2021 Houston Astros season
Major League Baseball team season / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 2021 Houston Astros season was the 60th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise in Houston, Texas, their 57th as the Astros, ninth in both the American League and American League West, and 22nd at Minute Maid Park.
2021 Houston Astros | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
American League Champions American League West Champions | ||||
League | American League | |||
Division | West | |||
Ballpark | Minute Maid Park | |||
City | Houston, Texas | |||
Record | 95–67 (.586) | |||
Divisional place | 1st | |||
Owners | Jim Crane | |||
General managers | James Click | |||
Managers | Dusty Baker | |||
Television | AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Todd Kalas, Geoff Blum) | |||
Radio | KTRH 740 Weekday Night Games Sportstalk 790 Houston Astros Radio Network (Robert Ford, Steve Sparks, Geoff Blum) KLAT (Spanish) (Francisco Romero, Alex Treviño) | |||
Stats | ESPN.com BB-reference | |||
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Four Astros players gained selection to the 2021 All-Star Game, tied for the second most from any team in baseball. The four were second baseman José Altuve, shortstop Carlos Correa, outfielder Michael Brantley, and relief pitcher Ryan Pressly, although none of them participated in the game. First baseman Yuli Gurriel won the AL batting title, his first, with a .319 batting average, becoming the second Cuban-born player and second Astro to do so. Correa led AL position players with 7.2 Wins Above Replacement (WAR).
The Astros concluded the regular season with a 95–67 record, while clinching an AL West title for the fourth time in the last five seasons, as well as their sixth playoff berth in seven years. By winning the AL West, Dusty Baker became the first manager in major league history to guide five different clubs to a division title, giving him eight division titles overall.
In the playoffs, the Astros defeated the Chicago White Sox in the ALDS in four games to advance to their fifth straight ALCS. They faced the Boston Red Sox in a rematch of the 2018 ALCS. The Astros won the ALCS in six games to advance to the World Series for the third time in five years. It was the Astros' fourth pennant in franchise history and their third as an AL team. They lost in the World Series to the Atlanta Braves in six games.
Following the season, Yuli Gurriel and Carlos Correa won their first Gold Glove Awards, and the Astros were named the American League Gold Glove Team. Correa also won his first Platinum Glove Award and his first Fielding Bible Award. An American League (and franchise) record five Astros were named Gold Glove finalists, along with another five as finalists for the Silver Slugger Award. Dusty Baker and Luis García were named finalists for the AL Manager of the Year and AL Rookie of the Year awards, respectively. Baker finished third in voting, and García finished second. This marked the third consecutive season that an Astros player was named a finalist for the AL Rookie of the Year Award, following Yordan Álvarez, who won it unanimously in 2019, and Cristian Javier, who finished in third in 2020.
Additionally, Álvarez and Kyle Tucker were both selected for 2021's All-MLB Second Team.
Summary
The Astros entered the 2021 Major League Baseball (MLB) season as having been defeated by the Tampa Bay Rays in seven games in the American League Championship Series (ALCS) and runner-up for the 2020 AL pennant. The Astros played to a 3–0 deficit to begin the ALCS, won the next three, and were defeated 4–2 in Game 7. The Rays thus avoided joining the 2004 New York Yankees as the only MLB clubs to lose a League Championship Series after mounting a 3–0 lead.[1]
Ace starting pitcher Justin Verlander missed the entire 2021 season recuperating from ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery, also known as Tommy John surgery, which was performed on October 1, 2020. He was in the final year of his contract.[2] On February 27, 2021, the Astros placed the right-hander on the 60-day injured list as he continued to recover from the surgery.[3]
Offseason transactions
Free agent signings
- Signed right-handed pitcher (RHP) Ryne Stanek to a 1-year contract on January 7, 2021[4]
- Signed RHP Pedro Báez to a 2-year contract on January 13, 2021[5]
- Signed catcher (C) Jason Castro to a 2-year contract on January 22, 2021[6]
- Signed RHP Jake Odorizzi to a 2-year contract on March 8, 2021[7]
Free agent departures
- Outfielder (OF) George Springer signed a six-year contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on January 23, 2021.[8]
- OF Josh Reddick signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 12, 2021.[9]
Pitchers that elected for free agency included Joe Biagini, Chase De Jong, Roberto Osuna, Brad Peacock, Chris Devenski, and Dustin Garneau
Trades and waiver claims
Players that were traded or claimed in the offseason by a different team included Brandon Bailey, Humberto Castellanos, Cionel Pérez, Carlos Sanabria, Cy Sneed, and Jack Mayfield.
Contract extensions
- Signed RHP Lance McCullers Jr. to a five-year contract extension on March 24, 2021[10]