1992 Houston Astros season

Offseason

• December 10, 1991: Kenny Lofton and Dave Rohde were traded by the Astros to the Cleveland Indians for Willie Blair and Eddie Taubensee.
• January 27, 1992: Joe Boever was signed as a free agent by the Astros.
• January 27, 1992: Ernest Riles was signed as a free agent by the Astros.
• January 27, 1992: Denny Walling was signed as a free agent by the Astros.

Regular season

Summary

April—May

;Opening Day starting lineup

First baseman Jeff Bagwell came off the bench on May 10 to deliver two home runs, including one in an extra innings. He hit the decisive blow in the 10th inning for a 6–4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

June

On June 14, outfielder Pete Incaviglia tied the club record with 7 runs batted in (RBI) to lead a 15–7 victory over the San Francisco Giants. He homered twice and hit a run-scoring double. Incaviglia's performance equaled infielder Rafael Ramírez' effort on August 29, 1989, in which the Chicago Cubs came all the way back from a 9–0 deficit to claim victory, 10–9, in the tenth inning.

The Astros' Jones duo of Jimmy and Doug combined to deliver a 1–0 shutout of the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 20. Jimmy tossed the first 8 innings to earn the win, while Doug closed the final three outs for the save. On June 21, Butch Henry and Doug Jones combined on another shutout of Los Angeles, en route to 2–0 win and series sweep. The two contests were the last of 20 consecutive innings in which Houston held Los Angeles scoreless. Incaviglia's two-run home run accounted for all the scoring in the game. On June 28, with the Dodgers hosting the Astros, the Landers earthquake in nearly San Bernardino County struck in the morning of the game. The Astros lost, 8–2. Meanwhile, Ken Caminiti led the Astros with four hits.

MLB All-Star Game

Closer Doug Jones and second baseman Craig Biggio were selected to the MLB All-Star Game, which was hosted at Jack Murphy Stadium. It was the third career selection for Jones, and second for Biggio, who was also selected to the previous year's All-Star Game as a catcher. Biggio became the first player ever to make the All-Star team at both positions.

Andújar Cedeño's cycle

In their first game back at The Astrodome on August 25 following the 28-day road trip, shortstop Andújar Cedeño hit for the cycle, the fourth in club history. With the Astros hosting the St. Louis Cardinals, Cedeño's first hit was a triple, he homered in the seventh inning, doubled in the 11th inning and got the single off Les Smith in the 13th inning. It was the first cycle for an Astros player since Bob Watson accomplished the feat on June 24, 1977. The final cycle hit at the Astrodome, the next Astros cycle after Cedeño was by teammate Jeff Bagwell on July 18, 2001 at Enron Field.

Retirement of José Cruz' (25) and Mike Scott's (33) uniform numbers

On October 3, 1992, the team officially retired the uniform numbers of outfielder José Cruz and right-handed starting pitcher Mike Scott, also former teammates.

During his career with the Astros, Scott accumulated the most regular-season outings with a game score of 90 or higher in club history (6). In the 1986 playoffs, Scott tossed one other such outing.

Cruz retired as the franchise leader in walk-off home runs, with six. Through each of Houston's first nine playoff runs, Cruz remained an on-field presence: the first three as a player (1980, 1981, and 1986) and as a coach during the next six (1997–1999, 2001, 2004, and 2005).

Performance overview

The Astros concluded the 1992 campaign with a final record of 81–81, in fourth place, and 17 games trailing the first-place Atlanta Braves, an overall improvement of 16 wins from the year before. The 1992 season also initiated an era of unprecedented success and consistency for the club, as they continued to assemble a regular season record of .500 or higher on 15 occasions over a span of the next 17 seasons through 2008, while qualifying for six playoff appearances. It was also the first of eight successive campaigns each with a winning percentage of .500 or more through 1999, an achievement ultimately establishing a club record.

The Astros won six games on walk-off home runs, the most of any MLB team in 1992.

Doug Jones established the club single-season record for saves with 36, which passed Dave Smith, who set the previous record in 1986 with 33.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

• April 2, 1992: Curt Schilling was traded by the Astros to the Philadelphia Phillies for Jason Grimsley.

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

;Career honors

• Houston Astros uniform numbers retired:
  • José Cruz, outfielder: No. 25 • In Houston 1975–1987 • 1,870 games • 2× MLB All-Star
  • Mike Scott, pitcher: No. 33 • In Houston 1983–1991 • 263 games • 3× MLB All-Star

;Annual awards

• Fred Hartman Award for Long and Meritorious Service to Baseball: Bob Green
• Houston-Area Major League Player of the Year: Roger Clemens (BOS)
• Houston Astros Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award: Doug Jones
• MLB All-Star Game:
  • Reserve pitcher—Doug Jones
  • Reserve infielder—Craig Biggio
• National League (NL) Player of the Week
  • June 28—Ken Caminiti
  • October 4—Steve Finley
• The Sporting News NL Fireman of the Year: Doug Jones

;NL batting leaders:

• Games played: 162—tied
  • Jeff Bagwell
  • Craig Biggio
  • Steve Finley
• Plate appearances: Craig Biggio (721)
• Sacrifice flies: Jeff Bagwell (13—led MLB)

;NL pitching leaders

• Games finished: Doug Jones (70—led MLB)
• Games played: Joe Boever (81—led MLB)

Minor league system

References

;Footnotes

;Sources

References

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2. "Joe Boever stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com.
3. "Ernest Riles stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com.
4. "Denny Walling stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com.
5. (April 7, 1992). "Atlanta Braves (2) vs Houston Astros (0) box score". [[Baseball Almanac]].
6. "1992 Houston Astros uniform numbers". Baseball-Reference.com.
7. Schwartzberg, Seth. (May 10, 2025). "Today in Astros history - May 10". [[SB Nation]].
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10. Schwartzberg, Seth. (June 20, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 20". SB Nation.
11. Schwartzberg, Seth. (June 21, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 21". SB Nation.
12. Schwartzberg, Seth. (June 28, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 28". SB Nation.
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19. (October 8, 1986). "1986 National League Championship Series (NLCS)–Game 1, New York Mets (0) vs Houston Astros (1) box score". Baseball-Reference.com.
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23. "Team batting event finder: 1992, all teams, home runs, walk-off". [[Baseball Reference]].
24. "Curt Schilling stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com.
25. (December 10, 2009). "Milo Hamilton crowned King of Baseball". [[Minor League Baseball]].
26. "José Cruz stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com.
27. "Mike Scott stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com.
28. McTaggart, Brian. (December 21, 2009). "Bourn highlights Astros' awards season". MLB.com.
29. "MLB Players of the Week Awards". Baseball-Reference.com.
30. "Fireman of the Year Award {{!}} Reliever of the Year Award by ''The Sporting News''". [[Baseball Almanac]].