1966 Houston Astros season

Offseason

• November 29, 1965: 1965 rule 5 draft
  • Nate Colbert was drafted by the Astros from the St. Louis Cardinals.
  • Bob Saverine was drafted from the Astros by the Washington Senators.
• January 6, 1966: Johnny Weekly and cash were traded by the Astros to the New York Mets for Gary Kroll.

Regular season

Summary

April—May

At Dodger Stadium for Opening Day, the Astros dropped a 3–2 decision. Lee Maye hit a sacrifice fly in the top of the third off Claude Osteen, and Chuck Harrison added a run batted in (RBI)-single in top of the ninth; however, Osteen went the distance to secure the victory. Ron Fairly factored in all three runs for Los Angeles, slashing a pair of RBI singles and a sacrifice fly. Houston starter Robin Roberts surrendered two runs—one earned—over seven innings to take the loss.

Courtesy of Jimmy Wynn's single on May 5, Joe Morgan scored the walk-off run to allow the Astros to obtain their 13th win in 13 innings. Hence, the Astros prevailed, 4–3, over the Chicacgo Cubs. Though both game's starting pitchers, Turk Farrell and Bill Faul, bore uniform number 13, neither stayed in long enough to receive a decision for the win.

June

On June 2, the Astros entered the 12th inning tied 3–3 with the Cincinnati Reds, and rallied to collect nine hits to defeat the Reds, 11–4. Rusty Staub collected two hits in the inning, starting with a single and finished off with a double.

Pitcher Dave Giusti turned in an all-around contribution for the Astros on June 12, tossing a complete game over the Cubs to lead an 8–4 win. At the plate, he doubled and went 3-for-3. John Bateman, Rusty Staub and Dave Nicholson all homered for Houston.

With the Astros hosting the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 22, a record-setting 55.988 fans witnessed Sandy Koufax take on the Houston Astros. Though Koufax led the Dodgers to a 5–2 win, Astros outfielder Jimmy Wynn provided the audience with some thrills as he went 4-for-4 with a home run and two doubles. This attendance record stood for 22 years.

Mike Cuellar's 15-strikeout game

During pregame batting practice drills on June 25 before playing the St. Louis Cardinals, Lee May's line drive struck Astros infielder Joe Morgan on the knee, fracturing it. He would miss the next 40 games including his first All-Star Game. Batting .319 prior to the injury, Morgan became the first player in franchise history to be named starter at the All-Star Game on June 28. During Morgan's absence, the Astros performed to a record of .

However, the Astros' on-field performance—including that of starter Mike Cuellar—temporarily averted the impact of losing of their star second baseman. Cuellar became the first Astros pitcher to register 15 strikeouts in an outing. Cuellar started his outing off with a whiff of Lou Brock. Phil Gagliano drew a base on balls, but Cuellar picked him off first, and retired the Redbirds in order in the first.

Sonny Jackson hit a leadoff inside-the-park home run for Houston, his second inside-the-parker in five days. In the bottom of the fourth, Rusty Staub scored when Bob Aspromonte's grounder was misplayed for a 2–0 Astros' lead.

In the top of the second, Cuellar fanned Orlando Cepeda and Mike Shannon. The following inning, he whiffed Ray Washburn and Brock again. In the third, Cuellar K'd Curt Flood. In the fifth, Cuellar got Dal Maxvill and Pat Corrales via the punchout.

In the top of the sixth, Flood singled home Gagliano for St. Louis' first run. However, each out was obtained by Cuellar striking out the side. In the seventh, Cuellar again struck out the side, this time retiring all three batters in order. Cuellar's final strikeout was of Tim McCarver looking to the polish off the contest.

Morgan's replacement, Bob Lillis scored an insurance run on Jackson's misplayed grounder to second base. The Cardinals added another run, but Cuellar escaped any further Cardinals tallies.

The pivotal defensive play of the contest transpired with out in the top of the eighth. Mike Shannon flied out into a double play to center fielder Dave Nicholson, who rifled an assist to nab Julián Javier at home plate. Jimmy Wynn also recorded an outfield assist, of Lou Brock at third base. The Astros record stood at .

A career-high in strikeouts for Cuellar, his outing broke the club record of 13 strikeouts, achieved twice, by Turk Farrell on May 10, 1963, and by Bob Bruce, on May 26, 1965. This remained the franchise record until Don Wilson tallied 18 punchouts on July 14, 1968. Cuellar retained the club record for left-handers until Randy Johnson struck out 16 on August 28, 1998.

July

In the sweltering 104 F Great Plains on July 10, Cuellar shut down the Cardinals' bases-loaded rally with none out in the eighth, then finished off the contest by inducing a double play ground ball from Jimy Williams to preserve Houston's 6–5 victory. Rusty Staub homered twice and drove home four. Though Orlando Cepeda and Dal Maxvill had four hits apiece to spearhead St. Louis' 16 hits total, the team stranded 15 runners on base.

Houston concluded the first half of the 1966 season with a record, occupying fifth place of 10 National League clubs, and 8 games behind the league-leading San Francisco Giants. This placement represented a stark contrast to absorbing 96 or more losses for each of their first four seasons.

August

On August 11, outfielder Lee Maye achieved his first five-hit game as a member of the Astros, during the first contest of a doubleheader. Bob Aspromonte walloped a grand slam, during the second inning off Robin Roberts. Chuck Harrison doubled and tripled. However, Randy Hundley hit for the cycle with three runs batted in for the Chicago Cubs as they defeated Houston, 9–8.

Sonny Jackson golfed his third inside-the-park home run of the season on August 19 versus Cincinnati, establishing a club record. The speedster Jackson became the first Astro to hit three inside-the-park demolitions in one season. Jackson and Rusty Staub each had two RBI, and Staub drove Jackson in for the walk-off victory. Starter Larry Dierker tossed his first career double-digit strikeout performance with 11.

On August 26, an infuriated Cubs manager Leo Durocher ripped out the dugout phone from off the wall and heaved it onto the Astrodome field.—it was the first-ever walloped at the Astrodome. His third career walk-off home run overall, this was Aspromonte's second via the grand slam, and all three blasts had come at the expense of the Cubs. Southwestern Bell restored the dugout apparatus the following day and the Astros apportioned Durocher the bill.

September

Bob Watson landed his major league debut on September 9 as a pinch hitter against Los Angeles, his one and only plate appearance in the majors that season.

On September 16, Sonny Jackson assembled a career-best five-hit game, and fifth bout of the season of four safeties or more.

Mike Cuellar slugged his first career home run on September 28,

Twenty-one year old right-hander Don Wilson made his major-league debut on September 29 at Crosley Field, during which he attained key milestones on the mound and in the batter's box, including his first major league win and first hit. Wilson assumed the third inning in relief of Bob Bruce, and the first batter, Leo Cárdenas, singled. However, Càrdenas was immediately retired on a double play, when Wilson handled Joe Nuxhall's bunt attempt, and flipped it to shortstop Sonny Jackson for the twin-killing. Wilson fanned Art Shamsky in the bottom of the fourth for his first major league strikeout, but later surrendered his first home run to Shamsky in the bottom of the seventh inning, a two-run blast. By then, Houston already had mounted a 3–0 lead courtesy of home runs by Chuck Harrison and Aaron Pointer. Immediately following Pointer's home run in the top of the seventh, Wilson doubled off Nuxhall for his first major league hit. He totaled six innings on the mound with seven strikeouts. In the bottom of the ninth, Turk Farrell retired the Reds in order, closing out a 3–2 Houston victory for his second save of the season and to preserve the win for Wilson. This was Houston's 70th win of the season, the first time they had reached that threshold, during their fifth season of play.

Performance overview

The Astros concluded the season with a record, in eighth place and 23 games behind the Dodgers in the National League, who repeated as the NL pennant-winners. An improvement by seven victories from the year prior, the 72 wins established a then-team record, during their fifth season of play. The Astros matched this threshold again in 1968, prior to surpassing that landmark in 1969 with their first-ever .500 record and 81 wins.

Left-hander Mike Cuellar set the club record for earned run average (ERA, 2.22), which stood until 1981, when it was surpassed by Nolan Ryan (1.69) and Bob Knepper (2.18). Knepper's achievement also placed him as the all-time franchise leader for left-handed pitchers, and Cuellar second.

Having increased his grand slam total on August 26, Bob Aspromonte's six grand slams established Houston's franchise record, which stood until surpassed by Carlos Lee on July 25, 2011.

With 49 stolen bases, Sonny Jackson claimed the franchise record from Jim Wynn, who had pilfered 43 just the season prior. In 1969, Joe Morgan tied the record. Three years later, in 1972, César Cedeño procured 55 to usurp the club record.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

• June 7, 1966: Fred Stanley was drafted by the Astros in the 8th round of the 1966 Major League Baseball draft.

Roster

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

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Awards and achievements

Grand slams

Awards

• Houston Astros Most Valuable Player (MVP): Rusty Staub
• MLB All-Star Game:
  • Starting second baseman—Joe Morgan
  • Reserve pitcher—Claude Raymond

Minor league system

Notes

References

References

1. (March 13, 1966). "Astroturf planned for Houston field". [[TimesDaily.
2. (March 20, 1966). "Astroturf looks great, but...". Eugene Register-Guard.
3. (March 21, 1966). "What's new? Astroturf". Toledo Blade.
4. (March 20, 1966). "Zippered 'grass' big hit in Astrodome". [[The Daytona Beach News-Journal.
5. Bledsoe, Terry. (March 20, 1966). "Astrodome's synthetic grass gets 1st test with skids and bounces". Milwaukee Journal.
6. Rathet, Mike. (March 21, 1966). "Brickbats starting to fly over Houston's Astroturf". Victoria Advocate.
7. (July 19, 1966). "Phils, Astros plan tonight on artificial grass". Reading Eagle.
8. (July 20, 1966). "Phil find Farrell, turf unfriendly". Eugene Register-Guard.
9. (July 20, 1966). "Astros clout Phils; Farrell leads way". Victoria Advocate.
10. "Nate Colbert stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
11. "Bob Saverine stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com.
12. "Gary Kroll stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com.
13. (April 12, 1966). "Houston Astros (2) vs Los Angeles Dodgers (3) box score". [[Baseball Almanac]].
14. "1966 Houston Astros uniform numbers". Baseball-Reference.com.
15. (April 12, 1966). "Houston Astros (0) vs Los Angeles Dodgers (3) box score". Baseball-Reference.com.
16. Schwartzberg, Seth. (May 5, 2025). "Today in Astros history - May 5". [[SB Nation]].
17. Schwartzberg, Seth. (June 2, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 2". [[SB Nation]].
18. Schwartzberg, Seth. (June 12, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 12". [[SB Nation]].
19. Schwartzberg, Seth. (June 22, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 22". SB Nation.
20. "Astros history – Timeline". [[MLB.com]].
21. Schwartzberg, Seth. (June 25, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 25". SB Nation.
22. Schwartzberg, Seth. (June 28, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 28". SB Nation.
23. "Joe Morgan 1966 batting game logs". Baseball-Reference.com.
24. "1966 Houston Astros schedule". Baseball-Reference.com.
25. "The Strikeout Zone". Astros Daily.
26. (June 25, 1966). "St. Louis Cardinals (2) vs Houston Astros (3)". Baseball-Reference.com.
27. "Home Run Alley". Astros Daily.
28. "Top performances for Mike Cuellar". Retrosheet.
29. Hulsey, Bob. "This date in Astros history". Astros Daily.
30. (July 10, 1966). "Houston Astros (6) vs St. Louis Cardinals (5) box score". Baseball-Reference.com.
31. (July 10, 1966). "1966 Major League scores and standings". Baseball-Reference.com.
32. "Houston Astros team history & encyclopedia". Baaseball-Reference.com.
33. "Top performances for Lee Maye". [[Retrosheet]].
34. (August 11, 1966). "Houston Astros (8) vs Chicago Cubs (9) box score". Baseball-Reference.com.
35. "Top performances for Sonny Jackson". Retrosheet.
36. (August 19, 1966). "Cincinnati Reds (3) vs Houston Astros (4) box score". Baseball-Reference.com.
37. "Top performances for Larry Dierker". Retrosheet.
38. Rathkamp, Tom. (August 26, 1966). "Bob Aspromonte’s walk-off slam lights up the sky for Astros". [[Society for American Baseball Research]] (SABR).
39. "Astrodome firsts". Retrosheet.
40. "Bob Aspromonte career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com.
41. "Bob Watson stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com.
42. (September 16, 1966). "Houston Astros (3) vs Cincinnati Reds (2) box score". Baseball-Reference.com.
43. (September 28, 1966). "Houston Astros (3) vs Cincinnati Reds (2) box score". Baseball-Reference.com.
44. "Don Wilson stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com.
45. (September 29, 1966). "Houston Astros (3) at Cincinnati Reds (2) box score". Baseball-Reference.com.
46. "1966 National League team statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
47. "Houston Astros top 10 single-season pitching leaders". Baseball-Reference.com.
48. "Player pitching season & career stats finder–baseball". [[Sports Reference]].
49. Wernick, Mark. (December 1, 2018). "Bob Aspromonte". Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).
50. "Player batting season & career stats finder–baseball". Sports Reference.
51. "Fred Stanley stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com.
52. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/HOU/1966.shtml 1966 Houston Astros Statistics and Roster – Baseball-Reference.com]
53. (August 26, 1966). "Chicago Cubs (4) vs Houston Astros (7) box score". Baseball-Reference.com.
54. McTaggart, Brian. (December 21, 2009). "Bourn highlights Astros' awards season". MLB.com.