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1990 Houston Astros season

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1990 Houston Astros
LeagueNational League
DivisionWest
BallparkThe Astrodome
CityHouston, Texas
Record75–87 (.463)
Divisional place4th—tied
OwnersJohn McMullen
General managersBill Wood
ManagersArt Howe
TelevisionKTXH
HSE
RadioKTRH
(Bill Brown, Milo Hamilton, Larry Dierker, Bruce Gietzen, Bill Worrell)
KXYZ
(Orlando Sánchez-Diago, Rolando Becerra)
 1989
1991 

The 1990 Houston Astros season was the 29th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 26th as the Astros, 29th in the National League (NL), 22nd in the NL West division, and 26th at The Astrodome. The Astros entered the season having posted a record of 86–76 for third place in the NL West, six games behind the division-champion and NL pennant-winning San Francisco Giants.

On April 9, pitcher Mike Scott made his fourth Opening Day start for Houston, who hosted the Cincinnati Reds, but were defeated, 8–4. In the amateur draft, the Astros' first round selections included shortstop Tom Nevers (21st overall) and pitcher Brian Williams (31st).

Pitcher Dave Smith earned his second career MLB All-Star selection, representing the Astros and playing for the National League. Second baseman Joe Morgan was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, at the time the longest-tenured former, and earliest, member of the Colt .45s/Astro to receive this honor. He started his major league career with Houston in 1963 and played 10 of his 22 major league seasons for the franchise. Pitcher Danny Darwin, who worked primarily out of the bullpen, was the NL earned run average (ERA) leader (2.21), the third ERA title by an Astros pitcher within the previous five seasons.

The Astros concluded the season with a 75–87 record, tied for fourth place with the San Diego Padres and 16 games behind the division- and World Series-champion Reds. The 87 losses were the most for Houston since 1978.

Offseason

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Regular season

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Summary

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April

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Opening Day starting lineup
Uniform Player Position
2Gerald YoungCenter fielder
7Craig BiggioCatcher
19Bill DoranSecond baseman
27Glenn DavisFirst baseman
13Glenn WilsonRight fielder
23Eric AnthonyLeft fielder
11Ken CaminitiThird baseman
16Rafael RamírezShortstop
33Mike ScottPitcher
Venue: Astrodome • Final: Cincinnati 8, Houston 4

Sources:[4][5]

Hosting the Cincinnati Reds for Opening Day on April 9—also the event for the 25th anniversary since the opening of the Astrodome—the Astros built a 4–2 lead in the bottom of the second inning. However, Cincinnati came back to drop the Astros, 8–4. The most pain went to first baseman Glenn Davis, who was hit by pitch three times, which tied a major-league record.[6] Right-hander Mike Scott made his fourth Opening Day start, joining Larry Dierker and J. R. Richard (five) to have done so as the starting pitcher.[7] Shortstop Rafael Ramírez attained his fourth bout of four hits as a member of the Astros.[8]

May

[edit]
Craig Biggio at catcher in late in the 1990 season.

On May 17, Houston outfielder Eric Anthony launched the first-ever home run by a member of the home team into the upper reserve seating at the Astrodome, a monster blast in the eighth inning during a 5–4 win over the Chicago Cubs.[9] Ken Oberkfell cranked a sacrifice fly in the eleventh inning to score Ken Caminiti for the game-winning run. Anthony's drive came off Mike Bielecki. The only previous home run that had landed in the first upper deck was launched by Bernie Carbo of the Reds in 1970.[10]

On May 26, the Cubs hosted the Astros at Wrigley Field for their first doubleheader since July 7, 1979. The Astros swept, led by Glenn Davis homering thrice over the two games to tie a club record for a doubleheader, set by Román Mejías, on May 6, 1962, against the Milwaukee Braves. Davis was 6-for-9 with 9 runs batted in (RBI). In the opener, Mike Scott (2–5) tossed his first complete game of the season. Jim Deshaies (2–2) started the second contest and allowed six hits over 5+23 innings to earn the win, while Larry Andersen closed out the final 3+13 innings for his second save.[11]

June

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Astros slugger Glenn Davis connected for three home runs and five runs batted in (RBI) in one game on June 1.[12] That was nearly enough offense for Houston, who managed just two additional hits, though they worked six walks. Davis homered in each of the fourth, sixth, and eighth innings. San Francisco scored thrice in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game, 4–4. Davis' final shot gave the Astros the lead, 5–4; however, in the bottom of the eighth, Will Clark singled home Brett Butler to tie the score. In the bottom of the 12th, Greg Litton .[13] It was the second time that he had hit three home runs in a game during his career,[14] and the fourth time overall by a Houston Astro.[a][15]

Mike Scott's 15-strikeout game

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Mike Scott tossed both a career-best 10-inning complete game and 15 strikeouts on June 8, a three-hitter which was his 12th complete game of three hits or fewer.[16] After exchanging shutout ball with Tom Browning for nine innings, the Cincinnati Reds broke through in the top of the 10th inning on an RBI single.[17] by Todd Benzinger to score Barry Larkin. During the bottom of the tenth, Ken Caminiti whiffed against Randy Myers before Eric Anthony drew a base on balls, who was replaced by Louie Meadows. Rafael Ramírez singled on ground ball to left. One out later, Glenn Wilson smoked a walk-off home run to right field for a 3–1 Houston win. Scott's (3–6) effort earned a game score of 96.[18]

In the bottom of the first, Scott struck out the side, all swinging, He followed that up by registering a pair of whiffs in each of the next two frames. Scott retired each hitter during the initial rotation through the order while peppering 26 of the first 30 offerings for strikes.[19] This performance eclipsed the previous career high of 14 attained three times (twice in 1986, September 14, and Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, and June 15, 1987).[16] Scott's 15-strikeout contest was the highest single-game total by an Astros moundsman since Nolan Ryan fanned 16 on September 9, 1987, and the ninth time in club history in which an individual pitcher tallied 15 or more strikeouts.[b][20]

July

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After having been inserted into the starting rotation beginning in July, Danny Darwin responded with a 4–0 win–loss record (W–L), 1.04 earned run average (ERA), two home runs surrendered, 28 strikeouts, and 0.808 walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) over 43+13 innings pitched.[21] Hence, Darwin received the NL Pitcher of the Month award, succeeding Mike Scott as the most recent Astro, who had received the award in June of the previous year.[22]

August

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On August 3, Mike Scott hurled his seventh career shutout of three hits or fewer,[16] leading a 3–0 victory over Atlanta. Ken Oberkfell tripled and drove in two runs, and Bill Doran also tripled, tallied three hits, and scored twice. Scott (9–10) surrendered just two walks, fanned six, and earned a game score of 85.[23] This would also be Scott's final major league victory,[24] though he did start once more for Houston on Opening Day of the following season.[7]

September

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On September 21, Houston turned the sixth triple play in club history, doing so in the bottom of the fourth inning against the Atlanta Braves.[25] During the bottom of the fourth, David Justice and Jim Presley opened with consecutive singles off Jim Deshaies. Francisco Cabrera hit a grounder to Ken Caminiti, who made the forceout at third, rifled to Dave Rohde at second, who relayed to Mike Simms at first to complete the play. During the top of the sixth, Eric Anthony slugged a three-run home run. The Braves came back to tie the game, 3–3, during the bottom of the ninth. However, Simms slugged the game-winning home run for Houston in the top of the tenth.[26]

On September 28, Casey Candaele stunned Atlanta with the fourth walk-off triple in club history,[c][27] to plate Mark Davidson and Eric Yelding in the bottom of the tenth inning. The final score was Houston 2, Atlanta 1. Starter Danny Darwin spun seven shutout frames to lower his earned run average (ERA) to 2.21, by which claiming the NL ERA title.[6]

Performance overview

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The Astros concluded the season with a 75–87 record, tied for fourth place with the San Diego Padres, and 16 games behind the division- and World Series-champion Reds.[28] A decline by 11 wins from the year prior, the 87 losses were the most for Houston since 1978.[29]

The Astros played in 27 extra-inning games, tying a league record.[30] Six of the contests were claimed by the Astros via pinch-hit, walk-off hits, establishing an all-time franchise record, three of which occurred during extra innings. Glenn Wilson led the way with three of the pinch-hit walk-offs (one in extra innings). Previously, the Colt .45s/Astros had authored as many as three pinch-hit walk-off events each in 1962, 1969, 1979, and 1987.[31]

Danny Darwin led the National League in earned run average (2.21 ERA), to become the third Houston Astro within the previous five years to attain the ERA title, following Scott in 1986 (2.22) and Nolan Ryan in 1987 (2.76). This was the fifth ERA title overall in franchise history.[32] Darwin, who made 31 of 48 total appearances out of the bullpen, also led the major leagues in walks plus hits per inning pitched (1.027 WHIP).[30]

Glenn Davis became the first Astro in franchise history to swat 20 or more home runs over six consecutive campaigns. Both Jeff Bagwell (1999) and Lance Berkman (2007) exceeded this string and beyond.[33]

Left fielder Franklin Stubbs set a club record for home runs by a left-handed batter, with 23.[10]

Eric Yelding established a club rookie record for stolen bases with 64, breaking the record of 49 set by Sonny Jackson in 1966.

Season standings

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NL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Cincinnati Reds 9171 .562 4635 4536
Los Angeles Dodgers 8676 .531 5 4734 3942
San Francisco Giants 8577 .525 6 4932 3645
Houston Astros 7587 .463 16 4932 2655
San Diego Padres 7587 .463 16 3744 3843
Atlanta Braves 6597 .401 26 3744 2853

Record vs. opponents

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Sources:
Team ATL CHC CIN HOU LAD MON NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL
Atlanta 6–68–105–136–126–64–85–75–78–105–137–5
Chicago 6–64–86–63–911–79–911–74–148–47–58–10
Cincinnati 10–88–411–79–99–36–67–56–69–97–119–3
Houston 13–56–67–119–95–75–75–75–74–1410–86–6
Los Angeles 12–69–39–99–96–65–78–44–89–98–107–5
Montreal 6–67–113–97–56–68–1010–813–57–57–511–7
New York 8–49–96–67–57–510–810–810–85–77–512–6
Philadelphia 7-57–115–77–54–88–108–106–127–58–410–8
Pittsburgh 7–514–46–67–58–45–138–1012–610–28–410–8
San Diego 10–84–89–914–49–95–77–55–72–107–113–9
San Francisco 13–55–711–78–1010–85–75–74–84–811–79–3
St. Louis 5–710–83–96–65–77–116–128–108–109–33–9

Notable transactions

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  • April 3, 1990: Roger Mason was released by the Houston Astros.[34]
  • August 21, 1990: Signed outfielder Bobby Abreu as amateur free agent.[35]
  • August 30, 1990: Pitcher Larry Andersen was traded by the Astros to the Boston Red Sox for third baseman Jeff Bagwell.[36]
  • August 30, 1990: Bill Doran was traded by the Houston Astros to the Cincinnati Reds for players to be named later.[37]
  • September 10, 1990: Dan Schatzeder was traded by the Astros to the New York Mets for Nick Davis (minors) and Steve LaRose (minors).[2]
  • September 7, 1990: Butch Henry was sent by the Cincinnati Reds to the Houston Astros to complete an earlier deal made on August 30, 1990.[38] Catcher Terry McGriff was also sent by the Cincinnati Reds to complete the deal.[39]

Roster

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1990 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

Manager

Coaches

Game log

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Regular season

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Legend
 Astros win
 Astros loss
 Postponement
 Eliminated from playoff race
BoldAstros team member
1990 regular season game log: 75–87 (Home: 49–32; Away: 26–55)[40]
April: 9–10 (Home: 5–8; Away: 4–2)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/
Streak
May: 11–17 (Home: 6–6; Away: 5–11)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/
Streak
June: 12–16 (Home: 11–3; Away: 1–13)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/
Streak
July: 11–18 (Home: 7–4; Away: 4–14)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/
Streak
July 107:35 p.m. CDT61st All-Star Game in Chicago, IL
August: 16–11 (Home: 10–6; Away: 6–5)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/
Streak
September: 15–13 (Home: 10–5; Away: 5–8)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/
Streak
October: 1–2 (Home: 0–0; Away: 1–2)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/
Streak

Detailed records

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National League
OpponentWLWPRSRA
NL East
Div Total
NL West
Houston Astros
Div Total
Season Total
Month Games Won Lost Win % RS RA
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
Total
Games Won Lost Win % RS RA
Home
Away
Total

Player stats

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Batting

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Starters by position

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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
CCraig Biggio150555153.276442
1BGlenn Davis9332782.2512264
2BBill Doran10934499.288632
3BKen Caminiti153541131.242451
SSRafael Ramírez132445116.261237
LFFranklin Stubbs146448117.2612371
CFEric Yelding142511130.254120
RFGlenn Wilson11836890.2451055

Other batters

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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
Casey Candaele13026275.286322
Eric Anthony8423946.1921029
Gerald Young5715427.17514
Ken Oberkfell7715031.207112
Mark Davidson5713038.292111
Rich Gedman4010421.202110
Dave Rohde599818.18405
Tuffy Rhodes388621.24413
Javier Ortiz307721.273110
Alex Treviño426913.188110
Carl Nichols324910.204111
Terry Puhl374112.29308
Luis Gonzalez12214.19000
Louie Meadows15142.14300
Mike Simms12134.30812
Jeff Baldwin780.00000
Andújar Cedeño780.00000
Terry McGriff450.00000
Steve Lombardozzi210.00000

Pitching

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Starting pitchers

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

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Jim Deshaies34209.17123.78119
Mike Scott32205.29133.81121
Mark Portugal32196.211103.62136
Bill Gullickson32193.110143.8273
Terry Clark14.00013.502

Other pitchers

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

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Danny Darwin48162.21142.21109
Jim Clancy3376.0286.5144
Randy Hennis39.2000.004

Relief pitchers

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

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Dave Smith4966232.3950
Juan Agosto829844.2950
Larry Andersen505261.9568
Dan Schatzeder451302.3937
Xavier Hernandez342104.6224
Brian Meyer140412.216
Al Osuna122004.766
Charlie Kerfeld502016.204
Brian Fisher40007.201

Awards and achievements

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Career honors

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Colt .45s / Astros elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
Individual Position Houston Colt .45s / Astros career Induction
Uni. Seasons Games Start Finish
Joe Morgan Second baseman 18[d] 10[e] 1,032 1963 1980 Class Plaque
See also: Members of the Baseball Hall of FameSources:[41]

Annual awards

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1990 Houston Astros award winners
Name of award Recipient Ref.
Fred Hartman Award for Long and Meritorious Service to Baseball Allen Russell [42]
Houston-Area Major League Player of the Year PIT Doug Drabek
Houston Astros Most Valuable Player (MVP) Danny Darwin
Lou Gehrig Memorial Award Glenn Davis [43]
MLB All-Star Reserve pitcher Dave Smith
National League (NL) Pitcher of the Month July Danny Darwin [22]
National League (NL) Player of the Week April 15 Craig Biggio [44]
September 16 Bill Doran
September 30 Franklin Stubbs

League leaders

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Batting

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Pitching

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Source:[45]

Minor league system

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Level Team League Manager
AAA Tucson Toros Pacific Coast League Bob Skinner
AA Columbus Mudcats Southern League Rick Sweet
A Osceola Astros Florida State League Sal Butera
A Asheville Tourists South Atlantic League Frank Cacciatore
A-Short Season Auburn Astros New York–Penn League Ricky Peters
Rookie GCL Astros Gulf Coast League Julio Linares

See also

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Notes

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  1. Davis became the first Houston Astro with multiple-3 homer games, having blasted the previous by an Astros hitter on September 10, 1987, and this achievement was followed by Jeff Bagwell on June 24, 1994.
  2. The next bout of 15 or more strikeouts was delivered by Randy Johnson on August 28, 1998. Criteria: For single games, playing for HOU, in the regular season, requiring strikeouts ≥ 15, sorted by ascending date.
  3. The most recent walk-off triple was by César Cedeño on July 29, 1979. The subsequent event was prosecuted by Luke Scott on September 11, 2007.
  4. Also wore numbers 12 (1963), 35 (1964), and 8 (1980).
  5. Played two separate stints for the Colts .45s/Astros, first from 1963 to 1971, and again in 1980.

References

[edit]
  1. "Bill Gullickson stats, height, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Dan Schatzeder stats, height, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
  3. "Dave Silvestri stats, height, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
  4. "Cincinnati Reds (8) vs Houston Astros (4) box score". Baseball Almanac. April 9, 1990. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  5. "1990 Houston Astros uniform numbers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  6. 1 2 Hulsey, Bob. "This date in Astros history". Astros Daily. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
  7. 1 2 "Houston Astros Opening Day starters". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  8. "Top performances for Rafael Ramírez". Retrosheet. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  9. Schwartzberg, Seth (May 17, 2025). "Today in Astros history - May 17". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  10. 1 2 "Astros history – Timeline". MLB.com. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  11. Muskat, Carrie (May 26, 1990). "Astros 8, Cubs 1, 1st game; Astros 12, Cubs 3, 2nd game". United Press International (UPI). Retrieved September 27, 2025.
  12. Schwartzberg, Seth (June 1, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 1". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
  13. "Houston Astros (5) vs San Francisco Giants (6) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. June 1, 1990. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  14. "Glenn Davis career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 13, 2025.
  15. "3 home runs in a game". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  16. 1 2 3 "Top performances for Mike Scott". Retrosheet. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  17. Schwartzberg, Seth (June 8, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 8". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved July 4, 2025.
  18. "Cincinnati Reds (1) vs Houston Astros (3) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. June 8, 1990. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  19. Huber, Mike (June 8, 1990). "Mike Scott strikes out 15 as Astros walk it off in 10th". Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  20. "Player pitching game stats finder–baseball". Stathead. Sports Reference. Retrieved June 22, 2026.
  21. "Danny Darwin 1990 pitching splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 17, 2026.
  22. 1 2 "Major League Baseball Pitchers of the Month". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
  23. "Atlanta Braves (0) vs Houston Astros (3) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. August 3, 1990. Retrieved June 23, 2026.
  24. "Mike Scott 1990 pitching game logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 23, 2026.
  25. "MLB triple plays". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  26. "Houston Astros (4) vs Atlanta Braves (3) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. September 21, 1990. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  27. "HOU: 5 triples in 1962–2025—Walk-off". Stathead. Sports Reference. February 23, 2026.
  28. "1990 National League team statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  29. "Houston Astros team history & encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  30. 1 2 "1990 Houston Astros statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  31. "Batting event finder | HOU: 60 Hits in 1962-2026 – PH, Walk-off". Stathead. Sports Reference. Retrieved June 7, 2026.
  32. "Yearly league leaders & records for earned run average". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  33. "Lance Berkman stats, height, weight, research & history". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved February 14, 2026.
  34. "Roger Mason stats, height, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
  35. "Bobby Abreu stats, height, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 19, 2025.
  36. "Larry Andersen stats, height, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
  37. "Bill Doran Stats".
  38. "Butch Henry Stats".
  39. "Terry McGriff stats, height, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
  40. "1990 Houston Astros Schedule & Results". Baseball Reference. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
  41. "Houston Astros Hall of Fame register". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  42. McTaggart, Brian (December 21, 2009). "Bourn highlights Astros' awards season". MLB.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
  43. "Lou Gehrig Memorial Award". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved September 26, 2025.
  44. "MLB Players of the Week Awards". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
  45. "1990 National League pitching leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
[edit]
1990 Houston Astros season
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