1975 Houston Astros season

{{Infobox baseball team season

| name = Houston Astros

| season = 1975

| misc =

| league = National League

| division = West

| ballpark = Astrodome

| city = Houston, Texas

| record = {{winpct|64|97|1|record=y}}

| divisional_place = 6th

| owners = Roy Hofheinz

| general_managers = Spec Richardson
John Mullen
Tal Smith

| managers = Preston Gómez: 47–80
Bill Virdon: 17–17–1

| television = KPRC-TV

| radio = KPRC (AM)
(Gene Elston, Loel Passe)

|}}

The 1975 Houston Astros season was the 14th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 11th as the Astros, 14th in the National League (NL), seventh in the NL West division, and 11th at The Astrodome. The Astros entered the season with a record of 81–81, in fourth place and 21 games behind the division-champion and NL pennant-winning Los Angeles Dodgers.

The regular season began on April 7 as the Astros hosted the Atlanta Braves with Larry Dierker making his fourth Opening Day start, which the Astros won, 6–2.

First baseman Bob Watson represented the Astros at the MLB All-Star Game and played for the National League, his second career selection.

The Astros hired Tal Smith as general manager on August 7. With the Astros struggling to a 47–80 record, the team dismissed Preston Gómez, and replaced him on August 20 with Bill Virdon as the eighth manager in franchise history. The club went 17–17–1 the rest of the way.

The Astros finished last in the NL West with a record of 64–97–1, {{fraction|43|1|2}} games behind the division- and World Series-champion Cincinnati Reds, also the worst record in the National League. This was the second time the Astros had finished in last place. The 97 losses tied the 1965 team for most in team history, was matched in 1991, and stood as the record until 2011, when they lost 100 games for the first time. The Astros' .398 winning percentage established a franchise-worst, and also remained so until 2011.[https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/HOU/ Houston Astros Team History & Encyclopedia at Baseball-Reference] Further, the {{fraction|43|1|2}} games behind supplanted their inaugural season of 1962 for furthest behind in franchise history, when they placed {{frac|36|1|2}} games behind the San Francisco Giants for the NL pennant, and remained until 2013, a third-consecutive 100-loss season.

Following the season, center fielder César Cedeño won his fourth career Gold Glove Award.

Offseason

= Transactions =

December 3, 1974: Lee May and Jay Schlueter were traded by the Astros to the Baltimore Orioles for Enos Cabell and Rob Andrews.[https://www.baseball-reference.com/a/andrero01.shtml Rob Andrews] at Baseball Reference
January 5, 1975: Pitcher Don Wilson died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

= Uniform changes =

This was the first season the Astros donned their now famous rainbow uniforms. The uniforms would make slight alterations throughout the years. In 1975, the numbers on the back of the jersey were inside a white circle but by the following season, the white circle was eliminated entirely. In 1987, the rainbows were relegated to the shoulders of both home and away uniforms (prior to that they were only used on the away uniforms shoulders) and by 1994, the rainbow uniforms were retired after 19 years for a more contemporary look.

Regular season

= Summary =

;Opening Day starters

Rob Andrews
Enos Cabell
César Cedeño
José Cruz
Larry Dierker
Cliff Johnson
Milt May
Roger Metzger
Doug Rader{{Cite web|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1975&t=HOU|title = 1975 Houston Astros Roster by Baseball Almanac}}

== Rest of season ==

On June 23, the Astros took a 6-run lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Wayne Granger pitched the final {{frac|2|2|3}} innings; it was Granger's pickoff that ended the contest and secured a 6–5 win for the Astros.{{cite web |last=Schwarzberg |first=Seth |url=https://www.crawfishboxes.com/2025/6/23/24454144/today-in-astros-history |title=Today in Astros history - June 23 |work=The Crawfish Boxes |publisher=SB Nation |date=June 23, 2025 |access-date=June 24, 2025}}

The {{fraction|43|1|2}} games behind first-place Cincinnati set a club record for furthest distance from first place, shattering the record set by the inaugural team, who were {{fraction|36|1|2}} games behind. This record stood until 2013, the third consecutive of the first three 100-loss seasons in franchise history.

= Season standings =

= Record vs. opponents =

= Notable transactions =

June 3, 1975: Kim Seaman was drafted by the Astros in the 23rd round of the 1975 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign.[https://www.baseball-reference.com/s/seamaki01.shtml Kim Seaman] at Baseball Reference

= Roster =

class="toccolours" style="text-align: left;"
colspan="10" style="background-color: #072854; color: #FF7F00; text-align: center;" \| 1975 Houston Astros
colspan="10" style="background-color: #FF7F00; color: white; text-align: center;" \| Roster
valign="top" \| Pitchers {{MLBplayer\|37\|Mike Cosgrove}} {{MLBplayer\|30\|Jim Crawford}} {{MLBplayer\|49\|Larry Dierker}} {{MLBplayer\|43\|Ken Forsch}} {{MLBplayer\|35\|Wayne Granger}} {{MLBplayer\|38\|Tom Griffin}} {{MLBplayer\|46\|Doug Konieczny}} {{MLBplayer\|36\|Joe Niekro}} {{MLBplayer\|50\|J. R. Richard}} {{MLBplayer\|15\|Dave Roberts}} {{MLBplayer\|44\|Fred Scherman}} {{MLBplayer\|31\|Paul Siebert}} {{MLBplayer\|44,60\|José Sosa}} {{MLBplayer\|48\|Mike Stanton}} {{MLBplayer\|42\|Jim York}} \| width="25px" \| \| valign="top" \| Catchers {{MLBplayer\| 9\|Skip Jutze}} {{MLBplayer\| 8\|Milt May}} Infielders {{MLBplayer\|11\|Rob Andrews}} {{MLBplayer\|17\|Ken Boswell}} {{MLBplayer\|16\|Jerry DaVanon}} {{MLBplayer\|19\|Tommy Helms}} {{MLBplayer\| 6\|Cliff Johnson}} {{MLBplayer\|14\|Roger Metzger}} {{MLBplayer\|10\|Larry Milbourne}} {{MLBplayer\|12\|Doug Rader}} {{MLBplayer\|27\|Bob Watson}} \| width="25px" \| \| valign="top" \| Outfielders {{MLBplayer\|23\|Enos Cabell}} {{MLBplayer\|28\|César Cedeño}} {{MLBplayer\|25\|José Cruz}} {{MLBplayer\|24\|Art Gardner}} {{MLBplayer\|21\|Greg Gross}} {{MLBplayer\|26\|Wilbur Howard}} Other batters {{MLBplayer\|20\|Rafael Batista}} {{MLBplayer\|20\|Jesús de la Rosa}} {{MLBplayer\|22\|Mike Easler}} \| width="25px" \| \| valign="top" \| Manager {{MLBplayer\|18\|Preston Gómez}} {{MLBplayer\| 7\|Bill Virdon}} Coaches {{MLBplayer\| 2\|Roger Craig}} {{MLBplayer\| 3\|Hub Kittle}} {{MLBplayer\| 5\|Bob Lillis}} {{MLBplayer\| 4\|Jimmy Williams}}

class="toccolours" style="text-align: left;"

colspan="10" style="background-color: #072854; color: #FF7F00; text-align: center;" | 1975 Houston Astros

colspan="10" style="background-color: #FF7F00; color: white; text-align: center;" | Roster

valign="top" | Pitchers

| width="25px" |

| valign="top" | Catchers

Infielders

| width="25px" |

| valign="top" | Outfielders

Other batters

| width="25px" |

| valign="top" | Manager

Coaches

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

bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%" \| Pos ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="16%" \| Player ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" \| G ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" \| AB ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" \| H ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" \| Avg. ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" \| HR ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" \| RBI
class="wikitable sortable"
align="center" \| C	{{sortname\|Milt\|May}}	111	386	93	.241	4	52
align="center" \| 1B	Bob Watson	132	485	157	.324	18	85
align=center \| 2B	{{sortname\|Rob\|Andrews\|Rob Andrews (baseball)}}	103	277	66	.238	0	19
align="center" \| SS	Roger Metzger	127	450	102	.227	2	26
align=center \| 3B	Doug Rader	129	448	100	.223	12	48
align=center \| LF	Greg Gross	132	483	142	.294	0	41
align=center \| CF	{{sortname\|César\|Cedeño}}	131	500	144	.288	13	63
align="center" \| RF	{{sortname\|José\|Cruz}}	120	315	81	.257	9	49

== Other batters ==

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="16%" \| Player ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" \| G ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" \| AB ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" \| H ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" \| Avg. ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" \| HR ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" \| RBI
class="wikitable sortable"
align="center" \| {{sortname\|Wilbur\|Howard}}	121	392	111	.283	0	21
align="center" \| {{sortname\|Enos\|Cabell}}	117	348	92	.264	2	43
align=center \| {{sortname\|Cliff\|Johnson\|Cliff Johnson (baseball)}}	122	340	94	.276	20	65
align="center" \| Ken Boswell	86	178	43	.242	0	21
align=center \| Larry Milbourne	73	151	32	.212	1	9
align=center \| Tommy Helms	64	135	28	.207	0	14
align=center \| Jerry DaVanon	32	97	27	.278	1	10
align=center \| Skip Jutze	51	93	21	.226	0	6
align=center \| Art Gardner	13	31	6	.194	0	2
align=center \| Rafael Batista	10	10	3	.300	0	0
align=center \| Mike Easler	5	5	0	.000	0	0
align=center \| Jesús de la Rosa	3	3	1	.333	0	0

= Pitching =

== Starting pitchers ==

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

bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="16%" \| Player ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" \| G ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" \| IP ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" \| W ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" \| L ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" \| ERA ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" \| SO
class="wikitable sortable"
align="center" \| {{sortname\|Larry\|Dierker}}	34	232.0	14	16	4.00	127
align="center" \| J.R. Richard	33	203.0	12	10	4.39	176
align=center \| Dave Roberts	32	198.1	8	14	4.27	101
align=center \| {{sortname\|Doug\|Konieczny}}	32	171.0	6	13	4.47	89
align="center" \| Tom Griffin	17	79.1	3	8	5.33	56

== Other pitchers ==

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

bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="16%" \| Player ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" \| G ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" \| IP ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" \| W ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" \| L ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" \| ERA ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" \| SO
class="wikitable sortable"
align="center" \| {{sortname\|Ken\|Forsch}}	34	109.0	4	8	3.22	54
align="center" \| Jim York	19	46.2	4	4	3.86	17
align=center \| {{sortname\|Paul\|Siebert}}	7	18.1	0	2	2.95	6
align="center" \| {{sortname\|Mike\|Stanton\|Mike Stanton (right-handed pitcher)}}	7	17.1	0	2	7.27	16
align="center"

== Relief pitchers ==

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

bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="16%" \| Player ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" \| G ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" \| W ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" \| L ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" \| SV ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" \| ERA ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" \| SO
class="wikitable sortable"
align="center" \| {{sortname\|Wayne\|Granger}}	55	2	5	5	3.65	30
align="center" \| {{sortname\|Jim\|Crawford\|Jim Crawford (baseball)}}	44	3	5	4	3.63	37
align="center" \| Joe Niekro	40	6	4	4	3.07	54
align=center \| {{sortname\|Mike\|Cosgrove}}	32	1	2	5	3.03	32
align="center" \| {{sortname\|José\|Sosa\|José Sosa (baseball)}}	25	1	3	1	4.02	31
align="center" \| Fred Scherman	16	0	1	0	4.96	13

== Awards and achievements ==

MLB All-Star Game: Bob Watson—Reserve first baseman
National League (NL) Player of the Month:
May—Bob Watson
September—César Cedeño

Farm system

{{MLB Farm System

|level17=AAA|team17=Iowa Oaks|league17=American Association|manager17=Joe Sparks

|level18=AA |team18=Columbus Astros|league18=Southern League|manager18=Jim Beauchamp

|level19=A |team19=Dubuque Packers|league19=Midwest League|manager19=Bob Cluck

|level20=Rookie|team20=Covington Astros|league20=Appalachian League|manager20=Billy Smith

}}

References

External links

[https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/HOU/1975.shtml 1975 Houston Astros season at Baseball Reference]

Category:Houston Astros seasons

Houston Astros season

Houston Astro