The 1970 Houston Astros season was the ninth season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their sixth as the Astros, their ninth in the National League (NL), second in the NL West division, and sixth at The Astrodome. The Astros entered the season having posted a record of 81–81, for fifth place and 12 games behind the division-champion Atlanta Braves.
On April 7, pitcher Larry Dierker made his second Opening Day start for the Astros, who defeated the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park, 8–5. The Astros' first-round draft pick in the amateur draft was pitcher Randy Scarbery, at third overall, and in the fourth round, they selected outfielder Greg Gross.
The Astros produced the only game in franchise history with at least both 20 hits and drawing 10 bases on balls on July 11. Second baseman Joe Morgan and shortstop Denis Menke represented the Astros at the MLB All-Star Game, the second career selection for both.
The Astros concluded the season with a record of 79–83, for fourth place and 23 games behind the division-champion and NL pennant-winning Cincinnati Reds in the NL West.
Third baseman Doug Rader was awarded the first of five consecutive Gold Gloves.
Offseason Summary The Astros concluded the season with an record, for fifth place and 12 games behind the NL West division-champion Atlanta Braves, the first year of the divisional era. With Major League Baseball's third wave of expansion, the number of teams in each of the National and American Leagues grew from 10 to 12, splitting them into East and West divisions, while inserting the League Championship Series into the playoff tournament. The National League added the Montreal Expos and San Diego Padres, with the Padres, Braves, and Astros all aligned together into the NL West division. Meanwhile, the American League added the Kansas City Royals and Seattle Pilots. The 1969 season was the first in franchise history in which Houston attained a record of at least .500 and a then-record 81 wins, reversing a trend of at least 90 losses during each of their first seven seasons of play. On May 1, 1969, Don Wilson became the first Astros hurler to toss two no-hitters for the team, while Larry Dierker became an All-Star and Houston's first-ever 20-game winner.
Transactions November 21, 1969: Mike Marshall was purchased by the Astros from the Milwaukee Brewers. December 4, 1969: Curt Blefary was traded by the Astros to the New York Yankees for Joe Pepitone.
Exhibition play On April 3, Doug Rader swatted the first home run to reach the Astrodome's gold (upper reserved) seats, landing in section 738D, row 6, seat 1. Rader "touched 'em all" on Stan Bahnsen's offering during the Astros' 9–5 victory over the New York Yankees.
Regular season Summary April + Opening Day starting lineup Player Position 18 Joe Morgan Second baseman 9 Joe Pepitone Right fielder 24 Jimmy Wynn Center fielder 33 John Mayberry First baseman 11 Denis Menke Shortstop 10 Tommy Davis Left fielder 12 Doug Rader Third baseman 7 Johnny Edwards Catcher 49 Larry Dierker Pitcher Venue: Candlestick Park • Houston 8, San Francisco 5 Sources:
Astros Opening Day starter, Larry Dierker, "ordered" pinch hitter Norm Miller to hit a home run as he was departing the game on April 7. Miller obliged, with a pivotal three-run blast off starter Gaylord Perry of the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park in an 8–5 Astros victory. Dierker picked up the win, while Fred Gladding iced the final frames to earn the save. Dierker, the Astros' starter for the opener in 1968, became the first pitcher to start more than one for the club.
The Astros launched five home runs on April 12 to dump Phil Niekro and the Atlanta Braves, 8–3. In the third inning, Jimmy Wynn blasted one unforgettable rocket which made contact in the gold upper reserved seats (section 738C, row 6, seat 3), outdoing his own effort just earlier in the game. In the first inning, Wynn had launched a home run into the purple seats. Tommy Davis, Joe Pepitone and Doug Rader each went yard, helping starter Larry Dierker remain in complete command the whole evening.
On April 23, Tom Griffin tossed his first one-hit complete game, where he issued two walks and struck out eight.
June Center fielder César Cedeño made his major league debut on June 20 at Atlanta Stadium, and proceeded to accrete two hits as Houston rallied to defeat the Braves, 9–6. Batting third in the order, Cedeño faced southpaw George Stone for his first plate appearance, and was retired on a fly ball to left field. Leading of the top of the fourth, Cedeño singled off stone for his first major league hit.
July Joe Morgan tied a club record starting July 6 by drawing at least one base on balls in each of 11 consecutive contests, enduring until July 20, having been set by teammate Jimmy Wynn starting exactly one year earlier. Morgan drew 14 total walks with this active streak, while slashing.333 / .509 / .462 / .971. He also accrued 7 stolen bases. Alex Bregman later tied this streak, from April 20 to 30, 2019.
Also on July 6, César Cedeño connected for his first major league home run, off Claude Osteen of the Los Angeles Dodgers, for two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. The blast gave Houston a 4–3 lead. The game proceeded to extra innings, when the Dodgers harangued Jim Bouton for four runs in the top of the tenth. The Dodgers then withstood a three-run rally led by Pepitone, Rader, and Johnny Edwards in the bottom of the tenth, to hold on for the triumph over Houston, 10–8.
The Astros set all-time franchise records on July 11 by attaining upward of 20 hits and 10 walks, with 17 runners left on base (LOB), and six intentional base on balls (IBB) during a 5–4, 14-inning victory over the San Francisco Giants. The Giants' Willie May, then the active home run leader, entered the contest six hits away from joining the 3,000 hit club. In the first inning, Mays singled off Astros starter Larry Dierker. Through six innings, Dierker was largely unhittable, surrendering just one other hit. Dierker also scored one of the Astros' first two runs. During the top of the seventh, the Giants' Willie McCovey homered (23) to tie the score. In the top of the ninth, Mays connected for his 2,996th and 619th home run to put the Giants ahead, 3–2. Denis Menke knocked a triple in the bottom of the ninth to tie the score again, 3–3. In the top of the 13th Bobby Bonds (14) homered to put the Giants back ahead, 4–3. During the bottom of the 13th, Doug Rader scored on a ground out by Don Bryant. Giants pitching issued 3 IBB to Jimmy Wynn, who drew four walks total. Joe Morgan reached base six times with four hits and two walks, and Jesús Alou also had four hits. The strategy kept San Francisco close, but, during the bottom of the 14th, Johnny Edwards swatted a walk-off sacrifice fly to plate Cedeño for the victory. The Astros accumulated 21 hits, second most in club history at the time.
August On August 21, Doug Rader connected for his 20th home run of the season, off Jim Bunning of the Philadelphia Phillies. Rader became the first player in team history to hit as many home runs in one season as a third baseman.
September During a 10-day span commencing September 7 on a West Coast road trip, 24-year old slugger Bob Watson crushed his first two career grand slams. The first blast was at San Diego Stadium off a Ron Willis offering during the opener of a doubleheader, a 10–5 triumph over the Padres. Ten days later at Dodger Stadium, Watson tagged Jim Brewer for a grand slam in the 7th inning that snapped 5–5 tie and was a key play in an Astros 10–5 victory over Los Angeles.
Watson became the second player in team history to hit two grand slams during the same month, joining Bob Aspromonte, who did so twice (a team record), in June 1964 and August 1966. Watson's were the Astros' fourth and fifth grand slams of the season, the latter of which set a team record.
Performance overview The Astros concluded the season with a record, for fourth place and 23 games behind the NL West division-champion and NL pennant-winning Cincinnati Reds. Though Houston's record declined by two victories from the year prior, this represented the first time in franchise history they had won at least 79 contests successively, following the period during which they lost at least 90 games in each of their first seven seasons of play. Moreover, the 1970 campaign was also the first in which Houston had closed out as high as fourth place in the standings.
This iteration of the Astros set several then-club records, including scoring 744 runs and hitting 129 home runs, surpassing the 676 tallies obtained the year prior, and 112 home runs in 1966. They remained the club record until 1995 (747 runs) and 1972 (134 home runs). They also set a then-team record with five grand slams, breaking the record of four established just season prior. The record was later tied in 1973 and 1986, and surpassed in 1989 (six).
By swiping 42 bags, Joe Morgan became first player in club history to record two 40-stolen base season, both in catenation. For the team, this signaled the second of a franchise-record nine successive campaigns featuring at least one baserunner who pilfered 40 or more bases.
Third baseman Doug Rader was recognized with his first career Gold Glove Award, thus being first Houston player awarded since pitcher Bobby Shantz in 1962. Shantz played for the Colt .45s for approximately the first month of the franchise's inaugural season prior to being traded. Rader also hit 25 home runs to establish the team record for a single season at his position, which remained so until 2005, when Morgan Ensberg hit 36.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions June 4, 1970: Greg Gross was drafted by the Astros in the 4th round of the 1970 Major League Baseball draft. Player signed June 9, 1970. June 23, 1970: Mike Marshall was traded by the Astros to the Montreal Expos for Don Bosch. July 29, 1970: Joe Pepitone was purchased from the Astros by the Chicago Cubs. August 12, 1970: Jim Bouton was released by the Houston Astros.
Roster 1970 Houston Astros Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders
Other batters Manager
Coaches
Game log Regular season Legend Astros win Astros loss Postponement Eliminated from playoff raceBoldAstros team member
|- style="background:#fbb;" | style=";" |14 || || || style=";" |@ Pirates |- style="background:#fbb;" | style=";" |15 || || || style=";" |@ Pirates |- style="background:#fbb;" | style=";" |16 || || || style=";" |@ Pirates |- style="background:#fbb;" | style=";" |20 || || || style=";" |@ Reds |- style="background:#fbb;" | style=";" |21 || || || style=";" |@ Reds
|- style="background:#fbb;" | style=";" |28 || || || style=";" |Pirates |- style="background:#bfb;" | style=";" |29 || || || style=";" |Pirates |- style="background:#fbb;" | style=";" |30 || || || style=";" |Pirates |- style="background:#bfb;" | style=";" |31 || || || style=";" |Pirates |- style="background:#fbb;" | style=";" |41 || || || style=";" |Reds |- style="background:#fbb;" | style=";" |42 || || || style=";" |Reds |- style="background:#fbb;" | style=";" |43 || || || style=";" |Reds |- style="background:#bfb;" | style=";" |44 || || || style=";" |Reds
|- style="background:#fbb;" | style=";" |72 || || || style=";" |Reds |- style="background:#fbb;" | style=";" |73 || || || style=";" |Reds |- style="background:#fbb;" | style=";" |74 || || || style=";" |Reds
|- style="background:#fbb;" | style=";" |78 || || || style=";" |@ Reds |- style="background:#bfb;" | style=";" |79 || || || style=";" |@ Reds |- style="background:#fbb;" | style=";" |80 || || || style=";" |@ Reds |- style="background:#fbb;" | style=";" |81 || || || style=";" |@ Reds |-style=background:#bbbfff | style=";" |— || || style=";" |7:15p.m. CDT || colspan="9" style=";" |41st All-Star Game in Cincinnati, OH |- style="background:#bfb;"