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.

On April 7, pitcher Larry Dierker made his second Opening Day start for the Astros, who defeated the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park, 8–5. The Astros' first-round draft pick in the amateur draft was pitcher Randy Scarbery, at third overall, and in the fourth round, they selected outfielder Greg Gross.

The Astros produced the only game in franchise history with at least both 20 hits and drawing 10 bases on balls on July 11.[a] 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

Transactions
Exhibition play

On April 3, Doug Rader swatted the first home run to reach the Astrodome's gold (upper reserved) seats, landing in section 738D, row 6, seat 1. Rader "touched 'em all" on Stan Bahnsen's offering during the Astros' 9–5 victory over the New York Yankees.[3]

Regular season

Summary

April

Opening Day starting lineup
Uniform Player Position
18Joe MorganSecond baseman
9Joe PepitoneRight fielder
24Jimmy WynnCenter fielder
33John MayberryFirst baseman
11Denis MenkeShortstop
10Tommy DavisLeft fielder
12Doug RaderThird baseman
7Johnny EdwardsCatcher
49Larry DierkerPitcher
Venue: Candlestick Park • Houston 8, San Francisco 5

Sources:[4][5]

Astros Opening Day starter, Larry Dierker, "ordered" pinch hitter Norm Miller to hit a home run as he was departing the game on April 7. Miller obliged,[3] with a pivotal three-run blast off starter Gaylord Perry of the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park in an 8–5 Astros victory. Dierker picked up the win, while Fred Gladding iced the final 1+2⁄3 frames to earn the save.[6] Dierker, the Astros' starter for the opener in 1968, became the first pitcher to start more than one for the club.[7]

The Astros launched five home runs on April 12 to dump Phil Niekro and the Atlanta Braves, 8–3. In the third inning, Jimmy Wynn blasted one unforgettable rocket which made contact in the gold upper reserved seats (section 738C, row 6, seat 3), outdoing his own effort just earlier in the game. In the first inning, Wynn had launched a home run into the purple seats. Tommy Davis, Joe Pepitone and Doug Rader each went yard, helping starter Larry Dierker remain in complete command the whole evening.[3]

On April 23, Tom Griffin tossed his first one-hit complete game, where he issued two walks and struck out eight.[8]

June

Center fielder César Cedeño made his major league debut on June 20 at Atlanta Stadium, and proceeded to accrete two hits as Houston rallied to defeat the Braves, 9–6.[9] Batting third in the order, Cedeño faced southpaw George Stone for his first plate appearance, and was retired on a fly ball to left field. Leading of the top of the fourth, Cedeño singled off stone for his first major league hit.[10]

July

Joe Morgan tied a club record starting July 6 by drawing at least one base on balls in each of 11 consecutive contests, enduring until July 20, having been set by teammate Jimmy Wynn starting exactly one year earlier. Morgan drew 14 total walks with this active streak, while slashing.333 / .509 / .462 / .971. He also accrued 7 stolen bases. Alex Bregman later tied this streak, from April 20 to 30, 2019.[b][11]

Also on July 6, César Cedeño connected for his first major league home run, off Claude Osteen of the Los Angeles Dodgers, for two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.[12] The blast gave Houston a 4–3 lead. The game proceeded to extra innings, when the Dodgers harangued Jim Bouton for four runs in the top of the tenth. The Dodgers then withstood a three-run rally led by Pepitone, Rader, and Johnny Edwards in the bottom of the tenth, to hold on for the triumph over Houston, 10–8.[13]

The Astros set all-time franchise records on July 11 by attaining upward of 20 hits and 10 walks,[c][14] with 17 runners left on base (LOB),[d][15] and six intentional base on balls (IBB) during a 5–4, 14-inning victory over the San Francisco Giants.[e][16] The Giants' Willie May, then the active home run leader, entered the contest six hits away from joining the 3,000 hit club. In the first inning, Mays singled off Astros starter Larry Dierker. Through six innings, Dierker was largely unhittable, surrendering just one other hit. Dierker also scored one of the Astros' first two runs. During the top of the seventh, the Giants' Willie McCovey homered (23) to tie the score. In the top of the ninth, Mays connected for his 2,996th and 619th home run to put the Giants ahead, 3–2. Denis Menke knocked a triple in the bottom of the ninth to tie the score again, 3–3. In the top of the 13th Bobby Bonds (14) homered to put the Giants back ahead, 4–3. During the bottom of the 13th, Doug Rader scored on a ground out by Don Bryant.[17] Giants pitching issued 3 IBB to Jimmy Wynn, who drew four walks total. Joe Morgan reached base six times with four hits and two walks, and Jesús Alou also had four hits. The strategy kept San Francisco close, but, during the bottom of the 14th, Johnny Edwards swatted a walk-off sacrifice fly to plate Cedeño for the victory.[18] The Astros accumulated 21 hits, second most in club history at the time.[f][19]

September

During a 10-day span commencing September 7 on a West Coast road trip, 24-year old slugger Bob Watson crushed his first two career grand slams.[20] The first blast was at San Diego Stadium off a Ron Willis offering during the opener of a doubleheader, a 10–5 triumph over the Padres.[21] Ten days later at Dodger Stadium, Watson tagged Jim Brewer for a grand slam in the 7th inning that snapped 5–5 tie and was a key play in an Astros 10–5 victory over Los Angeles.[22]

Performance overview

The Astros concluded the season with a 79–83 (.488) record, for fourth place and 23 games behind the NL West division-champion and NL pennant-winning Cincinnati Reds.[23] Though Houston's record declined by two victories from the year prior, this represented the first time in franchise history they had won at least 79 contests successively, following the period during which they lost at least 90 games in each of their first seven seasons of play. Moreover, the 1970 campaign was also the first in which Houston had closed out as high as fourth place in the standings.[24]

This iteration of the Astros set several then-club records, including scoring 744 runs and hitting 129 home runs, surpassing the 676 tallies obtained the year prior, and 112 home runs in 1966. They remained the club record until 1995 (747 runs) and 1972 (134 home runs).[25]

By swiping 42 bags, Joe Morgan became first player in club history to record two 40-stolen base season, both in catenation. For the team, this signaled the second of a franchise-record nine successive campaigns featuring at least one baserunner who pilfered 40 or more bases.[g][26]

Third baseman Doug Rader was recognized with his first career Gold Glove Award, thus being first Houston player awarded since pitcher Bobby Shantz in 1962. Shantz played for the Colt .45s for approximately the first month of the franchise's inaugural season prior to being traded.[27][28]

Season standings

NL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Cincinnati Reds 10260 .630 — 57‍–‍24 45‍–‍36
Los Angeles Dodgers 8774 .540 14½ 39‍–‍42 48‍–‍32
San Francisco Giants 8676 .531 16 48‍–‍33 38‍–‍43
Houston Astros 7983 .488 23 44‍–‍37 35‍–‍46
Atlanta Braves 7686 .469 26 42‍–‍39 34‍–‍47
San Diego Padres 6399 .389 39 31‍–‍50 32‍–‍49

Record vs. opponents

1970 National League record

Sources:
Team ATL CHC CIN HOU LAD MON NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL
Atlanta —8–45–139–96–126–66–67–56–69–97–117–5
Chicago 4–8—7–57–56–613–57–119–98–109–37–57–11
Cincinnati 13–55–7—15–313–57–58–47–58–48–109–99–3
Houston 9–95–73–15—8–108–46–64–86–614–410–86–6
Los Angeles 12–66–65–1310–8—8–47–56–56–611–79–97–5
Montreal 6–65–135–74–84–8—10–811–79–96–66–67–11
New York 6–611–74–86–65–78–10—13–56–126–66–612–6
Philadelphia 5-79–95–78–45–67–115–13—4–149–38–48–10
Pittsburgh 6–610–84–86–66–69–912–614–4—6–64–812–6
San Diego 9–93–910–84–147–116–66–63–96–6—5–134–8
San Francisco 11–75–79–98–109–96–66–64–88–413–5—7–5
St. Louis 5–711–73–96–65–711–76–1210–86–128–45–7—

Notable transactions

Roster

1970 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders

Other batters

 Manager

Coaches

Game log

Regular season

Legend
 Astros win
 Astros loss
 Postponement
 Eliminated from playoff race
BoldAstros team member
1970 regular season game log: 79–83 (Home: 44–37; Away: 35–46)[31]
April: 7–14 (Home: 6–4; Away: 1–10)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/
Streak
14April 20@ Pirates
15April 21@ Pirates
16April 22@ Pirates
20April 28@ Reds
21April 29@ Reds
May: 14–15 (Home: 6–7; Away: 8–8)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/
Streak
28May 7Pirates
29May 8Pirates
30May 9Pirates
31May 10Pirates
41May 21Reds
42May 22Reds
43May 23Reds
44May 24Reds
June: 12–14 (Home: 8–7; Away: 4–7)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/
Streak
72June 26Reds
73June 27Reds
74June 28Reds
July: 13–14 (Home: 7–7; Away: 6–7)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/
Streak
78 (1)July 3@ Reds
79 (2)July 3@ Reds
80July 4@ Reds
81July 5@ Reds
—July 147:15 p.m. CDT41st All-Star Game in Cincinnati, OH
93July 20Pirates
94July 21Pirates
97July 24@ Pirates
98July 25@ Pirates
99July 26@ Pirates
August: 16–13 (Home: 7–7; Away: 9–6)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/
Streak
September: 16–13 (Home: 9–5; Away: 7–8)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/
Streak
147September 15Reds
148September 16Reds
153September 21@ Reds
154September 22@ Reds
155September 23@ Reds
October: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Away: 0–0)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/
Streak

Detailed records

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
CJohnny Edwards140458101.221749
1BBob Watson9732789.2721161
2BJoe Morgan144548147.268852
SSDenis Menke154562171.3041392
3BDoug Rader156576145.2522587
LFTommy Davis5721360.282330
CFJimmy Wynn157554156.2822788
RFJesús Alou117458140.306144

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
César Cedeño90355110.310742
Joe Pepitone7527970.2511435
Norm Miller9022654.239429
Marty Martínez7515033.220012
John Mayberry5014832.216514
Larry Howard318827.307216
Keith Lampard537217.23605
Héctor Torres316516.24605
César Gerónimo47379.24302
Jim Beauchamp31265.19214
Don Bryant15245.20803
Gary Geiger541.25000
Leon McFadden200----00

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
Larry Dierker37269.216123.87191
Don Wilson29184.11163.9194
Tom Griffin23111.13135.7472
Wade Blasingame1377.2333.4855
Ken Forsch424.0125.6313

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
Jack Billingham46187.21393.98134
Denny Lemaster39162.07124.56103
Ron Cook4182.1443.7250
Jim Bouton2973.1465.4049
Scipio Spinks513.2019.886

Relief pitchers

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

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Fred Gladding6374184.0646
Jim Ray526353.2667
Jack DiLauro421334.2823
George Culver323333.2031
Mike Marshall40108.445
Dan Osinski30109.821
Buddy Harris20005.682

Awards and achievements

Grand slams

No.DateAstros batterVenueInningPitcherOpposing teamBox
1 June 4 Doug Rader Astrodome 1[i] Dan McGinn Montreal Expos
2 June 10 Joe Pepitone 4 Nolan Ryan New York Mets
3 July 9 Denis Menke 1[i] Alan Foster Los Angeles Dodgers
4 September 7[ii] Bob Watson[iii] San Diego Stadium 6 Ron Willis San Diego Padres [21]
5 September 17 Dodger Stadium 9[i] Jim Brewer Los Angeles Dodgers [22]
  1. 1 2 3 Tied score or took lead
  2. ↑ Game 1 of doubleheader
  3. ↑ 1st MLB grand slam

Awards

Milestones

Major League debuts

Player—Appeared at position
Date and opponent
Box

[10]

Also: [36]

Minor league system

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
Championships

Notes

  1. ↑ As of 2025.
  2. ↑ The major league record is 22 by Roy Cullenbine, from July 2–22, 1947. Criteria: Longest streak of consecutive games, in the regular season, requiring bases on balls ≥ 1, sorted by most games matching criteria.
  3. ↑ As of 2025, this is the only game of this type for the Astros. However, it was the fifth in the major leagues in 1970, and sixth since 1962. Criteria: For single games, from 1962 to 2026, in the regular season, requiring bases on balls ≥ 10 and hits ≥ 20, sorted by ascending date.
  4. ↑ Surpassed 17 runners LOB on June 2, 1963, versus Milwaukee, and July 27, 1969, versus Philadelphia. Criteria: For single games, from 1962 to 2026, for HOU, in the regular season, sorted by descending runners left on base.
  5. ↑ Remained the team record until July 15, 1984, versus Philadelphia. Criteria: For single games, from 1962 to 2026, for HOU, in the regular season, sorted by descending intentional bases on balls.
  6. ↑ The record at this time was 23 hits collected on June 7, 1967, versus St. Louis. Criteria: For single games, from 1962 to 1970, for HOU, in the regular season, sorted by descending hits.
  7. ↑ Number of players that meet criteria in a season, playing for HOU, in the regular season, requiring stolen bases ≥ 40, sorted by ascending instances.

References

  1. 1 2 "Mike Marshall stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 11, 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Joe Pepitone stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 11, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 Hulsey, Bob. "This date in Astros history". Astros Daily. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Houston Astros (8) vs San Francisco Giants (5) box score". Baseball Almanac. April 7, 1970. Retrieved October 11, 2025.
  5. ↑ "1970 Houston Astros uniform numbers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 11, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Houston Astros (8) vs San Francisco Giants (5) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. April 7, 1970. Retrieved January 11, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Houston Astros Opening Day starters". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 11, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Top performances for Tom Griffin". Retrosheet. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  9. ↑ Schwarzberg, Seth (June 20, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 20". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  10. 1 2 "Houston Astros (9) vs Atlanta Braves (6) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. June 20, 1970. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Player batting streak stats finder–baseball". Stathead. Sports Reference. Retrieved December 24, 2025.
  12. ↑ "César Cedeño career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
  13. ↑ "Los Angeles Dodgers (10) vs Houston Astros (8) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. July 6, 1970. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
  14. ↑ "Team batting game stats finder". Stathead. Sports Reference. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Team batting game stats finder". Stathead. Sports Reference. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Team batting game stats finder". Stathead. Sports Reference. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
  17. ↑ Cohen, Alan (July 11, 1970). "Astros prevail in 14 in 'overly tame ending to a very hairy game'". Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Retrieved April 17, 2026.
  18. ↑ "San Francisco Giants (4) vs Houston Astros (5) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. July 11, 1970. Retrieved January 11, 2026.
  19. ↑ "Team batting game stats finder". Stathead. Sports Reference. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
  20. ↑ "Bob Watson career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  21. 1 2 "Houston Astros (10) vs San Diego Padres (5) box score—Game 1". Baseball-Reference.com. September 7, 1970. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  22. 1 2 "Houston Astros (10) vs Los Angeles Dodgers (5) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. September 17, 1970. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  23. ↑ "1970 National League team statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 23, 2025.
  24. ↑ "Houston Astros team history & encyclopedia". Baaseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
  25. ↑ "Houston Astros team yearly batting stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  26. ↑ "Player batting season & career stats finder–baseball". Stathead. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 3, 2026.
  27. ↑ "National League Gold Glove Award winners". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
  28. ↑ "Bobby Shantz stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 19, 2025.
  29. ↑ "Greg Gross stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
  30. ↑ "Jim Bouton stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
  31. ↑ "1970 Houston Astros Schedule & Results". Baseball Reference. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
  32. ↑ "Gold Glove third basemen". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 11, 2025.
  33. ↑ McTaggart, Brian (December 21, 2009). "Bourn highlights Astros' awards season". MLB.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
  34. ↑ "1970 All-Star Game box score". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 11, 2025.
  35. ↑ "1970 awards voting". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 7, 2026.
  36. ↑ "1970 Major League Baseball new debuts". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
  37. ↑ "List of Southern League past champions". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved October 11, 2025.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1970_Houston_Astros_season