1968 Houston Astros season

The 1968 Houston Astros season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Astros finishing in tenth place in the National League, with a record of 72–90, 25 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals. The Astros also hosted the 1968 MLB All-Star Game at the Astrodome, with the NL defeating the AL, 1–0.

1968 Houston Astros
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1962)
Location
Astrodome (since 1965) Houston, Texas (since 1962)
Results
Record	72–90 (.444)
League place	10th
Other information
Owner(s)	Roy Hofheinz
General manager(s)	Spec Richardson
Manager(s)	Grady Hatton, Harry Walker
Local television	KTRK-TV
Local radio	KPRC (AM) (Gene Elston, Loel Passe, Harry Kalas)
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Offseason

• October 17, 1967: Bob Lillis was released by the Astros.[1]
• October 25, 1967: César Cedeño was signed as an amateur free agent by the Astros.[2]
• November 28, 1967: Doc Edwards was drafted from the Astros by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1967 minor league draft.[3]

Regular season

Season standings

National League	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
St. Louis Cardinals	97	65	0.599	—	47–34	50–31
San Francisco Giants	88	74	0.543	9	42–39	46–35
Chicago Cubs	84	78	0.519	13	47–34	37–44
Cincinnati Reds	83	79	0.512	14	40–41	43–38
Atlanta Braves	81	81	0.500	16	41–40	40–41
Pittsburgh Pirates	80	82	0.494	17	40–41	40–41
Los Angeles Dodgers	76	86	0.469	21	41–40	35–46
Philadelphia Phillies	76	86	0.469	21	38–43	38–43
New York Mets	73	89	0.451	24	32–49	41–40
Houston Astros	72	90	0.444	25	42–39	30–51

Record vs. opponents

1968 National League Records Sources:
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	NYM	PHI	PIT	SF	STL
Atlanta	—	8–10	10–8	11–7	9–9	12–6–1	11–7	6–12	9–9	5–13
Chicago	10–8	—	7–11	10–8	12–6	8–10	9–9	10–8	9–9–1	9–9
Cincinnati	8–10	11–7	—	9–9	9–9	10–8	11–7	10–8–1	8–10	7–11
Houston	7–11	8–10	9–9	—	11–7	10–8	9–9	5–13	8–10	5–13
Los Angeles	9–9	6–12	9–9	7–11	—	7–11	10–8	10–8	9–9	9–9
New York	6–12–1	10–8	8–10	8–10	11–7	—	8–10	9–9	7–11	6–12
Philadelphia	7–11	9–9	7–11	9–9	8–10	10–8	—	9–9	9–9	8–10
Pittsburgh	12–6	8–10	8–10–1	13–5	8–10	9–9	9–9	—	7–11	6–12
San Francisco	9–9	9–9–1	10–8	10–8	9–9	11–7	9–9	11–7	—	10–8
St. Louis	13–5	9–9	11–7	13–5	9–9	12–6	10–8	12–6	8–10	—

Notable transactions

• May 4, 1968: Aaron Pointer was traded by the Astros to the Chicago Cubs for Byron Browne.[4]
• June 8, 1968: Larry Yount was drafted by the Astros in the 5th round of the 1968 Major League Baseball draft.[5]

Roster

1968 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers 36 Wade Blasingame 30 John Buzhardt 31 Danny Coombs 35 Mike Cuellar 49 Larry Dierker 44 Tom Dukes 33 Hal Gilson 39 Dave Giusti 48 Fred Gladding 43 Pat House 23 Denny Lemaster 45 Jim Ray 40 Steve Shea 40 Don Wilson		Catchers  6 Dave Adlesh  7 John Bateman  9 Ron Brand  8 Hal King Infielders 14 Bob Aspromonte 17 Julio Gotay 20 Leon McFadden 11 Denis Menke 18 Joe Morgan 12 Doug Rader 10 Rusty Staub 15 Héctor Torres		Outfielders 37 Byron Browne 27 Nate Colbert 22 Ron Davis 22 José Herrera 21 Norm Miller 20 Ivan Murrell 37 Dick Simpson 28 Lee Thomas 27 Bob Watson 24 Jimmy Wynn Other batters 50 Danny Walton		Manager  1 Grady Hatton 25 Harry Walker Coaches  4 Buddy Hancken  3 Mel McGaha  5 Jim Owens  2 Salty Parker

Player stats

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
José Herrera	27	100	24	.240	0	7
Byron Browne	10	13	3	.231	0	1

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
Wade Blasingame	22	1	2	1	4.75	22

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Oklahoma City 89ers	Pacific Coast League	Cot Deal
AA	Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs	Texas League	Hub Kittle
A	Greensboro Patriots	Carolina League	Brandy Davis
A	Cocoa Astros	Florida State League	Tony Pacheco and Leo Posada
Rookie	Covington Astros	Appalachian League	Tony Pacheco

References

1. Bob Lillis at Baseball-Reference
2. César Cedeño at Baseball-Reference
3. Doc Edwards at Baseball-Reference
4. Byron Browne at Baseball Reference
5. Larry Yount at Baseball Reference

External links

• 1968 Houston Astros season at Baseball Reference