2004 Houston Astros season

Offseason

• November 3, 2003: Traded Billy Wagner to the Philadelphia Phillies for Brandon Duckworth, Taylor Buchholz, and Ezequiel Astacio.
• December 16, 2003: Signed free agent starting pitcher Andy Pettite.
• December 16, 2003: Selected outfielder Willy Taveras from the Cleveland Indians in the Rule 5 draft.
• January 19, 2004: Signed free agent starting pitcher Roger Clemens.
• March 25, 2004: Traded Juan DeLeon (minors) to the New York Yankees for Mike Lamb.

Regular season

Summary

April

;Opening Day starting lineup

On April 7, a 41-year-old Roger Clemens, also known as "The Rocket," made his Houston Astros debut, to deal to the San Francisco Giants. A memorable debut, Clemens blanked San Francisco for just one hit over seven innings to earn his 311th career victory and lead a 10-1 rout. Home runs by Richard Hidalgo, Jeff Bagwell and Jeff Kent bolstered Houston's scoring output. Clemens also struck out nine, including slugger Barry Bonds twice. At the plate, Clemens singled in his first at-bat as a National Leaguer.

When he hit his sixth career grand slam against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 9, first baseman Jeff Bagwell tied a club record. The Colt .45s/Astros franchise record was established by Bob Aspromonte, who hit six from the 1963 to the 1966 seasons. Bagwell collated five RBI while Hidalgo added four. Each of Berkman, Bagwell, and Hidalgo doubled. Wade Miller picked up his first victory of the season following six innings with two runs allowed, leading n 13–7 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

On the strength of a 5–0 win–loss record (W–L), 1.95 earned run average (ERA), 32 strikeouts and 14 bases on balls in innings pitched, Clemens was named NL Pitcher of the Month for April. In just one start did Clemens allow more than one run.

May

Clemens passed Steve Carlton to move into then-second place behind Nolan Ryan on the all-time strikeout list on May 6 against the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 6–2 victory while striking out nine and bringing his career total to 4,140. In the fifth inning, Clemens whiffed Raúl Mondesí swinging for the milestone; howoever, he would be displaced back into ranking third just a few years later by Randy Johnson.

Starting things off May 8, Biggio stroked a leadoff single for the 2,500th hit of his career to become the first player in franchise history to reach the mark, all with the Astros. Biggio added two solo home runs to round out a 3-for-4 day. However, the Astros' bullpen was unable to clutch the lead, as the Atlanta Braves rallied for a 5–4 win in 10 innings.

From May 14 to June 11, second baseman Jeff Kent recorded a 25-game hitting streak to eclipse Tony Eusebio's streak of 24 for longest in franchise history, which he accomplished in 2000. Kent raised his batting average from .284 to .315 while stroking 17 extra-base hits to also raise his on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) from .837 to .902. His achievement stood as the franchise leader until 2006, when Willy Taveras hit in 30 straight.

In May, outfielder Lance Berkman produced a .785 slugging percentage with 24 runs batted in (RBI), winning his first career National League Player of the Month honors.

June

The Milwaukee Brewers recorded an immaculate inning versus the Astros on June 13. However, in the Brewers' next at bat, reliever Brad Lidge recorded four strikeouts.

In a three-team deal on June 28 involving the Kansas City Royals and Oakland Athletics, the Astros acquired center fielder Carlos Beltrán. The Royals sent Beltrán to Houston for minor league catcher John Buck and cash. The A's sent minor leaguers pitcher Mike Wood and first baseman Mark Teahen to the Royals. The Astros sent relief pitcher Octavio Dotel to the A's. Dotel, the Astros' closer, had a 0–4 W–L with a 3.12 ERA in innings pitched, 50 strikeouts and 14 saves in 17 opportunities. He had replaced Billy Wagner in that role following his trade to Philadelphia in the previous off-season.

The Astros fired manager Jimy Williams and replaced him with Phil Garner at the All-Star break. With a 44–44 record, the team had been slumping after spending the first month and a half of the season in first place in the National League Central division. That was considered a disappointment due to hopes of reaching the World Series after signing free agent starting pitchers Clemens and Pettitte, and acquiring Beltrán weeks earlier.

Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Minute Maid Park

The 2004 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 75th playing of the midseason exhibition baseball game between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The game was held on July 13, 2004, at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas, the Houston Astros' home stadium. The previous All-Star Game held in Houston was in 1986 in the Astrodome. In the Home Run Derby, Miguel Tejada of the Baltimore Orioles defeated Berkman in the final round, 5–4. Tejada established records of both 27 home runs overall, and 15 in a single round, while Berkman hit the longest home run of the competition at 497 ft.

For the first time in franchise history, three Astros manned the starting lineup; Roger Clemens, the MVP of the 1986 Classic, was the starting pitcher, Jeff Kent started at second base, while Berkman started in center field. Clemens was the Astros' first starting pitcher in the Midsummer Classic since Mike Scott in 1987, Kent was the first since Biggio in 1998, while Berkman joined César Cedeño in 1973 at center field. Seven years earlier, Bagwell and Biggio comprised the Astros core as two starters for the National League for the first time.

Beltrán, first named to the American League team before the trade, was added to the National League team as a reserve. The game had an attendance of 41,886 and boxing legend Muhammad Ali threw the ceremonial first pitch of the game. The final result was the American League defeating the National League 9–4, thus awarding an AL team (which would eventually be the Boston Red Sox) home-field advantage in the World Series.

August

A triple play and a seven-run seventh inning on August 19 against Philadelphia highlighted an Astros 12–10 win. With the Phillies leading 7–2, Todd Pratt grounded into a bases-loaded triple play in the fifth inning, Houston's first in 13 years. Berkman, Craig Biggio, and Eric Bruntlett each homered in the seventh inning.

Bagwell recorded his 200th career stolen base on August 30 against the Cincinnati Reds to become the tenth player in MLB history to reach that plateau while hitting 400 home runs. On September 18, Bagwell collected his 1,500th career RBI with a single in the third inning against the Brewers. Two innings later, he homered for his 1,500th run scored, becoming just 29th player in MLB history and first Astro to reach both milestones. Bagwell finished with 27 home runs, stopping a streak of eight consecutive seasons with at least 30 but extending a streak of 12 with at least 20.

October

On October 2, Jeff Kent hit the 278th home run of his career to surpass Ryne Sandberg for most all-time among second basemen.

Performance overview

The Astros won 36 of their final 46 games to capture the National League Wild Card. The NL Central division champion St. Louis Cardinals steamrolled their way to a major league-best 105–57 record, leaving Houston 13 games behind. Meanwhile, the Astros finished just a game ahead of the San Francisco Giants to take their first playoff berth since 2001.

The Astros reached the 89-win threshold for the seventh time in franchise history, while qualifying for their eighth playoff appearance, via their first-ever Wild Card title. Since the inception of the NL Central division in 1994, Houston had concluded the regular season in either first or second place ten times in 11 seasons, excluding the 2000 campaign. Furthermore, during a span of 17 seasons commencing in 1992, the 2004 campaign signified the twelfth of 15 having completed with a .500 winning percentage or above.

After the Astros acquired Beltrán from the Royals, he played 90 games batting .258 with 23 home runs, 53 RBI, and 28 stolen bases. His combined totals in 2004 included 159 games with a .267 batting average, 38 home runs, 104 RBI, 42 stolen bases, and 121 runs scored. Thus, he entered the 30 home runs—30 stolen bases club, joining Bagwell (twice, 1997 and 1999) as the second Astro to accomplish this feat.

Berkman, who drew 127 bases on balls, established the National League record for a single season by a switch hitter.

Clemens won the NL Cy Young Award to join Mike Scott in 1986 as the second Astro to win this award. The seventh such award for Clemens, he extended his major league record for this award, and became just the fourth hurler to win the award in both leagues. Meanwhile, Oswalt became the fourth Astros pitcher to lead the league in wins (20), following Joe Niekro in (21 in 1979), Scott (20 in 1989), and Mike Hampton (22 in 1999).

Season standings

National League Central

Record vs. opponents

Transactions

• April 17, 2004: Kirk Saarloos was traded by the Houston Astros to the Oakland Athletics for Chad Harville.
• June 7, 2004: Hunter Pence was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 2nd round of the 2004 amateur draft. Player signed July 14, 2004.
• June 7, 2004: J.R. Towles was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 20th round of the 2004 amateur draft. Player signed June 16, 2004.
• June 17, 2004: Dave Weathers was traded by the New York Mets with Jeremy Griffiths to the Houston Astros for Richard Hidalgo.
• June 28, 2004: Carlos Beltrán was traded from the Kansas City Royals to the Houston Astros in a three-team deal, which also sent relief pitcher Octavio Dotel from the Astros to the Oakland Athletics, while the Royals picked up Oakland minor leaguers (pitcher Mike Wood and third-baseman Mark Teahen) and Astros catcher John Buck.
• September 7, 2004: Dave Weathers was released by the Houston Astros.

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; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; SO = Strikeouts

Playoffs

National League Division Series

Main article: 2004 National League Division Series

In Game 2, Bagwell hit his first career postseason home run off Mike Hampton in the first inning in a 4–2 extra-inning loss.

After seven failed attempts in 43 years of franchise history to win a playoff series, the Astros defeated the Atlanta Braves in five games for their first. Behind the quartet dubbed the "Killer B's" – composed of Bagwell, Beltrán, Berkman and Biggio – who batted .395 (34-for-86) with eight home runs, 21 RBI and 24 runs scored, the Astros' offense ignited, scoring an NLDS-record 36 runs. Beltrán homered four times in this series.

National League Championship Series

Main article: 2004 National League Championship Series

The Astros faced the St. Louis Cardinals in the playoffs for the first time in 2004 in the National League Championship Series (NLCS). By hitting one home run in each of the first four home runs in the NLCS, including the game-winner in Game 4, Beltrán tied Barry Bonds' record for home runs in single postseason-record with eight, continuing a strong performance from the NLDS. Counting a two home-run performance in Game 5 of the NLDS, that gave Beltrán at least one home run in a record-setting five consecutive postseason games, later eclipsed by Daniel Murphy's home runs in six consecutive postseason games in 2015.

The home run record that Beltrán tied with Bonds was matched in 2011 by Nelson Cruz of the Texas Rangers, and surpassed in 2020 by Randy Arozarena of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Cardinals center fielder Jim Edmonds hit the game-winning home run off Dan Miceli in the 12th inning of Game 6, for a 6–4 final score and forcing a Game 7. It was the third game Miceli lost of the 2004 postseason.

Awards and achievements

Offensive achievements

Grand slams

30—30 club

Records

• Roger Clemens, Major league record seventh Cy Young Award won
• Brad Lidge, National League Record, Most Strikeouts in One Season by a Relief Pitcher (157)
• Carlos Beltrán:
  • Postseason: Most home runs in consecutive games (5, since broken by Daniel Murphy)
  • Single post-season: Most home runs (8–tied with Barry Bonds)
• Houston Astros, NLDS-record for runs scored (36)

Awards

• Cy Young Award: Roger Clemens
• Darryl Kile Good Guy Award: Roy Oswalt
• Fred Hartman Award for Long and Meritorious Service to Baseball: Gerry Hunsicker
• Houston-Area Major League Player of the Year: Carl Crawford (TBR)
• Houston Astros Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award: Lance Berkman
• Houston Astros Pitcher of the Year: Roger Clemens
• Houston Astros Rookie of the Year: Chad Qualls
• All-Star Game selections:
  • Roger Clemens—Starting pitcher
  • Jeff Kent—Starting second baseman
  • Lance Berkman—Starting outfielder / Home Run Derby contestant
  • Carlos Beltrán—Reserve outfielder
• NL Pitcher of the Month—April: Roger Clemens
• NL Player of the Month—May: Lance Berkman
• NL Player of the Week:
  • April 11—Richard Hidalgo
  • August 29—Carlos Beltrán

League leaders

;Individual pitching leaders

• Games started: Roy Oswalt (35)
• Winning percentage: Roger Clemens (.818)
• Wins: Roy Oswalt (20)

Minor league system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Greeneville

Notes

References

References

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