1999 Houston Astros season

1999 Houston Astros
1999 NL Central Champions
Final Astros regular season game (in the Astrodome) on October 3, 1999
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1962)
Central Division (since 1994)
Location
The Astrodome (since 1965)
Houston, Texas (since 1962)
Results
Record	97–65 (.599)
Divisional place	1st
Other information
Owner(s)	Drayton McLane, Jr.
General manager(s)	Gerry Hunsicker
Manager(s)	Larry Dierker
Local television	KNWS-TV Fox Sports Southwest (Bill Brown, Jim Deshaies)
Local radio	KTRH (Milo Hamilton, Alan Ashby) KXYZ (Francisco Ernesto Ruiz, Alex Treviño)
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The 1999 Houston Astros season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Houston Astros attempting to win the National League Central.

Offseason

• November 17, 1998: Ken Caminiti was signed as a free agent by the Astros.
• January 19, 1999: Ryan Thompson was signed as a free agent by the Astros.
• January 21, 1999: Alex Diaz was signed as a free agent by the Astros.

Regular season

New stadium

File:MinuteMaidParkExteriorHouston.JPG

Exterior of Minute Maid Park

In 1999, the Astros played their final season in the Astrodome as their new stadium was being prepared for play to begin in the 2000 season. The ballpark was first christened as Enron Field on April 9, 1999, with naming rights sold to the Houston energy and financial trading company in a 30-year, $100 million deal. Astros management faced a public relations nightmare when the energy corporation went bankrupt in the midst of one of the biggest corporate scandals in American history in 2001, and they bought back the remainder of Enron's thirty years of naming rights for $2.1 million, rechristening the ballpark as Astros Field on February 7, 2002. The field was unofficially known as "The Field Formerly Known As Enron" by fans and critics alike, in wake of the Enron scandal. On June 5, 2002, Houston-based Minute Maid, the fruit-juice subsidiary of Coca-Cola, acquired the naming rights to the stadium for 28 years at a price exceeding $100 million.

Based on its downtown location next to the old Union Station buildings, one of the suggested names (and nicknames) is the Ballpark at Union Station, or the BUS. During its days as Enron Field, it was also dubbed "Ten-Run" or "Home Run" Field due to its cozy left-field dimensions. In keeping with this theme while paying homage to its current sponsor, the nickname "The Juice Box" is colloquially used today.

Season standings

NL Central	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Houston Astros	97	65	0.599	—	50–32	47–33
Cincinnati Reds	96	67	0.589	1½	45–37	51–30
Pittsburgh Pirates	78	83	0.484	18½	45–36	33–47
St. Louis Cardinals	75	86	0.466	21½	38–42	37–44
Milwaukee Brewers	74	87	0.460	22½	32–48	42–39
Chicago Cubs	67	95	0.414	30	34–47	33–48

Record vs. opponents

1999 National League Records Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]
Team	ARI	ATL	CHC	CIN	COL	FLA	HOU	LAD	MIL	MON	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL	AL
Arizona	—	4–5	7–2	1–8	6–7	8–1	5–4	7–6	5–4	6–3	7–2	8–1	5–2	11–2	9–3	4–4	7–8
Atlanta	5–4	—	2–5	8–1	5–4	9–4	6–1	5–4	5–2	9–4	9–3	8–5	6–3	5–4	4–5	8–1	9–9
Chicago	2–7	5–2	—	5–8	4–5	6–3	3–9	2–7	6–6	2–5	3–6	2–7	7–6	6–3	1–7	7–5	6–9
Cincinnati	8–1	1–8	8–5	—	7–2	6–1	9–4	4–3	6–6	4–3	5–5	6–3	7–6	6–3	4–5	8–4	7-8
Colorado	7–6	4–5	5–4	2–7	—	5–4	2–6	8–5	6–3	6–3	4–5	5–4	2–7	4–9	4–9	4–5	4–8
Florida	1–8	4–9	3–6	1–6	4–5	—	2–7	7–2	5–4	8–4	3–10	2–11	3–4	3–6	4–5	3–4	11–7
Houston	4–5	1–6	9–3	4–9	6–2	7-2	—	6–3	8–5	7–2	4–5	6–1	5–7	8–1	5–4	5–7	12–3
Los Angeles	6–7	4–5	7–2	3–4	5–8	2–7	3–6	—	7–2	5–4	4–4	6–3	3–6	3–9	8–5	3–6	8–7
Milwaukee	4–5	2–5	6–6	6–6	3–6	4–5	5–8	2–7	—	5–4	2–5	5–4	8–4	3–5	4–5	7–6	8–6
Montreal	3–6	4–9	5–2	3–4	3–6	4–8	2–7	4–5	4–5	—	5–8	6–6	3–6	5–3	4–5	5–4	8–10
New York	2–7	3–9	6–3	5–5	5–4	10–3	5–4	4–4	5–2	8–5	—	6–6	7–2	7–2	7–2	5–2	12–6
Philadelphia	1-8	5–8	7–2	3–6	4–5	11–2	1–6	3–6	4–5	6–6	6–6	—	3–4	6–3	2–6	4–5	11–7
Pittsburgh	2–5	3–6	6–7	6–7	7–2	4–3	7–5	6–3	4–8	6–3	2–7	4–3	—	3–6	4–5	7–5	7–8
San Diego	2–11	4–5	3–6	3–6	9–4	6–3	1–8	9–3	5–3	3–5	2–7	3–6	6–3	—	5–7	2–7	11–4
San Francisco	3–9	5–4	7–1	5–4	9–4	5–4	4–5	5–8	5–4	5–4	2–7	6–2	5–4	7–5	—	6–3	7–8
St. Louis	4–4	1–8	5–7	4–8	5–4	4-3	7–5	6–3	6–7	4–5	2–5	5–4	5–7	7–2	3–6	—	7–8

Notable transactions

• August 3, 1999: Josh Dimmick (minors) was traded by the Astros to the Minnesota Twins for George Williams.
• August 31, 1999: Alex Diaz was released by the Astros.

Roster

1999 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers 38 Sean Bergman 51 José Cabrera 50 Scott Elarton 10 Mike Hampton 19 Doug Henry 44,45 Chris Holt 42 José Lima 47 Jeff McCurry 46 Trever Miller 52 Wade Miller 39 Jay Powell 37 Shane Reynolds 58 Joe Slusarski 13 Billy Wagner 53 Brian Williams		Catchers  6 Paul Bako 20 Tony Eusebio 17 Randy Knorr 21 Mitch Meluskey Infielders  5 Jeff Bagwell  7 Craig Biggio 27 Tim Bogar 11 Ken Caminiti 12 Ricky Gutiérrez  4 Carlos Hernández 36 Jack Howell  9 Russ Johnson 28 Bill Spiers		Outfielders 29 Glen Barker 14 Derek Bell 22 Lance Berkman 1,2 Alex Diaz  3 Carl Everett 15 Richard Hidalgo 38 Stan Javier 23 Matt Mieske 35 Ryan Thompson 31 Daryle Ward		Manager 49 Larry Dierker Coaches 25 José Cruz (first base) 24 Mike Cubbage (third base)  8 Matt Galante (bench) 16 Tom McCraw (hitting) 48 Vern Ruhle (pitching) 30 John Tamargo (bullpen)

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

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
Alex Diaz	30	50	11	.220	1	7

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

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

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

National League Divisional Playoffs

Main article: 1999 National League Division Series

Atlanta Braves vs. Houston Astros

Atlanta wins series, 3-1

Game	Score	Date
1	Houston 6, Atlanta 1	October 5
2	Atlanta 5, Houston 1	October 6
3	Atlanta 5, Houston 3 (12 innings)	October 8
4	Atlanta 7, Houston 5	October 9

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	New Orleans Zephyrs	Pacific Coast League	Tony Peña
AA	Jackson Generals	Texas League	Jim Pankovits
A	Kissimmee Cobras	Florida State League	Manny Acta
A	Michigan Battle Cats	Midwest League	Al Pedrique
Short-Season A	Auburn Doubledays	New York–Penn League	Lyle Yates
Rookie	Martinsville Astros	Appalachian League	Brad Wellman

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Martinsville

External links

• 1999 Houston Astros season at Baseball Reference