1981 Houston Astros season
The 1981 Houston Astros season was the 20th season for the Major League Baseball franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 17th as the Astros, 20th in the National League, 13th in the NL West division, and 17th at The Astrodome. The Astros entered the season as defending NL West division-champions with a 93–70 record for their first-ever division title and playoff appearance, ultimately losing to the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Championship Series.
On April 9 at Dodger Stadium, Joe Niekro made his first Opening Day start on the road for Houston, who were defeated by the [1981 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers season|Los Angeles Dodgers season|Los Angeles Dodgers], 2–0. The Astros attained a record of 28–29, in third place and 8 games behind behind Los Angeles in the NL West until a players' strike interrupted the season, later classified as the season's first half. In the amateur draft, Houston's top selection was outfielder Curtis Burke in the third round.
With nearly one-third of the season eventually lost, a one-time modified format with a split regular season and a new opening round to the playoffs, the Division Series, was introduced. Pitchers Bob Knepper and Nolan Ryan represented the Astros at the MLB All-Star Game. The Astros acquired second baseman Phil Garner, another All-Star that year, after the event.
On September 26, Ryan pitched the seventh no-hitter in franchise history, a 5–0 victory over the Dodgers. The fifth no-hitter of Ryan's career, this surpassed Sandy Koufax for most in major league history.
Houston won the NL West in the second half with a loss by the Cincinnati Reds on October 3, the penultimate day of the season. With a 33–20 record, the Astros claimed an NL West division title and advanced to the playoffs for the second consecutive season, to the first-ever National League Division Series. Here, they faced the Dodgers, the NL West-division winners of the first half of the season. However, the Astros were defeated in five games, ending their season, and the Dodgers became World Series champions.
Following the season, Knepper was named The Sporting News NL Comeback Player of the Year, the first Houston Astros to win ths awards. Ryan led the major leagues in earned run average, the first time in his career winning the title.
Offseason
- December 4, 1980: Don Sutton was signed as a free agent by the Astros.
- December 8, 1980: Chris Bourjos was traded by the San Francisco Giants with Bob Knepper to the Houston Astros for Enos Cabell.
- March 27, 1981: Julio González was released by the Astros.
Regular season
Summary
April—May
The Astros played Opening Day at Dodger Stadium on April 9, where they were shut out by Los Angeles, 2–0. Both starting pitchers made their first Opening Day starts, with 36-year-old Astros veteran Joe Niekro—who, by winning the 1980 National League West tie-breaker game over the Dodgers, cemented his status as the Astros' first-ever two-time 20-game winner—faced off against 20-year-old southpaw phenom Fernando Valenzuela. Valenzuela's sensational performance resulted in the birth of "Fernandomania." The Astros were befuddled by Valenzuela's unusual delivery and screwball—an offering not shown with regularity since Carl Hubbell in the 1930s—as Valenzuela went the distance on a five-hitter. Only Craig Reynolds and Art Howe reached base more than once. César Cedeño became the first player to make as many as 10 Opening Day starts for the Astros.Right-hander Don Sutton, a key free agent acquisition in the prior off-season, made his Astros debut on April 11 against his former team, the Dodgers. He surrendered six in runs in a 7–4 loss.
On May 24, Art Howe tripled off Vida Blue to extend his hitting streak to 23 games, which at the time set the franchise record for the Astros. However, the San Francisco Giants won a close contest, 2–1. Luis Pujols hit a solo home run to account for Houston's only run. Howe's streak eclipsed César Cedeño's 22-game effort from August 25—September 21, 1977. During the hitting streak, Howe batted.460, collecting an incredible 40 base hits in just 87 at bats, leading to recognition with the NL Player of the Month honors for May. His club record was tied in 1997 by Luis Gonzalez and stood until 2000, when Tony Eusebio reached in 24 straight.
June
With a second base on balls allowed on June 5, Nolan Ryan passed Early Wynn for all-time most walks issued in major league history with 1,776. In this game, Ryan also struck out 10 and tossed a 3–0 shutout of the New York Mets.Pete Rose of the Philadelphia Phillies singled off Ryan on June 10 to tie St. Louis Cardinals legend Stan Musial for fourth-place all-time in hits. Following Rose's hit, Houston blew a four-run lead and lost, 5–4, one day prior to the onset of the players' strike.
Nolan Ryan's no-hitter
On September 26, 1981, Ryan no-hit the Dodgers, 5–0, on national television. The 34-year-old right-hander became the first pitcher to throw five career no-hitters, which surpassed former Dodgers great Sandy Koufax, one of the most dominant left-handers in major league history.During the seventh frame, Terry Puhl's one-handed, running catch of a Mike Scioscia line drive was a key moment that helped preserve the no-hit effort. Ryan struck out 11, yielded just three bases on balls, raised his record to 10–5 and earned a game score of 95.
In the bottom of the third inning, catcher Alan Ashby opened the scoring with a two-run single. Later, during the eighth, Craig Reynolds doubled in Denny Walling, Phil Garner singled in Reynolds, and José Cruz singled home Puhl to make the score 5–0.
When he whiffed Dusty Baker during the sixth inning, it was the tenth hitter Ryan had set down via strikeout, the 135th such game of his career.
Control issues emerged for Ryan in the second inning when he issued a leadoff walk to Steve Garvey. Garvey stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. However, he struck out Pedro Guerrero and induced a popup from Ron Roenicke to extinguish the threat. The next inning, Ryan again walked the leadoff hitter, Derrel Thomas, then fanned Ted Power and Davey Lopes. Ken Landreaux also walked, but Ryan retired the side when Baker grounded out to second.
In the final inning, Ryan fanned pinch hitter Reggie Smith for his 11th of the game. Next, Landreaux battered a ground ball to Walling, the first baseman, whom he retired. Ryan closed out his masterpiece by inducing a ground ball from Baker to third baseman Art Howe.
Asbhy, Ryan's batterymate, caught his second of three no-hitters for Houston.
Ryan had been tied with Koufax with four no-hitters since June 1, 1975, as a member of the California Angels, the club with whom he accomplished each of the four. Prior to the contest against the Dodgers, Ryan had pitched seven one-hitters. Ryan's was the first Astros no-hitter since Ken Forsch's on April 7, 1979, and the seventh in club history. Nearly five years later to the day, on September 25, 1986, Mike Scott tossed Houston's eighth no-hitter.
The Astros' win kept them games ahead of Cincinnati for the second-half division title.
October
While at bat against Jerry Reuss on October 2, Sutton sustained a patella fracture on contact of a hit by pitch, instantly ending his season. Houston would also lose the game to the Dodgers, 6–1. Entering the contest, Sutton's second-half effort had been a leading factor on the pitching staff and Houston's resurgence, having gone 7–1 W–L and 1.86 earned run average.Performance overview
Led by Ryan and Knepper, the 1981 Astros pitching staff set an all-time franchise mark in earned run average at 2.66. The Astros' pitching staff had established the club record just year prior, which had superseded the prior record of 3.13 set in 1971. Although the 1981 season was abbreviated to 110 contests as a result of the work stoppage, this pitching staff tied their 1979 counterpart for most team shutouts in franchise history.Ryan, who posted an ERA of 1.69 for the season, led MLB, succeeding as J. R. Richard the second Astros pitcher to lead the NL, who did so in 1979. Knepper finished as runner-up in the NL in ERA to Ryan, while Sutton placed ninth. In his 15th major league season, it was the first time Ryan had led the league. Both he and Knepper surpassed left-hander Mike Cuellar for the single-season club record, which he set in 1966 with a 2.22 mark, while Knepper established the club record for ERA in a qualified season among left-handers.
Four members of the Astros' starting rotation each placed within the top 10 of the league for individual shutouts. Knepper ranked second, while Sutton and Ryan tied for fourth with 3, and Niekro tied for 10th with two.
Following the season, Ryan was recognized with the Houston Astros' team Most Valuable Player Award.
Notable transactions
- April 1, 1981: Chris Bourjos was traded by the Houston Astros with cash to the Baltimore Orioles for Kiko Garcia.
- April 3, 1981: Gary Rajsich was traded by the Astros to the New York Mets for John Csefalvay.
- April 17, 1981: David Clyde was signed as a free agent by the Astros.
- April 20, 1981 - Dave Bergman and Jeffrey Leonard were traded by the Astros to the San Francisco Giants for Mike Ivie.
- June 7, 1981: Joaquín Andújar was traded by the Astros to the St. Louis Cardinals for Tony Scott.
- June 8, 1981: Eric Bullock was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 1st round of the 1981 amateur draft.
Game log
Detailed records
| Month | Games | Won | Lost | Win % | ||
| April | 19 | 7 | 12 | 44 | 50 | |
| May | 29 | 17 | 12 | 118 | 100 | |
| June | 9 | 4 | 5 | 33 | 33 | |
| August | 21 | 13 | 8 | 84 | 67 | |
| September | 28 | 18 | 10 | 99 | 64 | |
| October | 4 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 17 | |
| Total | 110 | 61 | 49 | 394 | 331 |
Major League Baseball draft
;Houston Astros 1981 MLB draft selections- Round 1:
- Round 3 – no. 75: Curtis Burks – OF • Tennessee State University, Nashville, Tennessee • Signed •
Statistics
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 |
| C | Alan Ashby | 83 | 255 | 69 | .271 | 4 | 33 |
| 1B | César Cedeño | 82 | 306 | 83 | .271 | 5 | 34 |
| 2B | Joe Pittman | 52 | 135 | 38 | .281 | 0 | 7 |
| SS | Craig Reynolds | 87 | 323 | 84 | .260 | 4 | 31 |
| 3B | Art Howe | 103 | 361 | 107 | .296 | 3 | 36 |
| LF | José Cruz | 107 | 409 | 109 | .267 | 13 | 55 |
| CF | Tony Scott | 55 | 225 | 66 | .293 | 2 | 22 |
| RF | Terry Puhl | 96 | 350 | 88 | .251 | 3 | 28 |
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 |
| Denny Walling | 65 | 158 | 37 | .234 | 5 | 23 |
| Kiko Garcia | 48 | 136 | 37 | .272 | 0 | 15 |
| Luis Pujols | 40 | 117 | 28 | .239 | 1 | 14 |
| Phil Garner | 31 | 113 | 27 | .239 | 0 | 6 |
| Gary Woods | 54 | 110 | 23 | .209 | 0 | 12 |
| Danny Heep | 33 | 96 | 24 | .250 | 0 | 11 |
| Dickie Thon | 49 | 95 | 26 | .274 | 0 | 3 |
| Rafael Landestoy | 35 | 74 | 11 | .149 | 0 | 4 |
| Dave Roberts | 27 | 54 | 13 | .241 | 1 | 5 |
| Mike Ivie | 19 | 42 | 10 | .238 | 0 | 6 |
| Harry Spilman | 28 | 34 | 10 | .294 | 0 | 1 |
| Jeffrey Leonard | 7 | 18 | 3 | .167 | 0 | 3 |
| Tim Tolman | 4 | 8 | 1 | .125 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Loucks | 10 | 7 | 4 | .571 | 0 | 0 |
| Alan Knicely | 3 | 7 | 4 | .571 | 2 | 2 |
| Dave Bergman | 6 | 6 | 1 | .167 | 1 | 1 |
| Bert Peña | 4 | 2 | 1 | .500 | 0 | 0 |
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 |
| Joe Niekro | 24 | 166.0 | 9 | 9 | 2.82 | 77 |
| Don Sutton | 23 | 158.2 | 11 | 9 | 2.61 | 104 |
| Bob Knepper | 22 | 156.2 | 9 | 5 | 2.18 | 75 |
| Nolan Ryan | 21 | 149.0 | 11 | 5 | 1.69 | 140 |
| Vern Ruhle | 20 | 102.0 | 4 | 6 | 2.91 | 39 |
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 |
| Joaquín Andújar | 9 | 23.2 | 2 | 3 | 4.94 | 18 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts| Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Joe Sambito | 49 | 63.2 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 1.84 | 41 |
| Dave Smith | 42 | 75.0 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 2.76 | 52 |
| Frank LaCorte | 37 | 42.0 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 3.64 | 40 |
| Bobby Sprowl | 15 | 28.2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5.97 | 18 |
| Billy Smith | 10 | 20.2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3.05 | 3 |
| Gordie Pladson | 2 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 3 |
1981 National League Division Series
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Houston AstrosLos Angeles wins series, 3-2.
Awards and achievements
;Awards- Houston Astros Most Valuable Player Award : Nolan Ryan
- MLB All-Star Game:
- * Bob Knepper—Reserve pitcher
- * Nolan Ryan—Reserve pitcher
- NL Player of the Month—May:
- NL Player of the Week—April 26: Bob Knepper
- The Sporting News NL Comeback Player of the Year: Bob Knepper
;Individual pitching leaders