The 1977 Houston Astros season was the 16th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 13th as the Astros, 16th in the National League (NL), ninth in the NL West division, and 13th at The Astrodome. The Astros entered the season having completed an 80–82 record, in third place and 22 games behind the two-time defending division-champion and World Series-winning Cincinnati Reds.
On April 8, J. R. Richard made his second Opening Day start for Houston, who hosted the Atlanta Braves and won, 3–2. The Astros' first round selection in the amateur draft was shortstop Ricky Adams at 14th overall.
On June 24, Bob Watson became the second player in franchise history to hit for the cycle, and the first in major league history to do so in both the NL and the American League (AL). It was the third cycle overall for the Astros, and third in six seasons.
Pitcher Joaquín Andújar was selected to represent the Astros at the MLB All-Star Game for the first time in his career.
César Cedeño became the sixth major leaguer since 1900 to record six campaigns with 50 or more stolen bases.
With a one-game improvement from the prior season to 81–81, Houston maintained third place in the NL West, 17 games behind the division champion and NL pennant-winning Los Angeles Dodgers. The Astros' fourth season over the past six with a record of .500 or above, it was also the first time they finished in third place or higher in consecutive seasons.
Offseason The Houston Astros concluded their 1976 season with an record, in third place in the National League (NL) West division, and 22 games behind the back-to-back division- and eventual World Series-champion Cincinnati Reds. It was Houston's seventh campaign within the prior eight to have won at least 79 games. During the first full season with Bill Virdon as manager, he guided Houston to a -game rebound from the 1975 campaign.
December 8, 1976: Greg Gross was traded by the Astros to the Chicago Cubs for Julio González. January 11, 1977: John Butcher was drafted by the Astros in the 1st round (5th pick) of the secondary phase of the 1977 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign. January 25, 1977: Paul Siebert was traded by the Astros to the San Diego Padres for Mike Allen (minors). March 26, 1977: Rob Andrews and cash were traded by the Astros to the San Francisco Giants for Willie Crawford and Rob Sperring.
Regular season Summary April + Opening Day starting lineup Player Position 9 Julio González Second baseman 23 Enos Cabell Third baseman 25 José Cruz Right fielder 27 Bob Watson First baseman 21 Willie Crawford Left fielder 13 Joe Ferguson Catcher 24 Art Gardner Center fielder 14 Roger Metzger Shortstop 50 J. R. Richard Pitcher Venue: Astrodome • Final: Houston 3, Atlanta 2 Sources:
On April 8, J. R. Richard made his second Opening Day start for Houston, who hosted the Atlanta Braves. Atlanta bolted a 2–0 lead in the top of the first when Jeff Burroughs clobbered a two-run home run deep to left off Richard. During the bottom of the first, José Cruz punched a sacrifice fly that plated Julio González. Braves Opening Day starter Andy Messersmith equally matched his counterpart, as both he and Richard tossed nine innings of two-run ball. Leading of the top of the 11th opposing Bob Johnson, Astros catcher Joe Ferguson golfed a walk-off home run to win the contest for the Astros, 3–2. Ken Forsch tossed two shutout frames to earn the victory. Ferguson's home run was the second of his career, on both an Opening Day (first was on April 6, 1973), and walk-off (June 22, 1974). This victory was the fifth of a five-Opening Day winning streak, one that remained a club record until 2018.
On April 24, Bob Watson's bases-loaded tiple broke a 2–2 tie in the bottom of the sixth inning versus the San Diego Padres, oof Rick Sawyer. This was one key hit in a see-saw games versus the San Diego, which Houston won via Rob Sperring's walk-off hit off Rollie Fingers, scoring Watson for a 9–8 final.
May Second baseman Art Howe connected for two home runs on May 25 to lead a 7–6 decision over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Teammate Julio González factored greatly into the win by collecting four hits.
Bob Watson's cycle On June 24, Bob Watson tripled, doubled, and hit a home run against the San Francisco Giants. In the eighth inning, he singled to hit for the cycle, and became the second player in franchise history to do so. Part of a five-RBI performance, this led the Astros to a 6–5 win. Watson became the first in major league to hit for the cycle so in both the NL and the American League (AL).
In the bottom of the first inning, Watson swatted a bases-loaded triple which broke a scoreless tie to give the Astros a 3–0. Having already hit a bases loaded triple two months earlier, Watson became the first player in club history to hit two bases-loaded triples during the same season. Watson connected for the triple off future Astro Bob Knepper. Bill Madlock and Darrell Evans each connected for home runs off the Astros' Don Larson. During the bottom of the 11th inning, José Cruz doubled home Wilbur Howard for the game-winner and walk-off hit.
Watson's cycle took place the season after teammate César Cedeño hit for his second, who also hit the first two cycles in club history. The next cycle by an Astros player was by Andújar Cedeño on August 25, 1992.
August—September On August 15, Art Howe hit his first career grand slam and 10th home run of the season, versus Buzz Capra, capping a 15–3 thrashing of the Atlanta Braves. Bob Watson doubled (29) and reached base four times. Terry Puhl tripled (1), walked thrice, and scored four runs. J. R. Richard also homered (2) and earned the victory (12–9), tossing one-hit ball with four walks over five innings. Rob Sperring had the only four-hit game of his career, and homered and drove in two runs.
Starting August 25, César Cedeño authored a 22-game hitting streak to establish a new club mark while breaking the record of 21 games set by Lee May on June 21, 1973. Cedeño's performance included contrasting phases of productivity, with one hit each over the first nine games for a .257 batting average (9-for-35). However, in the following nine games, Cedeño exploded, going 22-for-41 (.537 average), nine extra-base hits, for a 1.024 slugging percentage.
Overall, Cedeño hit .398 (37-for-98) during the hitting streak, while his baserunning accelerated to a fervent pace with 21 stolen bases. The 22-game hitting streak represented the longest of Cedeño's career. The year before, from April 17–May 14, 1976, Cedeño had also put together a 19-game hitting streak. Thus, he became the first individual in Astros history to collect two or more hitting streaks of 19 games or more. Cedeño's record stood until teammate Art Howe hit in 23 straight from May 1 to 24, 1981.
On September 4, Bob Watson connected for his fifth career grand slam. Watson also doubled and had five RBI to lead a 7–1 win over the Montreal Expos. Joe Niekro (11–5) cruised to a complete game, scattered five hits, and at the plate, collected two hits and an RBI. Watson ranked second in club history at the time to Bob Aspromonte, who had six between 1963 and 1966; they had been the only Colt .45s/Astros players to hit as many as four.
César Cedeño was recognized as National League (NL) Player of the Week for September 11. The Astros won five of seven games, during which, Cedeño hit .400 (12-for30), .733 slugging percentage, six runs scored, three doubles, two triples, one home run, and seven RBI.
On September 12 and 13, Cedeño collected back-to-back four-hit games against the Cincinnati Reds, hitting two three home runs, two triples, and five runs batted in (RBI). He became the fourth player in team history to record four hits each over consecutive games, succeeding Wilbur Howard on August 23 and 24, 1975.
The following week ended September 18, over six games, Cedeño netted a .500 batting average (14-for-28), nine runs scored, one double, two triples, three home runs, and six RBI.
October On the final day of the regular season, October 2, Los Angeles took Astros starter J. R. Richard deep three times at Dodger Stadium, the first time in 147 games and 130 starts for the hard-throwing, right-handed Louisiana native.
In fact, like a lightning strike, all 3 Dodger blasts arrived in the sixth inning via offerings to Manny Mota, Dusty Baker, and Glenn Burke. Baker's and Burke's bombs were consecutive. At the time, this gave Los Angeles a 3–1 advantage.
The Dodgers' home runs carried extra significance, in that, Mota, who was pinch hitting, hit the final of his major league career. Burke's was one of his two major league home runs. Baker, meanwhile, mashed his 30th jack for the first time. For Los Angeles baseball, this was a club-record 15th consecutive game heralding the long ball, and their fourth hitter with at least 30 home runs, the first time this was accomplished by any major league team. As Baker reached home plate following the blast, Burke greeted him his hand held high, who instinctively raised his hand to hit Burke's palm, creating the high five, speculated to have been the moment it was invented.
However, the Astros lineup did not allow Richard to forget their own power capabilities. Watson commenced the scoring in the first with a single to score Cedeño, then, in fourth, hit his 22nd dinger of the season. The inning after the Dodgers' three home runs, Cedeño singled in José Cruz. With the bases full—including Enos Cabell, Cedeño, and Watson—Denny Walling then tripled to drove home everyone. This raised the score went 6–3 Houston, which is how it remained. Cedeño and Cabell also doubled. Each of the top four of Houston order had multi-hit efforts (Cruz 2, Cabell 2, Cedeñp 3 and Watson 2). The win got Houston to the .500 mark (81–81).
Richard whiffed 14 Dodgers, a season-high. This was Richard's second-highest total for one game, following his major league debut with 15 punchouts on September 5, 1971. Richard also notched his 13th complete game, and earned his 18th win of the season to follow-up his first 20-win season the year prior.
César Cedeño was recognized with NL Player of the Month honors for September–October. Over 28 games, he batted .417 (50-for-120) / .425 on-base percentage / .692 slugging percentage / 1.117 on-base plus slugging (OPS), 28 runs scored, 83 total bases, 10 doubles, and 16 stolen bases. Moreover, Cedeño set a club record by becoming the first batter to attain 50 hits in a single month, which surpassed the effort of 49 by Rusty Staub in July 1967.
Meanwhile, during the month of September—October, Bob Watson became the first Astros player to collect 30 or more RBI during any calendar month, passing the club record of 29 by Jimmy Wynn in June, 1967.
Performance overview The Astros concluded the 1977 season with a performance of , in third place in the NL West, and trailing division champion and NL pennant-winning Los Angeles Dodgers by 17 games. The club maintained third place with one-game improvement from the year before. The Astros' fifth season with a record of .500 or above—all since 1969—it their third campaign concluded in third place, at the time matching their best for any season. They would finish higher than third for the first time in 1979.