable transactions

• June 6, 1983: Robbie Wine was drafted by the Astros in the 1st round (8th pick) of the 1983 Major League Baseball draft.^[7]
• June 17, 1983: Danny Boone was released by the Astros.^[8]

Roster

1983 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers 46 Bill Dawley 11 Frank DiPino 31 Jeff Heathcock 39 Bob Knepper 27 Frank LaCorte 51 Mike LaCoss 53 Mike Madden 36 Joe Niekro 48 Vern Ruhle 34 Nolan Ryan 33 Mike Scott 45 Dave Smith 52 Julio Solano		Catchers 14 Alan Ashby 20 George Bjorkman  4 John Mizerock  6 Luis Pujols Infielders 19 Bill Doran  3 Phil Garner 22 Ray Knight  1 Bert Peña 12 Craig Reynolds 16 Harry Spilman 10 Dickie Thon 38 Tim Tolman 29 Denny Walling		Outfielders  8 Kevin Bass 25 José Cruz 26 Scott Loucks 24 Omar Moreno 28 Jerry Mumphrey 21 Terry Puhl 30 Tony Scott		Manager  5 Bob Lillis Coaches  2 Cot Deal (Outfield/Defensive Coordinator) 15 Denis Menke 55 Les Moss 43 Don Leppert 54 Jerry Walker

Game log

Regular season

1983 regular season game log: 85–77 (home: 46–36; away: 39–41)
April: 8–14 (home: 5–10; away: 3–4) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 1 April 5 Dodgers 2 April 6 Dodgers 3 April 7 Pirates 4 April 8 Pirates 5 April 9 Pirates 6 April 10 Pirates 7 April 11 @ Dodgers 8 April 12 @ Dodgers 9 April 13 @ Dodgers 10 April 15 Expos 11 April 16 Expos 12 April 17 Expos 13 April 19 Reds 14 April 20 Reds 15 April 21 Reds 16 April 22 Phillies 17 April 23 Phillies 18 April 24 Phillies 19 April 26 @ Expos 20 April 27 @ Expos 21 April 29 @ Phillies 22 April 30 @ Phillies
May: 14–14 (home: 7–7; away: 7–7) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 23 May 1 @ Phillies 24 May 2 @ Mets 25 May 3 @ Mets 26 May 4 @ Mets 27 May 5 @ Braves 28 May 6 @ Braves 29 May 7 @ Braves 30 May 8 @ Braves 31 May 9 Mets 32 May 10 Mets 33 May 11 Mets 34 May 12 Braves 35 May 13 Braves 36 May 14 Braves 37 May 15 Braves 38 May 17 @ Cardinals 39 May 18 @ Cardinals 40 May 20 @ Pirates 41 May 21 @ Pirates — May 22 @ Pirates Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: August 23) 42 May 23 Cubs 43 May 24 Cubs 44 May 25 Cubs 45 May 26 Cardinals 46 May 27 Cardinals 47 May 28 Cardinals 48 May 29 Cardinals 49 May 30 @ Cubs 50 May 31 @ Cubs
June: 15–11 (home: 10–3; away: 5–8) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 51 June 1 @ Cubs 52 June 3 @ Reds 53 June 4 @ Reds 54 June 5 @ Reds 55 June 7 Giants 56 June 8 Giants 57 June 9 Giants 58 June 10 Padres 59 June 11 Padres 60 June 12 Padres 61 June 13 Padres 62 June 14 @ Giants 63 June 15 @ Giants 64 June 16 @ Giants 65 June 17 @ Padres 66 June 18 @ Padres 67 June 19 @ Padres 68 June 20 Braves 69 June 21 Braves 70 June 22 Braves 71 June 24 @ Dodgers 72 June 25 @ Dodgers 73 June 26 @ Dodgers 74 June 28 @ Braves 75 June 29 @ Braves 76 June 30 @ Braves
July: 15–11 (home: 10–6; away: 5–5) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 77 July 1 Dodgers 78 July 2 Dodgers 79 July 3 Dodgers 80 July 4 Dodgers 54th All-Star Game in Chicago, Illinois 81 July 8 @ Mets 82 July 9 @ Mets 83 July 10 @ Mets 84 July 12 Expos 85 July 13 Expos 86 July 14 Expos 87 July 15 Mets 88 July 16 Mets 89 July 17 Mets 90 July 18 @ Phillies 91 July 19 @ Phillies 92 July 20 @ Phillies 93 July 21 @ Expos 94 July 22 @ Expos 95 July 23 @ Expos 96 July 24 @ Expos 97 July 26 Phillies 98 July 27 Phillies 99 July 28 Phillies 100 July 29 Reds 101 July 30 Reds 102 July 31 Reds
August: 18–12 (home: 8–4; away: 10–8) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 103 August 1 @ Padres 104 August 2 @ Padres 105 August 3 @ Padres 106 August 4 @ Padres 107 August 5 @ Giants 108 August 6 @ Giants 109 August 7 @ Giants 110 August 9 Padres 111 August 10 Padres 112 August 11 Padres 113 August 12 Giants 114 August 13 Giants 115 August 14 Giants 116 August 15 @ Reds 117 August 16 @ Reds 118 August 17 @ Reds 119 August 18 @ Cardinals 120 August 19 @ Cardinals 121 August 20 @ Cardinals 122 August 21 @ Cardinals 123 (1) August 23 @ Pirates 124 (2) August 23 @ Pirates 125 August 24 @ Pirates 126 August 25 @ Pirates 127 August 26 Cubs 128 August 27 Cubs 129 August 28 Cubs 130 August 29 Cardinals 131 August 30 Cardinals 132 August 31 Pirates
September: 14–14 (home: 7–6; away: 7–8) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 133 September 1 Pirates 134 September 2 @ Cubs 135 September 3 @ Cubs 136 September 4 @ Cubs 137 September 5 @ Braves — September 6 @ Braves Postponed (Rain; Site change) (Makeup date: September 28) 138 September 7 @ Padres 139 September 8 @ Padres 140 September 9 @ Giants 141 September 10 @ Giants 142 September 11 @ Giants 143 September 13 Dodgers 144 September 14 Dodgers 145 September 15 Dodgers 146 September 16 @ Reds 147 September 17 @ Reds 148 September 18 @ Reds 149 September 19 @ Dodgers 150 September 20 @ Dodgers 151 September 21 @ Dodgers 152 September 23 Giants 153 September 24 Giants 154 September 25 Giants 155 September 26 Padres 156 September 27 Padres 157 (1) September 28 Braves 158 (2) September 28 Braves 159 September 29 Braves 160 September 30 Reds
October: 1–1 (home: 1–1; away: 0–0) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 161 October 1 Reds 162 October 2 Reds
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement Bold = Astros team member

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

= Indicates league 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	Alan Ashby	87	275	63	.229	8	34
1B	Ray Knight	145	507	154	.304	9	70
2B	Bill Doran	154	535	145	.271	8	39
SS	Dickie Thon	154	619	177	.286	20	79
3B	Phil Garner	154	567	135	.238	14	79
LF	José Cruz	160	594	189	.318	14	92
CF	Omar Moreno	97	405	98	.242	0	25
RF	Terry Puhl	137	465	136	.292	8	44

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
Kevin Bass	88	195	46	.236	2	18
Tony Scott	80	186	42	.226	2	17
Jerry Mumphrey	44	143	48	.336	1	17
Denny Walling	100	135	40	.296	3	19
Craig Reynolds	65	98	21	.214	1	6
Luis Pujols	40	87	17	.195	0	12
John Mizerock	33	85	13	.153	1	10
Harry Spilman	42	78	13	.167	1	9
George Bjorkman	29	75	17	.227	2	14
Tim Tolman	43	56	11	.196	2	10
Scott Loucks	7	14	3	.214	0	0
Bert Peña	4	8	1	.125	0	0

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
Joe Niekro	38	263.2	15	14	3.48	152
Bob Knepper	35	203.2	6	13	3.19	125
Nolan Ryan	29	196.1	14	9	2.98	183
Mike Scott	24	145.0	10	6	3.72	73

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
Mike LaCoss	38	138.0	5	7	4.43	53
Vern Ruhle	41	114.2	8	5	3.69	43
Mike Madden	28	94.2	9	5	3.14	44
Jeff Heathcock	6	28.0	2	1	3.21	12

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
Frank DiPino	53	3	4	20	2.65	67
Bill Dawley	48	6	6	14	2.82	60
Dave Smith	42	3	1	6	3.10	41
Frank LaCorte	37	4	4	3	5.06	48
Julio Solano	4	0	2	0	6.00	3

Awards and achievements

Awards

• Hutch Award: Ray Knight^[9]
• MLB All-Star Game
  • Reserve pitcher—Bill Dawley
  • Reserve infielder—Dickie Thon
• Silver Slugger Award:
  • Outfield: José Cruz
  • Shortstop: Dickie Thon
• Topps All-Star Rookie Team: Bill Doran

Batting leaders

• Hits: José Cruz (189, tied with Andre Dawson)

Pitching leaders

• Games started: Joe Niekro (38—led MLB)
• Hits per nine innings pitched (H/9): Nolan Ryan (6.1—led MLB)

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Tucson Toros	Pacific Coast League	Matt Galante
AA	Columbus Astros	Southern League	Jack Hiatt
A	Daytona Beach Astros	Florida State League	Dave Cripe
A	Asheville Tourists	South Atlantic League	Tom Spencer
A-Short Season	Auburn Astros	New York–Penn League	Bob Hartsfield
Rookie	GCL Astros	Gulf Coast League	José Tartabull