The 1996 Houston Astros season was the 35th season for the Houston Astros, a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 32nd as the Astros, third in the NL Central division, and 32nd at The Astrodome. The Astros entered the season with a 76–68 record, in second-place and nine games behind the division-champion Cincinnati Reds, while having missed the playoffs by one game behind the Colorado Rockies in the NL Wild Card race.
On April 1, pitcher Shane Reynolds made his first of five consecutive Opening Day starts for the Astros, who hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers but were defeated, 4–3. In the amateur draft, the Astros selected pitcher Mark Johnson in the first round, at 19th overall, and pitcher Roy Oswalt in the 23rd round.
First baseman Jeff Bagwell and second baseman Craig Biggio represented the Astros for the National League at the MLB All-Star Game, the second for Bagwell, and fifth for Biggio. On September 29, the Astros retired Nolan Ryan's jersey number 34, where he pitched nine seasons.
The Astros finished in second place in the NL Central with an 82–80 record, six games behind the division-leading St. Louis Cardinals. In the NL Wild Card race, the Astros ranked third, eight games behind the Dodgers. This was the Astros' fourth consecutive winning season—unprecedented in club history—and third consecutive with a second-place finish in the division.
Following the season, Biggio won the Gold Glove Award, the third of his career, while relief pitcher Billy Wagner was selected to the Topps All-Star Rookie Team.
Offseason The Astros concluded the 1995 campaign with a final record of , for a second-place ranking in the National League (NL) Central division, 9 games behind the division-champion Cincinnati Reds. In the Wild Card chase, Houston finished as runners-up to the Colorado Rockies for the NL title by one game. Hence, for the second straight campaign, the club finished within one game of a playoff berth, having last qualified in 1986. For the fourth consecutive arc, since 1992, Houston had concluded with a record of at least .500—unprecedented in any prior instance in franchise history—while also matching the 1979, 1980, and 1981 clubs with three successive winning campaigns for longest string of winning seasons in franchise annals. The 1995 Astros also set club records for runs scored (747) and on-base percentage (.353 OBP), while posting the second-highest batting average to the 1994 squad (.278, .275). Moreover, second baseman Craig Biggio became the first Astro to be recognized with both the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Awards in the same year on multiple occasions, and, the first Astro to win either award for the position at second base.
Prior to this season, the Astros hired former pitcher Brent Strom as a coach, his first coaching stint for the Astros.
January 5, 1996: Anthony Young was signed as a free agent by the Astros.
Regular season Summary April + Opening Day starting lineup Player Position 19 Brian L. Hunter Center fielder 7 Craig Biggio Second baseman 5 Jeff Bagwell First baseman 14 Derek Bell Right fielder 16 Derrick May Left fielder 17 Sean Berry Third baseman 3 Rick Wilkins Catcher 24 Orlando Miller Shortstop 37 Shane Reynolds Pitcher Venue: Astrodome • Los Angeles 4, Houston 3 Sources:
The Astros hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers for Opening Day, April 1. Houston chose Shane Reynolds as the starting pitcher, while Los Angeles countered with Ramón Martínez. The Astros crossed the plate first as shortstop Orlando Miller singled in Sean Berry. Reynolds kept the Dodgers scoreless until the fifth, when Eric Karros singled home a run, and Todd Hollandsworth cleared the bases with a double. The Astros responded during the bottom of the sixth, when Jeff Bagwell led off with the club's first home run of the season, and Derrick May lifted a sacrifice fly which scored Derek Bell to reduce the Astros' deficit to 4–3. However, the score held as Reynolds took the defeat, while Martinez tossed a quality start to earn the victory.
On April 6, Ken Caminiti of the San Diego Padres, hit his second career grand slam at the Astrodome against his former team. He became just the eighth player to hit multiple grand slams in the Astrodome. It was a clutch blast for San Diego, breaking a 4–4 tie in the top of the 13th inning. The Padres maintained the edge, winning 8–4.
May
On May 7 against Philadelphia, Jeff Bagwell reached the 500th run batted in (RBI) of his career with two home runs and four RBI. By hitting his second upper-deck home run at Three Rivers Stadium on May 29 – it travelled – Bagwell joined longtime Pirate Willie Stargell as the only players to homer twice into the stadium's upper deck.
Backup catcher Jerry Goff set a National League record and matched the MLB record on May 12 with six passed balls, tying Geno Petralli and Rube Vickers. Goff's miscues led to five unearned runs, allowing the Montreal Expos to defeat Houston, 7–6. At the plate, Goff homered and collected two hits; however, in spite of his strong offensive performance, the Astros optioned him to the Triple-A Tucson Toros following the game. This turned out to be his last appearance in the major leagues.
On May 24, Craig Biggio's two-run, ninth-inning blast tied the game and sent it into extra innings. Later, Astros outfielder John Cangelosi stroked a 10th-inning RBI single to finish off the Chicago Cubs for the 8–7 win.
For the month of May, Bagwell batted .360 with .740 SLG, 10 HR, 31 RBI, scored 22 runs, and stole four bases. He was named NL Player of the Month, his fourth career monthly award.
June On June 6, southpaw Billy Wagner notched a three-inning bout for the first time, going total frames while surrendering three runs. Wagner struck out five.
On June 14, Bagwell tied a major league record with four doubles in one game against the San Francisco Giants. Bagwell's achievement was the first in the major leagues since Billy Hatcher on August 21, 1990, as a member of the Cincinnati Reds. He joined Kevin Bass on June 27, 1987, as the second Houston Astro to slug four extra-base hits in a single game, also punishing San Francisco Giants pitching. Craig Biggio went deep and plated three, while Brian Hunter doubled and drove in three. Mike Hampton (5–3) tossed six sturdy innings while Billy Wagner closed out the final three frames for his first career save. Billy "The Kid" whiffed four of nine batters faced.
Billy Wagner whiffed a career-best seven on June 20, accounting for seven of eight total outs in an appearance of innings. Wagner diffused two bases on balls and one safety with no runs surrendered.
July On July 24, pinch hitter Ray Montgomery connected for a tenth-inning walk-off home run off Ron Villone of the San Diego Padres, also scoring Ricky Gutiérrez. This was also Montgomery's first and only major league blast. James Mouton also went deep among three hits. The final score was Houston 6, San Diego 4.
During the month of July, Houston claimed five triumphs via walk-off safeties.
September With one month remaining in the season, the Astros held a -game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals.
However, the Astros lost 17 of their final 25 games—including a season-high nine-game losing streak—and wound up losing the division lead, ultimately landing in second place and six games behind the first-place Cardinals. The Astros dismissed manager Terry Collins following the season.
Retirement of Nolan Ryan's uniform number 34
During a pre-game ceremony on September 29, 1996—the final day of the regular season—the Astros retired Nolan Ryan's jersey number 34. During his tenure in Houston, the "Ryan Express" became the fourth major league pitcher to notch his 3,000th strikeout (July 4, 1980), the first to whiff each of 4,000 (July 11, 1985) and 4,500 batters (September 9, 1987), tossed his record fifth no-hitter (September 25, 1981), and earned his 250th career victory (August 27, 1986).
In 282 games started with Astros, Ryan went 106–94 with a 3.13 earned run average (ERA), gaining two All-Star team selections while claiming two each of league ERA titles (1.69 in 1981, 2.76 in 1987) and strikeout titles (270 in 1987, 228 in 1988). Ryan became the first Astro to earn multiple ERA titles, and just the second to lead in strikeouts multiple seasons, following J. R. Richard. Ryan departed Houston as the Astros' career record holder for strikeouts (1,866), for most 10-K games with 53, as well having tossed the third 16-strikeout game in franchise history (September 9, 1987).
Ryan became the second major leaguer to have his jersey number retired by three teams on which they played, joining Frank Robinson.
To cap off the contest, catcher Tony Eusebio lined a double to left field to score James Mouton for a walk-off, 5–4 decision in ten innings over the Florida Marlins. This brought Houston to a winning record for the campaign at 82–80.
Performance overview With a final record of 82–80, the Astros increased their win total by six from the year prior, while their winning percentage dropped 0.022 points, a season shortened by a players' strike to 144 games. After their late-season collapse, the Astros produced a fifth consecutive season since 1992 with a record of at least .500—unprecedented in franchise history. The 1996 team was the fourth consecutive with a winning record, surpassing the 1979, 1980, 1981 clubs which set the prior record with three successive winning campaigns. The Astros maintained their consistency and extended this new record through the 1999 campaign.
The Astros hoisted 12 victories via walk-off hit to lead the Major Leagues, and their most since 1992. Derek Bell led the club with three (April 2, July 20, and July 21). Meanwhile, Orlando Miller swatted two of Houston's three walk-off home runs, and was one of eight players in the Major Leagues to hit multiple such home runs.
Jeff Bagwell recorded the first of six successive campaigns of each of 100 runs scored, 30 doubles, 30 home runs, 100 RBI and 100 BB, through 2001, a Major League record. Bagwell connected for 31 homers, while establishing single-season club records with 48 doubles and 120 RBI. Derek Bell, who drove home 113 runs, joined Bagwell to generate the first instance in which the club rostered multiple hitters with 100-plus RBI during the same season.
Starting pitchers Shane Reynolds and Darryl Kile both struck out upward of 200 batters. It was the third season in franchise history that the Astros boasted at least two such hurlers (1969, 1987).
Biggio was recognized with the Gold Glove Award at second base for the third consecutive year. Among Astros Gold Glove winners, only César Cedeño and Doug Rader had won more (5 each, both consecutively).
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Game log
|- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 1 || April 1 || Dodgers || 3–4 || Martinez || Reynolds (0–1) || Worrell || 34,375 || 0–1 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 2 || April 2 || Dodgers || 5–4 || Jones (1–0) || Cummings || — || 20,492 || 1–1 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 3 || April 3 || Dodgers || 5–2 || Hampton (1–0) || Nomo || Jones (1) || 14,858 || 2–1 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 4 || April 5 || Padres || 4–10 || Tewksbury || Kile (0–1) || — || 28,629 || 2–2 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 5 || April 6 || Padres || 4–8 (13) || Hoffman || Small (0–1) || — || 24,510 || 2–3 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 6 || April 7 || Padres || 2–17 || Bergman || Swindell (0–1) || — || 16,258 || 2–4 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 7 || April 8 || Giants || 6–2 || Hampton (2–0) || VanLandingham || — || 13,488 || 3–4 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 8 || April 9 || Giants || 1–3 (10) || Juden || Tabaka (0–1) || Beck || 13,588 || 3–5 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 9 || April 10 || Giants || 5–11 || Fernandez || Kile (0–2) || — || 14,183 || 3–6 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 10 || April 11 || @ Reds || 9–4 || Reynolds (1–1) || Portugal || — || 18,946 || 4–6 |- bgcolor="ccffcc"