2000 Houston Astros

2000 Houston Astros / Franchise: Houston Astros / BR Team Page[edit]

Record: 72-90, Finished 4th in NL Central Division (2000 NL)

Coaches: Jose Cruz, Mike Cubbage, Matt Galante, Tom McCraw, Vern Ruhle and John Tamargo

History, Comments, Contributions[edit]

The 2000 Houston Astros set a National League record by hitting 249 homers during the season. The main contributors were Jeff Bagwell with 47, Richard Hidalgo with 44 in a career year, Moises Alou with 30 and Lance Berkman with 21. The record would last until broken by the 2019 Los Angeles Dodgers. Thanks to all the homers, the Astros scored 938 runs, trailing only the Colorado Rockies in the National League and they also led the league in slugging percentage at .477. But their pitching was the worst in the league, with 944 runs allowed, an ERA of 5.42 and a WHIP of 1.526. The first two were worst in the circuit, and the last was only ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates. As a result, they finished well off the pace, 18 games below .500 and in 4th place, 23 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central.

Part of the reason for the home run barrage was the friendly initial configuration of Enron Field, which became the Astros' home that season after more than three decades in the pitcher-friendly Astrodome. In contrast, Enron was a veritable launch pad that year, and would remain so until some modifications made it slightly more neutral, albeit still favorable to hitters. 135 of their 249 homers were hit at home. However, it was on the road on September 9th that the Astros set a team record with 7 homers. They were hit at Wrigley Field in a 14-4 win over the Chicago Cubs.