Global InformationHouston Astros information
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 2024 Houston Astros season | |||||
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| Major league titles | |||||
| World Series titles (2) |
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| AL Pennants (4) |
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| NL Pennants (1) | 2005 | ||||
| AL West Division titles (6) |
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| NL Central Division titles (4) |
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| NL West Division titles (3) |
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| Wild card berths (4) |
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| Front office | |||||
| Principal owner(s) | Jim Crane[4][5] | ||||
| General manager | Dana Brown | ||||
| Manager | Joe Espada | ||||
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division, having moved to the division in 2013 after spending their first 51 seasons in the National League (NL).[6][7] They are one of two major league clubs based in Texas, alongside the Texas Rangers of the same division. The team’s name is derived from Houston's role as the host of the Johnson Space Center.
Established as the Houston Colt .45s, the Astros entered the National League as an expansion team in 1962. The current name was adopted three years later when the team moved into the Astrodome, the first-ever domed sports stadium, often referred to as the "Eighth Wonder of the World". The Astros moved to Minute Maid Park in 2000.[8] The team played in the NL West division from 1969 to 1993, then the NL Central division from 1994 to 2012, before being moved to the AL West as part of an MLB realignment in 2013.
The Astros posted their first winning record in 1972 and made the playoffs for the first time in 1980, before winning a total of three division titles throughout the 1980s. Spearheaded by the Killer B's, a collection of prominent hitters that included the Astros' only Hall of Fame members Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell, the Astros began reaching major prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s with four further division titles and two Wild Card appearances, culminating in their first World Series appearance in 2005 where they were swept by the AL's Chicago White Sox.
After a major slump throughout the next decade, the team was purchased by business owner Jim Crane in 2011 for $680 million. Under Crane's ownership, the Astros embraced sabermetrics and pioneered new analytical technologies in their transition to the American League, and by the mid-2010s transformed from a historically middling franchise into one of MLB's most dominant and successful clubs, as headlined by stars such as José Altuve. Since then, the Astros have won over 100 games in four seasons, and have appeared in a record seven consecutive American League Championship Series, winning four of the last seven American League pennants. During this era, the Astros won the 2017 World Series, their first championship, against the Los Angeles Dodgers; however, this win drew controversy after the Astros were implicated in a sign stealing scandal. They made later World Series appearances in 2019 against the Washington Nationals, 2021 against the Atlanta Braves, and 2022 against the Philadelphia Phillies, winning their second title in the latter series. This sustained run of success has led commentators to declare the Astros, since 2015, as the top team in the American League and a dynasty.[9][10][11] They are the only team to win a postseason series in seven straight seasons. Their fifth pennant in 2022 made them the second team created in the expansion era to win five league pennants (after the Mets) and the fifth expansion team to have won two World Series championships.
Since their transition to the American League, the Astros have come to hold divisional rivalries with the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers (known as the Lone Star Series).
From 1962 through the end of the 2023 season, the Astros' all-time record is 4,921–4,892–5 (.501). In addition to having the most postseason appearances by an expansion team, they are the only expansion era team with an all-time winning record.[12]
- ^ "Orbit – Houston Astros Mascot". Astros.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
- ^ "Astros officially launch new identity". Astros.com (Press release). MLB Advanced Media. November 2, 2012. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
- ^ Wohl, Dan (November 2, 2012). "With new uniforms, Astros go back to the future". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
- ^ "Group headed by Jim Crane completes purchase of Astros". MLB.com (Press release). MLB Advanced Media. November 22, 2011. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
- ^ "Astros Front Office Directory". Astros.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
- ^ Bloom, Barry M. (November 17, 2011). "Sale of Astros to Jim Crane, move to American League in 2013 approved". Major League Baseball Advanced Media LP. Archived from the original on September 12, 2015. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
- ^ "Astros Headed to American League as New Team Owner Approved". Businessweek. November 18, 2011. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
- ^ "Minute Maid Park". Houston Astros. September 4, 2015. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
- ^ "Astros Pass the Yankees as Best Team in the AL". August 10, 2022.
- ^ "Batting Around: Do Astros deserve 'dynasty' label after another World Series title?". November 6, 2022.
- ^ "After World Series, where do Astros rank among best dynasties of last 30 years?".
- ^ "Houston Astros Team History & Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
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