Houston Astros

Houston Astros founded in 1962
Full name
Houston Astros
abbreviation
HOU
earlier names)
Houston Colt .45s (1962-1964)
Nickname (s)
The 'Stros
Club colors
Navy blue, orange, white   
league
National League (1962-2012) West Division (1969-1993) Central Division (1994–2012) American League (from 2013) West Division (from 2013)
Ball park (s)
Minute Maid Park (since 2000) Houston Astrodome (1965-1999) Colt Stadium (1962-1964)
president
Reid Ryan
successes
World Series Title (1): 2017 National League title (1): 2005 American League Title (2): 2017 , 2019 Division titles (9): 1980, 1986, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2017 , 2018, 2019 Wild Cards (3): 2004, 2005, 2015
Website : astros.com

The Houston Astros are an American baseball team based in Houston , Texas . You have been playing in the Western Division of the American League since 2013 . Before that, they played in the Central Division of the National League for 51 years . The change between the two American professional leagues resulted from an imbalance that had arisen between the leagues when the Milwaukee Brewers moved from the American League to the National League in 1998. The American League has only had 14 teams since then, while 16 teams competed in the National League. Due to the even distribution of 15 teams per league, both leagues could be divided into three divisions each with five teams.

The Houston Astros were founded in 1962 as the Houston Colt .45s . Three years later they were renamed Astros with the move to the new Astrodome in Houston . The name reflects the importance of Houston for the US space program . The team has played their home games at Minute Maid Park since 2000 . The Astros made it into the World Series twice . They clearly lost the 2005 World Series 4-0 against the Chicago White Sox . In 2017 they achieved it for the first time as an American League winner and subsequently won their first World Series title against the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 2019 the Astros reached the World Series again .

In January 2020 the managers AJ Hinch and Jeff Luhnow were banned from the MLB for a year due to a systematic spying on the signs of the opposing catchers and released from the team a day later. In addition, due to the so-called sign stealing scandal, the Astros were deprived of their voting rights in the first and second round of the MLB Draft 2020 and the club was fined five million US dollars . The MLB, however, rejected the withdrawal of the title, which was demanded by many.

Members of the Baseball Hall of Fame

Houston Astros Hall of Famers
Membership in the National Baseball Hall of Fame
Houston Colt .45s Nellie Fox Houston Astros Jeff Bagwell Craig Biggio Eddie Mathews Joe Morgan Robin Roberts Nolan Ryan Don Sutton as a manager Leo Durocher
Players in bold are depicted on their Hall of Fame boards with Colt .45s or Astros badges.

Numbers that are no longer assigned

• 05 Jeff Bagwell
• 07 Craig Biggio
• 24 Jimmy Wynn
• 25 Jose Cruz
• 32 Jim Umbricht
• 33 Mike Scott
• 34 Nolan Ryan
• 40 Don Wilson
• 42 Jackie Robinson (at any Major League Baseball club)
• 49 Larry Dierker

Current squad

Houston Astros players
Active players (25-player group)				Inactive players (40-player group)		Trainer / Others
Pitcher Starting rotation 21 Zack Greinke 59 Framber Valdez 53 Cristian Javier 43 Lance McCullers 64 Brandon Bielak Bullpen 62 Blake Taylor 60 Enoli Paredes 39 Josh James 58 Brooks Raley 63 Brandon Bailey 72 Humberto Castellanos 70 Andre Scrubb 67 Cy Sneed Closer 55 Ryan Pressly		Catcher 15 Martín Maldonado 13 Dustin Garneau 11 Garrett Stubbs Infielder 27 José Altuve  2 Alex Bregman  1 Carlos Correa 10 Yuli Gurriel 31 Abraham Toro Outfielder 44 Yordan Álvarez 23 Michael Brantley 22 Josh Reddick  4 George Springer  3 Myles Straw 30 Kyle Tucker		Pitcher 66 Bryan Abreu 61 Rogelio Armenteros 29 Joe Biagini 47 Chris Devenski 43 Lance McCullers Jr. 54 Roberto Osuna 41 Brad Peacock 52 Cionel Pérez 51 Austin Pruitt 68 Nivaldo Rodriguez 71 Carlos Sanabria 65 Jose Urquidy 35 Justin Verlander Infielder  9 Jack Mayfield 28 Taylor Jones 16 Aledmys Díaz		Manager 12 Dusty Baker Jr. Trainer 19 Joe Espada (bench) 37 Alex Cintrón (hitting) 46 Troy Snitker (hitting) 56 Brent Strom (pitching) 18 Omar Lopez (First Base)  8 Gary Pettis (Third Base) 48 Joshua Miller (Bullpen) 85 Javier Bracamonte (Bullpen Catcher) 17 Michael Collins (catching) 36 Chris Speier (Quality Control) 87 Jason Bell (Fundamentals) Injury list (7 or 10 days) * Banned Roster updated on August 14, 2020 Transfers • Line-up

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the number of players in the active squad at the beginning of the 2020 MLB season on 23/24. July increased to 30 players. Two weeks later there was a scheduled reduction to 28 players. Another two weeks later, the number of players is to be reduced to 26 and kept for the entire 2020 season. In the case of double-headers , the teams may appoint a 27th player to the active squad.

Minor league teams of the Houston Astros

• AAA : Fresno Grizzlies , Fresno , California
• AA : Corpus Christi Hooks , Corpus Christi , Texas
• Advanced A : Buies Creek Astros , Buies Creek , North Carolina
• A : Quad Cities River Bandits , Davenport , Iowa
• Short A : Tri-City Valley Cats , Troy , New York
• Rookie : Gulf Coast League Astros , West Palm Beach , Florida
• Rookie : Dominican Astros Astros , Dominican Republic

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Erik Matuszewski and Michael Buteau: Astros Headed to American League as New Team Owner Approved - Businessweek. businessweek.com, November 18, 2011, accessed May 23, 2013 . 
2. ↑ Sale of Astros to Jim Crane, move to American League approved in 2013. In: Major League Baseball. Retrieved October 22, 2016 . 
3. ↑ Hinch, Luhnow are suspended for '20, then let go. In: Major League Baseball. Retrieved January 14, 2020 . 
4. ^ Heiko Oldbod: Baseball Scandal - This is how the Houston Astros espionage system worked. Der Spiegel, January 14, 2020, accessed June 8, 2020 . 
5. ↑ MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred Considered 'Precedent' When Deciding Against Stripping Astros Of 2017 World Series Title. Dodger Blue, February 17, 2020, accessed June 10, 2020 . 
6. ↑ https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-roster-transaction-rules-for-2020-season accessed on: August 13, 2020
7. ^ Affiliate History - Los Angeles Angels. In: The Baseball Cube. Retrieved November 27, 2018 . 

Web links

Commons : Houston Astros  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• Official Site of the Houston Astros (English)