2004 Houston Astros season
| 2004 Houston Astros | ||
|---|---|---|
| National League Wild Card winners | ||
| League | National League | |
| Division | Central | |
| Ballpark | Minute Maid Park | |
| City | Houston, Texas | |
| Record | 92–70 (.564) | |
| Divisional place | 2nd | |
| Owners | Drayton McLane, Jr. | |
| General managers | Gerry Hunsicker | |
| Managers | Jimy Williams and Phil Garner | |
| Television | KNWS-TV FSN Southwest (Bill Brown, Larry Dierker, Jim Deshaies, Greg Lucas, Bill Worrell) | |
| Radio | KTRH (Milo Hamilton, Alan Ashby) KLAT (Francisco Ernesto Ruiz, Alex Treviño) | |
| Stats | ESPN.com Baseball Reference | |
| ||
The 2004 Houston Astros season was the 43rd season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 40th as the Astros, 43rd in the National League (NL), 11th in the NL Central division, and fifth at Minute Maid Park. The Astros entered the season with a 87–75 record and second-place finish in the NL Central, having missed the playoffs by one game.
The Astros hosted the MLB All-Star Game at Minute Maid Park, which was the first held in Houston since 1986. Outfielders Carlos Beltrán and Lance Berkman, second baseman Jeff Kent, and pitcher Roger Clemens each represented the Astros as All-Stars, and Clemens was selected as the starting pitcher for the National League.
Having limped into the All-Star break with a 44–44 record, Phil Garner was named to replace Jimy Williams as manager. On September 18, Jeff Bagwell scored both the 1,500th run and run batted in (RBI) of his career to become the 29th major leaguer and first Astro to reach both milestones. The Astros won 36 of their final 46 games.
Having completed the regular season with a 92–70 record, Houston ranked in second place in the NL Central, capturing the NL Wild Card title and finishing 13 games behind the division-champion St. Louis Cardinals. It was the eighth playoff qualification for Houston overall and first Wild Card title. In the National League Division Series (NLDS), the Astros defeated the Atlanta Braves 3-games-to-2 by scoring an NLDS-record 36 runs. The Astros won a playoff series for the first time in franchise history, also defeating Atlanta in the playoffs on their fourth attempt. Thus, they advanced to the third National League Championship Series (NLCS) in franchise history and first since 1986 to face the Cardinals. However, the Astros were defeated in 7 games, ending their season.
Clemens won the NL Cy Young Award, becoming the fourth pitcher to win the award in both leagues, the only one with seven overall, and joined Mike Scott in 1986 as the second Astro to be selected.