1997 Houston Astros: Offensive Launch

1997 Houston Astros: Offensive Launch

[paypal_donation_button]1997 Houston Astros: Offensive Launch

The Houston Astros were steadily entering a time period where they would regularly contend in the postseason as they had developed enough talent on their roster. Along with other reliable hitters the Astros had at least 2/3 of the group that would be known as the “Killer B’s” as they led the way for the offense.

The Astros went 84-78 in 1997 to win the National League Central division by 5 games over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Astros went and even 6-6 against the Pirates in head-to-head play. The Astros went 46-35 at their unique home of the Astrodome and went 38-43 on the road. May and August were not kind months to the Astros but every other month was as they went 15-11 in April, 14-14 in June, 19-7 in July and 14-12 in September. In blowout games where the end result was 5 or more runs the Astros were 27-12.

Leading the way in Houston’s offensive launch was second baseman Craig Biggio who batted .309 with 22 home runs and 81 RBI’s off 191 hits, 37 doubles, 8 triples and 47 stolen bases. First baseman Jeff Bagwell batted .286 with 43 home runs and 135 RBI’s off 162 hits, 40 doubles and 31 stolen bases. On May 20 in a 9-5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies, Bagwell recorded his 1,000th career hit off pitcher Calvin Maduro. That special hit was a home run.

Third baseman Bill Spiers batted .320 with 93 hits, 27 doubles, 4 triples and 10 stolen bases in 132 games. Right fielder Derek Bell batted .276 with 15 home runs and 71 RBI’s off 136 hits, 29 doubles, 3 triples and 15 stolen bases. Center fielder Chuck Carr batted .276 with 53 hits, 11 doubles and 11 stolen bases in 63 games. Center fielder Thomas Howard had 63 hits and 16 doubles in 107 games. Left fielder Luis Gonzalez had 10 home runs and 68 RBI’s off 142 hits, 31 doubles and 10 stolen bases. Catcher Brad Ausmus had 113 hits, 25 doubles and 14 stolen bases. Third baseman Sean Berry had 77 hits and 24 doubles in 96 games. Shortstop Tim Bogar had 60 hits, 14 doubles and 4 triples in 97 games. Infielder Ricky Gutierrez had 79 hits, 14 doubles and 4 triples in 102 games.

Starting pitcher Darryl Kile went 19-7 with 205 strikeouts and a 2.57 ERA, recording 6 complete games and 4 shutouts. Mike Hampton went 15-10 with 139 strikeouts and a 3.83 ERA, recording 7 complete games and 2 shutouts. Chris Holt had 95 strikeouts and a 3.52 ERA despite going 8-12. Shane Reynolds had 152 strikeouts and 2 complete games despite going 9-10.

Closer Billy Wagner had 23 saves, 106 strikeouts and a 2.85 ERA. Relief pitcher Ramon Garcia went 9-8 in 20 games started with 120 strikeouts and a 3.69 ERA, recording 1 complete game, 1 shutout and 1 save. Russ Springer went 3-3 with 3 saves. Tom Martin went 5-3 with 2 saves and a 2.09 ERA. John Hudek had 4 saves. Jose Lima had 2 saves. Mike Magnante went 3-1 with 1 save and a 2.27 ERA.

There would be both good news and bad news for the Astros in 1997. The good news was that the franchise qualified for the postseason for the first time in 11 years. The bad news was that their stay in the postseason would be short as they would be swept 3 games to none by the Atlanta Braves in the National League Division Series.

In many ways 1997 was a revival of a franchise that had been stagnant in terms of playing good baseball. The Astros enjoyed a 9-game winning streak during the regular season, which began with a 2-0 shutout of the Montreal Expos on July 18, and the streak would end with a 7-2 victory over the same Expos on July 27.

While they were better known for their offensive firepower the Astros did have great performances from the pitcher’s mound. On July 11 at Three Rivers Stadium, the Astros blanked the Pittsburgh Pirates 10-0. Mike Hampton pitched a complete game, giving up 5 hits and 1 walk while recording 4 strikeouts. In the top of the 1st inning Jeff Bagwell reached on an error to score Chuck Carr, and then Derek Bell followed with an RBI single. In the top of the 6th Sean Berry had an RBI single, and Tim Bogar followed by reaching on an error to score Berry. In the top of the 7th Bell hit a solo home run, and in the top of the 8th Bagwell clubbed a 2-run home run. In the top of the 9th Bogar had an RBI triple, and Ricky Gutierrez followed with an RBI single.

On July 20 at Olympic Stadium the Astros blanked the Montreal Expos 9-0. Darryl Kile pitched a complete game, giving up 4 hits and 1 walk while recording 6 strikeouts. In the top of the 2nd inning Berry had a sacrifice fly to score Gutierrez, and in the top of the 3rd Craig Biggio had a sacrifice fly to score Bogar. In the top of the 6th Kile scored off a wild pitch, and then Luis Gonzalez smacked a 2-run home run. Gonzalez returned in the top of the 8th to crush a grand slam home run.

The Houston Astros would remain competitive for another decade, retaining their core contributors on offense while adding new pieces to the puzzle.