1970 Houston Astros season

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1970 Houston Astros
LeagueNational League
DivisionWest
BallparkAstrodome
CityHouston, Texas
Record79–83 (.488)
Divisional place4th
OwnersRoy Hofheinz
General managersSpec Richardson
ManagersHarry Walker
TelevisionKTRK-TV
RadioKPRC (AM)
(Gene Elston, Loel Passe, Harry Kalas)
← 1969 Seasons 1971 →

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.

The Astros' first round draft pick in the amateur draft was pitcher Randy Scarbery, at third overall.

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

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Regular season

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Summary

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Center Fielder César Cedeño made his major league debut on June 20 and collected two hits as Houston rallied to defeat the Atlanta Braves, 9–8.[3]

Season standings

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NL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Cincinnati Reds 102 60 .630 — 57‍–‍24 45‍–‍36
Los Angeles Dodgers 87 74 .540 14½ 39‍–‍42 48‍–‍32
San Francisco Giants 86 76 .531 16 48‍–‍33 38‍–‍43
Houston Astros 79 83 .488 23 44‍–‍37 35‍–‍46
Atlanta Braves 76 86 .469 26 42‍–‍39 34‍–‍47
San Diego Padres 63 99 .389 39 31‍–‍50 32‍–‍49

Record vs. opponents

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1970 National League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Team ATL CHC CIN HOU LAD MTL NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL
Atlanta — 8–4 5–13 9–9 6–12 6–6 6–6 7–5 6–6 9–9 7–11 7–5
Chicago 4–8 — 7–5 7–5 6–6 13–5 7–11 9–9 8–10 9–3 7–5 7–11
Cincinnati 13–5 5–7 — 15–3 13–5 7–5 8–4 7–5 8–4 8–10 9–9 9–3
Houston 9–9 5–7 3–15 — 8–10 8–4 6–6 4–8 6–6 14–4 10–8 6–6
Los Angeles 12–6 6–6 5–13 10–8 — 8–4 7–5 6–5 6–6 11–7 9–9 7–5
Montreal 6–6 5–13 5–7 4–8 4–8 — 10–8 11–7 9–9 6–6 6–6 7–11
New York 6–6 11–7 4–8 6–6 5–7 8–10 — 13–5 6–12 6–6 6–6 12–6
Philadelphia 5-7 9–9 5–7 8–4 5–6 7–11 5–13 — 4–14 9–3 8–4 8–10
Pittsburgh 6–6 10–8 4–8 6–6 6–6 9–9 12–6 14–4 — 6–6 4–8 12–6
San Diego 9–9 3–9 10–8 4–14 7–11 6–6 6–6 3–9 6–6 — 5–13 4–8
San Francisco 11–7 5–7 9–9 8–10 9–9 6–6 6–6 4–8 8–4 13–5 — 7–5
St. Louis 5–7 11–7 3–9 6–6 5–7 11–7 6–12 10–8 6–12 8–4 5–7 —


Notable transactions

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Roster

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1970 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

Manager

Coaches

Game log

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Regular season

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Legend
  Astros win
  Astros loss
  Postponement
  Eliminated from playoff race
Bold Astros team member
1970 regular season game log: 79–83 (Home: 44–37; Away: 35–46)[6]
April: 7–14 (Home: 6–4; Away: 1–10)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
14 April 20 @ Pirates
15 April 21 @ Pirates
16 April 22 @ Pirates
20 April 28 @ Reds
21 April 29 @ Reds
May: 14–15 (Home: 6–7; Away: 8–8)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
28 May 7 Pirates
29 May 8 Pirates
30 May 9 Pirates
31 May 10 Pirates
41 May 21 Reds
42 May 22 Reds
43 May 23 Reds
44 May 24 Reds
June: 12–14 (Home: 8–7; Away: 4–7)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
72 June 26 Reds
73 June 27 Reds
74 June 28 Reds
July: 13–14 (Home: 7–7; Away: 6–7)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
78 (1) July 3 @ Reds
79 (2) July 3 @ Reds
80 July 4 @ Reds
81 July 5 @ Reds
— July 14 7:15 p.m. CDT 41st All-Star Game in Cincinnati, OH
93 July 20 Pirates
94 July 21 Pirates
97 July 24 @ Pirates
98 July 25 @ Pirates
99 July 26 @ Pirates
August: 16–13 (Home: 7–7; Away: 9–6)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
September: 16–13 (Home: 9–5; Away: 7–8)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
147 September 15 Reds
148 September 16 Reds
153 September 21 @ Reds
154 September 22 @ Reds
155 September 23 @ Reds
October: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Away: 0–0)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak

Detailed records

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Player stats

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Batting

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Starters by position

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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 Johnny Edwards 140 458 101 .221 7 49
1B Bob Watson 97 327 89 .272 11 61
2B Joe Morgan 144 548 147 .268 8 52
SS Denis Menke 154 562 171 .304 13 92
3B Doug Rader 156 576 145 .252 25 87
LF Tommy Davis 57 213 60 .282 3 30
CF Jimmy Wynn 157 554 156 .282 27 88
RF Jesús Alou 117 458 140 .306 1 44

Other batters

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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
César Cedeño 90 355 110 .310 7 42
Joe Pepitone 75 279 70 .251 14 35
Norm Miller 90 226 54 .239 4 29
Marty Martínez 75 150 33 .220 0 12
John Mayberry 50 148 32 .216 5 14
Larry Howard 31 88 27 .307 2 16
Keith Lampard 53 72 17 .236 0 5
Héctor Torres 31 65 16 .246 0 5
César Gerónimo 47 37 9 .243 0 2
Jim Beauchamp 31 26 5 .192 1 4
Don Bryant 15 24 5 .208 0 3
Gary Geiger 5 4 1 .250 0 0
Leon McFadden 2 0 0 ---- 0 0

Pitching

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Starting pitchers

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Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Larry Dierker 37 269.2 16 12 3.87 191
Don Wilson 29 184.1 11 6 3.91 94
Tom Griffin 23 111.1 3 13 5.74 72
Wade Blasingame 13 77.2 3 3 3.48 55
Ken Forsch 4 24.0 1 2 5.63 13

Other pitchers

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Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Jack Billingham 46 187.2 13 9 3.98 134
Denny Lemaster 39 162.0 7 12 4.56 103
Ron Cook 41 82.1 4 4 3.72 50
Jim Bouton 29 73.1 4 6 5.40 49
Scipio Spinks 5 13.2 0 1 9.88 6

Relief pitchers

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Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Fred Gladding 63 7 4 18 4.06 46
Jim Ray 52 6 3 5 3.26 67
Jack DiLauro 42 1 3 3 4.28 23
George Culver 32 3 3 3 3.20 31
Mike Marshall 4 0 1 0 8.44 5
Dan Osinski 3 0 1 0 9.82 1
Buddy Harris 2 0 0 0 5.68 2

Farm system

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See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Oklahoma City 89ers American Association Hub Kittle
AA Columbus Astros Southern League Jimmy Williams
A Cocoa Astros Florida State League Tony Pacheco
A-Short Season Williamsport Astros New York–Penn League Dick Bogard
Rookie Covington Astros Appalachian League Dick Smith

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Columbus

References

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  1. ^ a b Mike Marshall at Baseball Reference
  2. ^ a b Joe Pepitone at Baseball Reference
  3. ^ Schwarzberg, Seth (June 20, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 20". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  4. ^ Greg Gross at Baseball Reference
  5. ^ Jim Bouton at Baseball Reference
  6. ^ "1970 Houston Astros Schedule & Results". Baseball Reference. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
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