# 1979 Houston Astros season

The 1979 Houston Astros season was the 18th season for the Houston Astros, a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 15th as the Astros, 11th in the National League West, and 15th at The Astrodome. The team finished second in the National League West, 1½ games behind the first-place Cincinnati Reds. The 1979 Astros were the last National League franchise in the 20th century to hit more triples than home runs. The club had 52 triples compared to 49 home runs.

## Offseason

* December 8, 1978: Floyd Bannister was traded by the Astros to the Seattle Mariners for Craig Reynolds.

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteNL West :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Cincinnati Reds | 90 | 71 | .559 | — | 48‍–‍32 | 42‍–‍39 |
| Houston Astros | 89 | 73 | .549 | 1½ | 52‍–‍29 | 37‍–‍44 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 79 | 83 | .488 | 11½ | 46‍–‍35 | 33‍–‍48 |
| San Francisco Giants | 71 | 91 | .438 | 19½ | 38‍–‍43 | 33‍–‍48 |
| San Diego Padres | 68 | 93 | .422 | 22 | 39‍–‍42 | 29‍–‍51 |
| Atlanta Braves | 66 | 94 | .412 | 23½ | 34‍–‍45 | 32‍–‍49 |

### Record vs. opponents

1979 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL |
| Atlanta | — | 4–8 | 6–12 | 7–11 | 12–6 | 1–9 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 6–12 | 11–7 | 4–8 |
| Chicago | 8–4 | — | 7–5 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 6–12 | 8–10 | 9–9 | 6–12 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 8–10 |
| Cincinnati | 12–6 | 5–7 | — | 8–10 | 11–7 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 10–7 | 6–12 | 8–4 |
| Houston | 11–7 | 6–6 | 10–8 | — | 10–8 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 14–4 | 7–11 | 6–6 |
| Los Angeles | 6–12 | 7–5 | 7–11 | 8–10 | — | 6–6 | 9–3 | 3–9 | 4–8 | 9–9 | 14–4 | 6–6 |
| Montreal | 9–1 | 12–6 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 6–6 | — | 15–3 | 11–7 | 7–11 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 10–8 |
| New York | 8–4 | 10–8 | 4–8 | 3–9 | 3–9 | 3–15 | — | 5–13 | 8–10 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 7–11 |
| Philadelphia | 5–7 | 9–9 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 7–11 | 13–5 | — | 8–10 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 7–11 |
| Pittsburgh | 8–4 | 12–6 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 11–7 | 10–8 | 10–8 | — | 7–5 | 9–3 | 11–7 |
| San Diego | 12–6 | 3–9 | 7–10 | 4–14 | 9–9 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 3–9 | 5–7 | — | 8–10 | 4–8 |
| San Francisco | 7–11 | 4–8 | 12–6 | 11–7 | 4–14 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 3–9 | 10–8 | — | 5–7 |
| St. Louis | 8–4 | 10–8 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 11–7 | 7–11 | 8–4 | 7–5 | — |

### Notable transactions

* April 27, 1979: The Astros traded a player to be named later to the Kansas City Royals for George Throop. The Astros completed the deal by sending Keith Drumright to the Royals on October 26.
* June 13, 1979: Bob Watson was traded by the Astros to the Boston Red Sox for Pete Ladd, a player to be named later, and cash. The Red Sox completed the deal by sending Bobby Sprowl to the Astros on June 19.

#### Draft picks

* June 5, 1979: 1979 Major League Baseball draft
** John Mizerock was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 1st round (8th pick).
** Bill Doran was drafted by the Astros in the 6th round.
** Mark Ross was drafted by the Astros in the 7th round.
** Lemmie Miller was drafted by the Astros in the 1st round (20th pick) of the secondary phase, but did not sign.

### Roster
## Game log
### Regular season

1979 regular season game log: 89–73 (Home: 52–29; Away: 37–44) :
April: 15–6 (Home: 8–1; Away: 7–5)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
1April 6Braves1–0W1
2April 7Braves2–0W2
3April 8Braves3–0W3
4April 9Dodgers3–1L1
5April 10Dodgers4–1W1
6April 11Dodgers5–1W2
7April 13@ Giants5–2L1
8April 14@ Giants5–3L2
9 (1)April 15@ Giants–6–3W1
10 (2)April 15@ Giants7–3W2
11April 16@ Dodgers8–3W3
12April 17@ Dodgers8–4L1
13April 18@ Dodgers9–4W1
14April 207:35 p.m. CSTPiratesW 5–4 (10)Sambito (1–0)Bibby (1–1)–3:1619,83410–4W2
15April 217:35 p.m. CSTPiratesW 5–4 (10)Andújar (2–0)Tekulve (0–3)–3:2348,97711–4W3
16April 223:00 p.m. CSTPiratesW 3–2Andújar (3–0)Candelaria (0–1)Sambito (2)2:2722,40312–4W4
—April 24@ CubsPostponed (Rain) (Makeup date: July 7)
17April 25@ Cubs12–5L1
18April 26@ Cubs13–5W1
19April 276:35 p.m. CST@ PiratesW 9–8 (11)Riccelli (1–0)Whitson (1–1)–3:305,76714–5W2
—April 28@ PiratesPostponed (Rain) (Makeup date: July 19)
20April 2912:05 p.m. CDT@ PiratesL 5–10Kison (1–0)Niekro (1–2)Jackson (3)3:077,59814–6L1
21April 30@ Cardinals15–6W1 :
May: 14–17 (Home: 9–8; Away: 5–9)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
22May 1@ Cardinals15–7L1
23May 2@ Cardinals15–8L2
24May 3@ Cardinals16–8W1
25May 4@ RedsL 5–6 (10)Riccelli (1–1)–3:4720,98816–9L1
26May 5@ RedsL 2–6Andújar (3–1)2:1325,04416–10L2
27 (1)May 6@ RedsL 5–172:48–16–11L3
28 (2)May 6@ RedsW 8–23:0033,61817–11W1
29May 8Cardinals17–12L1
30May 9Cardinals18–12W1
31May 10Cardinals18–13L1
32May 11Cubs18–14L2
33May 12 (1)Cubs–19–14W1
34May 12 (2)Cubs19–15L1
35May 13Cubs20–15W1
36May 15Giants20–16L1
37May 16Giants20–17L2
38May 17Giants20–18L3
39May 18Padres21–18W1
40May 19Padres21–19L1
41 (1)May 20Padres–22–19W1
42 (2)May 20Padres23–19W2
43May 21@ Braves23–20L1
44May 22@ Braves24–20W1
45May 23@ Braves24–21L1
46May 25@ Padres24–22L2
47May 26@ Padres25–22W1
48May 27@ Padres26–22W2
49May 28@ Padres26–23L1
50May 29RedsW 2–12:0917,45827–23W1
51May 30RedsW 6–3Niekro (7–2)Sambito (4)2:3221,75728–23W2
52May 31RedsW 3–02:0725,45329–23W3 :
June: 20–8 (Home: 13–2; Away: 7–6)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
53June 1Expos30–23W4
54June 2Expos31–23W5
55June 3Expos32–23W6
56June 4Phillies33–23W7
57June 5Phillies33–24L1
58June 6Phillies34–24W1
59June 8@ Mets35–24W2
60June 9@ Mets35–25L1
61June 10@ Mets36–25W1
62June 11@ Phillies36–26L1
63June 12@ Phillies36–27L2
64June 13@ Phillies37–27W1
65June 15@ Expos38–27W2
66June 16@ Expos38–28L1
67June 17@ Expos38–29L2
68June 18Mets39–29W1
69June 19Mets40–29W2
70June 20Mets41–29W3
71June 22Padres42–29W4
72June 23Padres43–29W5
73June 24Padres44-29W6
74 (1)June 25RedsL 1–22:31–44–30L1
75 (2)June 25RedsW 4–02:2246,31345–30W1
76June 26RedsW 6–5Sambito (7)2:3237,11446–30W2
77June 27@ Giants46–31L1
78June 28@ Giants47–31W1
79June 29@ Padres48–31W2
80June 30@ Padres49–31W3 :
July: 12–16 (Home: 6–8; Away: 6–8)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
81July 1@ Padres50–31W4
82July 3@ RedsW 3–22:1336,78751–31W5
83July 4@ RedsW 3–2Andújar (10–4)Sambito (9)2:2425,71352–31W6
84July 5@ RedsL 4–52:4828,24952–32L1
85July 6@ Cubs53–32W1
86 (1)July 7@ Cubs–53–33L1
87 (2)July 7@ Cubs53–34L2
88July 8@ Cubs53–35L3
89July 107:30 p.m. CDTPiratesL 3–4Bibby (4–2)Andújar (10–5)Tekulve (12)3:0931,34153–36L4
90July 117:35 p.m. CDTPiratesL 1–5Kison (5–4)Richard (7–9)–2:1025,33053–37L5
91July 127:35 p.m. CDTPiratesL 3–5Blyleven (7–3)Niekro (13–4)Tekulve (13)2:4422,95653–38L6
92July 13Cardinals53–39L7
93July 14Cardinals54–39W1
94July 15Cardinals54–40L1
50th All-Star Game in Seattle, Washington
95 (1)July 195:05 p.m. CDT@ PiratesL 5–9Roberts (1–2)Forsch (5–6)–2:41–54–41L2
96 (2)July 198:16 p.m. CDT@ PiratesL 2–4Kison (6–4)Niekro (13–5)Jackson (11)2:1233,46454–42L3
97July 206:35 p.m. CDT@ PiratesL 3–9Candelaria (9–7)Richard (7–11)–2:4023,58554–43L4
98July 211:15 p.m. CDT@ PiratesL 5–6Romo (5–3)Sambito (4–3)Tekulve (14)3:0019,57054–44L5
99July 22@ Cardinals55–44W1
100July 23@ Cardinals56–44W2
101July 24Cubs57–44W3
102July 25Cubs58–44W4
103July 26Dodgers58–45L1
104July 27Dodgers58–46L2
105July 28Dodgers59–46W1
106July 29Dodgers60–46W2
107July 30Giants60–47L1
108July 31Giants61–47W1 :
August: 15–11 (Home: 8–4; Away: 7–7)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
109August 1Giants62–47W2
110August 3Braves63–47W3
111 (1)August 4Braves–64–47W4
112 (2)August 4Braves65–47W5
113August 5Braves66–47W6
114August 7@ Dodgers66–48L1
115August 8@ Dodgers67–48W1
116August 9@ Dodgers67–49L1
117August 10@ Braves68–49W1
—August 11@ BravesPostponed (Rain) (Makeup date: September 24)
118August 12@ Braves68–50L1
119August 13Expos69–50W1
120August 14Expos70–50W2
121August 15Expos70–51L1
122August 17Phillies70–52L2
123August 18Phillies70–53L3
124August 19Phillies70–54L4
125August 20@ Mets71–54W1
126August 21@ Mets71–55L1
127August 22@ Mets72–55W1
128August 24@ Phillies72–56L1
129August 25@ Phillies73–56W1
130August 26@ Phillies74–56W2
131August 27@ Expos75–56W3
132August 28@ Expos75–57L1
133August 29@ Expos75–58L2
134August 31Mets76–58W1 :
September: 13–15 (Home: 8–6; Away: 5–9)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
135September 1Mets77–58W2
136September 2Mets77–59L1
137September 3Dodgers77–60L2
138September 4Dodgers78–60W1
139September 5Padres79–60W2
140September 6Padres80–60W3
141September 7Giants80–61L1
142September 8Giants80–62L2
143September 9Giants81–62W1
144September 11@ RedsL 8–9Sambito (7–6)–3:1440,57481–63L1
145September 12@ RedsL 4–7Niekro (18–10)3:0042,03581–64L2
146September 14@ Giants82–64W1
147September 15@ Giants82–65L1
148September 16@ Giants82–66L2
149September 17@ Padres83–66W1
150September 18@ Padres83–67L1
151September 19Braves83–68L2
152September 20Braves84–68W1
153September 21RedsW 3–2 (13)Sambito (8–6)–3:3044,97585–68W2
154September 22RedsW 4–1Niekro (20–10)Sambito (20)2:5046,03786–68W3
155September 23RedsL 1–7–2:4742,06786–69L1
156 (1)September 24@ Braves–86–70L2
157 (2)September 24@ Braves86–71L3
158September 25@ Braves87–71W1
159September 26@ Braves87–72L1
160September 28@ Dodgers87–73L2
161September 29@ Dodgers88–73W1
162September 30@ Dodgers89–73W2 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement Bold = Astros team member :

## 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
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| C | Alan Ashby | 108 | 336 | 68 | .202 | 2 | 35 |
| 1B | César Cedeño | 132 | 470 | 123 | .262 | 6 | 54 |
| 2B | Rafael Landestoy | 129 | 282 | 76 | .270 | 0 | 30 |
| SS | Craig Reynolds | 146 | 555 | 147 | .265 | 0 | 39 |
| 3B | Enos Cabell | 155 | 603 | 164 | .272 | 6 | 67 |
| LF | José Cruz | 157 | 558 | 161 | .289 | 9 | 72 |
| CF | Terry Puhl | 157 | 600 | 172 | .287 | 8 | 49 |
| RF | Jeffrey Leonard | 134 | 411 | 119 | .290 | 0 | 47 |

#### Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| Art Howe | 118 | 355 | 88 | .248 | 6 | 33 |
| Julio González | 68 | 181 | 45 | .249 | 0 | 10 |
| Bob Watson | 49 | 163 | 39 | .239 | 3 | 18 |
| Denny Walling | 82 | 147 | 48 | .327 | 3 | 31 |
| Bruce Bochy | 56 | 129 | 28 | .217 | 1 | 6 |
| Luis Pujols | 26 | 75 | 17 | .227 | 0 | 8 |
| Jimmy Sexton | 52 | 43 | 9 | .209 | 0 | 1 |
| Jesús Alou | 42 | 43 | 11 | .256 | 0 | 10 |
| Reggie Baldwin | 14 | 20 | 4 | .200 | 0 | 1 |
| Dave Bergman | 13 | 15 | 6 | .400 | 1 | 2 |
| Danny Heep | 14 | 14 | 2 | .143 | 0 | 2 |
| Alan Knicely | 7 | 6 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Wiedenbauer | 4 | 6 | 4 | .667 | 0 | 2 |

### Pitching
#### Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| J. R. Richard | 38 | 292.1 | 18 | 13 | 2.71 | 313 |
| Joe Niekro | 38 | 263.2 | 21 | 11 | 3.00 | 119 |
| Ken Forsch | 26 | 177.2 | 11 | 6 | 3.04 | 58 |
| Vern Ruhle | 13 | 66.1 | 2 | 6 | 4.07 | 33 |

#### Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Joaquín Andújar | 46 | 194.0 | 12 | 12 | 3.43 | 77 |
| Rick Williams | 31 | 121.1 | 4 | 7 | 3.26 | 37 |
| Randy Niemann | 26 | 67.0 | 3 | 2 | 3.76 | 24 |
| Frank LaCorte | 12 | 27.0 | 1 | 2 | 5.00 | 24 |
| Frank Riccelli | 11 | 22.0 | 2 | 2 | 4.09 | 20 |

#### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Joe Sambito | 63 | 91.1 | 8 | 7 | 22 | 1.77 | 83 |
| Bert Roberge | 26 | 32.0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1.69 | 13 |
| Tom Dixon | 19 | 25.2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6.66 | 9 |
| George Throop | 14 | 22.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.22 | 15 |
| Bo McLaughlin | 12 | 16.1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5.51 | 12 |
| Pete Ladd | 10 | 12.1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.92 | 6 |
| Gary Wilson | 6 | 7.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12.27 | 6 |
| Gordie Pladson | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 2 |
| Bobby Sprowl | 3 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 |
| Mike Mendoza | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Charleston Charlies | International League | Jim Beauchamp |
| AA | Columbus Astros | Southern League | Jimmy Johnson |
| A | Daytona Beach Astros | Florida State League | Carlos Alfonso |
| Rookie | GCL Astros | Gulf Coast League | Julio Linares |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: GCL Astros