2020 Houston Astros season


The 2020 Houston Astros season was the 59th season for the Major League Baseball franchise in Houston, Texas, their 56th as the Astros, eighth in both the American League and AL West division, and 21st at Minute Maid Park. The team entered the season having won a franchise regular season-record 107 games, as both the defending champions of the American League and of the AL West, the runners-up of the 2019 World Series, with three consecutive 100-win regular seasons, and entrants into three consecutive American League Championship Series ; both of the latter two achievements had been unprecedented in franchise history.
The 2020 season was the first for both Dusty Baker as the Astros' manager, the 24th in franchise history, and James Click as general manager. The pair replaced A. J. Hinch and Jeff Luhnow, respectively, who were terminated for their role in the team's sign-stealing scandal which had been revealed during the 2019–20 offseason. As part of the team's punishment, they forfeited both their first- and second-round picks in the 2020 and 2021 MLB drafts.
As a response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the MLB season was shortened from the standard 162-game schedule to 60 games, resulting in a delayed start to the season. The season commenced on July 24 with Justin Verlander making his third consecutive Opening Day start for the Astros, who hosted the Seattle Mariners and won, 8–12. The Astros' top overall selection in the MLB draft was Alex Santos, a compensatory pick between the second and third rounds.
By virtue of a Los Angeles Angels loss on September 25, the Astros clinched a playoff berth, reaching their fourth consecutive postseason tournament, fifth in the last six years, and 14th postseason season appearance in franchise history. It was also their fourth wild card title and second as an AL club. Baker became the first major league manager to guide five different teams to the postseason. In spite of finishing the regular season 29–31, Houston became the second AL team to reach the playoffs with a losing record following the 1981 Kansas City Royals, also during a shortened season. Hence, under the newly-expanded playoff format, Houston received the No. 6 seed in the AL.
On September 30, the Astros became the first sub-.500 team to win a playoff series, eliminating the Minnesota Twins in a two-game sweep in the AL Wild Card Series, becoming the first sub-.500 team to win a playoff game the day before. The Astros advanced to the American League Division Series, where they defeated the AL West-champion Oakland Athletics three games to one. During the ALDS, the Astros batted in a historic 33 runs across 35 innings. Next, the Astros advanced to their fourth consecutive ALCS, where they were defeated by the Tampa Bay Rays in seven games. Having trailed three-games-to-none to start the ALCS, the Astros nearly completed a dramatic comeback in forcing a Game 7.
After the season, pitcher Cristian Javier was named a finalist for the 2020 AL Rookie of the Year Award, finishing third in voting.

Offseason

Electronic sign-stealing controversy

For years, some individuals on other teams had suspected the Astros of stealing signs, but there was no public reporting on the subject until November 2019, when The Athletic reporters Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich at The Athletic published an article detailing the team's activities. Mike Fiers, who pitched for the Astros from 2015 to 2017, informed The Athletic that the organization used a video camera in center field at Minute Maid Park to film the opposing catcher's signals to the pitcher regarding the next pitch. Astros players or team staffers watching the live camera feed behind the dugout used various audio cues to signal to the batter what type of pitch was coming next. MLB opened an investigation into the allegations and confirmed in January 2020 that the Astros illegally used a camera system to steal signs during the 2017 regular season and postseason, during which they won the World Series, as well as in part of the 2018 regular season. MLB found no evidence of illicit sign stealing in the 2019 season, in which the Astros advanced to the World Series but lost.
For failure to prevent the rules violations, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and field manager A. J. Hinch were suspended for the entire 2020 season. The Astros were fined the maximum allowable $5 million and forfeited their first- and second-round picks in the 2020 and 2021 drafts. No players were punished because they had been given immunity by MLB in exchange for their cooperation. The Astros subsequently fired both Luhnow and Hinch on the day their suspensions were announced. MLB's investigation also determined that Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora helped mastermind the Astros' sign stealing while serving as Hinch's bench coach in 2017; Boston and Cora mutually parted ways the following day, and MLB later suspended Cora through the 2020 postseason. Carlos Beltrán was the only Astros player from 2017 who was specifically named in the report; he had been hired to manage the New York Mets in November 2019 but parted ways with the team after the results of MLB's investigation were announced.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic

On March 12, 2020, MLB announced that as a response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the start of the regular season would be delayed by at least two weeks in addition to the remainder of spring training being cancelled. Four days later, it was announced that the start of the season would be pushed back indefinitely due to the recommendation made by the CDC to restrict events of more than fifty people for eight weeks. On June 23, commissioner Rob Manfred unilaterally implemented a 60-game season. Players reported to training camps on July 1 in order to resume spring training and prepare for a July 24 Opening Day.
The 2020 All-Star Game was also canceled due to the delayed start.

Coaching staff changes

  • On December 7, 2019, first base coach Don Kelly departed for the position of bench coach with the Pittsburgh Pirates, joining the coaching staff of newly hired manager Derek Shelton. The first base coach position went to Omar Lopez, a long-time manager in the Astros' minor league system.
  • On January 13, Astros owner Jim Crane fired Jeff Luhnow and A. J. Hinch, after both were implicated in MLB's investigation into the Houston Astros' sign stealing scandal. Crane temporarily assumed control of baseball operations while a search was ongoing for new personnel.
  • On January 29, the Astros hired Dusty Baker as the new manager for the 2020 season with an option for 2021.

    Releases and departures

  • On December 18, 2019, the New York Yankees announced they had signed RHP Gerrit Cole to a 9-year contract, which was rumored to be worth $324 million, the fourth-richest contract in MLB history. Cole had elected free agency at the conclusion of the 2019 season, and had rejected a $17.8 million qualifying offer from the Astros to return for 2020.

    Signings

  • Astros signed C Dustin Garneau to a 1-year contract
  • Astros re-signed RHP Joe Smith to a 2-year contract
  • Astros re-signed C Martín Maldonado to a 2-year contract
  • Astros signed RHP Jared Hughes to a minor league contract

    Regular season

Summary

July

;Opening Day starting lineup

Game log

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Roster

Player stats

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases; BB = Walks; AVG = Batting average; SLG = Slugging average
PlayerGABRH2B3BHRRBISBBBAVGSLG
Yuli Gurriel572112749121622012.232.384
Kyle Tucker582093356126942818.268.512
Carlos Correa58201225390525016.264.383
Jose Altuve48192324290518217.219.344
George Springer511893750621432124.265.540
Josh Reddick561882246111423120.245.378
Michael Brantley461702451150522217.300.476
Alex Bregman421531937121622024.242.451
Martín Maldonado47135192940624127.215.378
Abraham Toro33871313203913.149.276
Myles Straw3382817400864.207.256
Aledmys Díaz1758814503601.241.483
Jack Mayfield214258100302.190.214
Dustin Garneau173846011406.158.289
Taylor Jones72134101301.190.381
Garrett Stubbs14811000100.125.125
Yordan Alvarez2822001400.250.625
Team totals601992279478103126926822192.240.408

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