Nolan Ryan and the Top 15 Starting Pitchers in the History of the Houston Astros
The Houston Astros have always had a team that was based on strong pitching. From the 1980s with Mike Scott, J.R. Richard and Nolan Ryan to their most recent World Series run with Roy Oswalt, Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte.
When the Astros have had success, you can bet they had one or more superb pitchers behind it. The Astros have used strong pitching to secure six division titles, two wild card berths and one National League pennant. I have compiled a list of who I think are the top 15 starting pitchers in the history of the Houston Astros.
15: Mark Portugal
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Mark Portugal had a couple of good years for the Astros in the early 90s. Portugal pitched four full seasons over which he accumulated 52 wins, 30 losses and a 3.34 ERA. Mark's best year came in 1993 when he went 18-4 with a 2.77 ERA. He is 18th on the All-Time wins list as an Astros pitcher and 19th in games started.
14: Wade Miller
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Wade Miller took the 5th slot in the starting rotation for the Astros in the early 2000s. He's 15th on the franchise wins list and 17th on the strikeouts list. His best season was in 2002 when he went 15-4 with a 3.28 ERA and a 4.3 WAR. In one postseason start, he pitched seven innings giving up two earned runs in a losing effort against the Braves.
13: Bob Knepper
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Over the course of nine seasons with the Astros, Knepper won 93 games, lost 100 and landed on two all-star teams. In 1986, his best season, he won 17 games to help deliver the Astros to the NLCS against the Mets. Once in the playoffs, Bob started two games and pitched 15.1 innings with a 3.52 ERA in a losing effort. He started the fifth most games in Astros history.
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12: Darryl Kile
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Darryl Kile was always known for his sharp curveball with a big-break. He was the third starter for the Astros throughout most of the 90s.
In 1997, he earned himself a 19-7 record with a 2.57 ERA, a 5.4 WAR, and a trip to the all-star game. That same year, in the playoffs, he went 0-1 against the Braves in the NLDS in a tough loss. He gave up only two earned runs to go along with two hits in seven innings pitched.
Sadly, Kile died in 2002 from a coronary disease while pitching for the Cardinals at the age of 33. His number is retired by the Astros.
11: Don Wilson
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One of the few pitchers on this list to spend their entire career with the Astros, Don spent his nine active seasons, eight full, all with the 'Stros.
In his career with the Astros, he was able to record 104 wins, 92 losses and 1,283 strikeouts, which ranks seventh in franchise history. He made his only All-Star appearance in 1971.
On Jan. 5, 1975 Don Wilson tragically died from a carbon monoxide accident in his garage. Both he and his son were killed, he was only 29. On opening day 1975, the Astros retired his No. 40.
10: Mike Hampton
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Mike Hampton was a huge part of the Astros three division titles in '97, '98 and '99. Over the course of those three seasons, he had a 48-21 record with a 3.35 ERA, a .696 winning percentage and one all-star selection.
His best year was 1999 with a 22-4 record, .846 winning percentage and a 2.90 ERA.
In three playoff starts, Mike went 0-1 in 17.2 innings pitched. He was also one of the best hitting pitchers in recent memory, hitting .311 in 1999 while winning the first of his five silver sluggers.
9: Shane Reynolds
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Shane Reynolds was the ace of the Astros leading up to the Roy Oswalt era.
Drafted in the third round by the Astros in 1989, the Louisiana native entered the majors in 1992 and became a permanent fixture by 1994. Over his 11 seasons with the team, Reynolds racked up the sixth most strikeouts (1,309), eighth most wins by an Astros pitcher (103) and seventh most games started (248).
His best year came in 1998 when he racked up 19 wins, 8 losses, a 3.51 ERA and led the league with 35 games started.
8: Andy Pettitte
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In his three quick seasons with the franchise, Pettitte earned 37 victories while recording a quality 3.38 ERA and a WAR of 7.5. Although only two of his years were full and only one of those being exceptional, he still made his mark as one of the best in the team's history.
The reason he is so high up on this list is because he was at the right place at the right time. He joined the Astros in 2004 right when the team started to improve and become a serious contender. It also helped that he was so good in 2005, the year they won the pennant.
7: Roger Clemens
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I know what most of you are thinking right now and I completely agree, Roger Clemens was a fraud and a cheater. However, you can't pass up the fact that he was extremely good during his three-year stint with the Astros.
In 2004, he went 18-4, had a .814 winning percentage, a 2.98 ERA and won the Cy Young award. Then in 2005, Roger Clemens was literally a beast for the team. He went 13-8 with an incredible 1.87 ERA. Averaging 7.9 strikeouts per nine innings and posting a 7.2 WAR, Roger Clemens was having an incredible year late in his career. However, it wasn't his regular season supremacy that made him a legend in the eyes of Astros fans, it was his postseason heroism that secured his legacy.
In the 2005 NLDS against the playoff rival Braves, the Astros mounted an incredible late game rally to put the game into extra innings. The game went all the way to the 16th inning when Roger said that he was ready for manager Phil Gardner to put him in the game on only one day of rest, and in he went without warming up, and he completely dominated for another three innings until Chris Burke hit the legendary walk-off homerun in the 18th to seal the deal and give "The Rocket" his first relief win in the playoffs.
6: Nolan Ryan
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I know many of you were expecting him to be No. 1, if not at least in the top five, but my top five have more significance to the team or simply better stats.
Over the nine seasons he spent with the Astros, Ryan racked up 106 wins and more strikeouts than any other Astro in franchise history with 1,866 K's. Ryan participated in all three of the Astros playoff series in the 80s and he posted a 1-2 record with a 2.48 ERA.
In 1981, Ryan threw his record setting fifth no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers. His No. 34 was retired in 1996.
5: Joe Niekro
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The lesser known of the Niekro brothers is the all-time wins leader for the Houston Astros with 144 wins. He was a key contributor in the 1980 season when the Astros won the West Division and went to the NLCS.
His best season was in 1979 when he went 21-11 with a 3.00 ERA, 1.244 WHIP, led the league with five shutouts and finished second in the Cy Young Award voting.
He also ranks second in Astros history in starts, complete games, shutouts and innings pitched.
4: Larry Dierker
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The first true ace of the Astros, Larry leads the franchise in starts, innings pitched, shutouts and complete games.
In 1969, Dierker became the first Astros 20-game winner and also posted a career best 2.33 ERA. He led the franchise in strikeouts until J.R. Richard passed him in 1980 and Nolan Ryan followed suit in 1987.
To go along with all of that, Dierker threw a no-hitter on July 9, 1976 near the tail end of his career. His No. 49 was retired in 2002.
3: Mike Scott
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The foundation of the team that got two wins away from the World Series in 1986.
That same year he pitched a no-hitter to clinch the division title against the Giants and went 2-0 against the Mets in the NLCS with a 0.50 ERA. Despite his strong efforts, the team lost the series in six games before they could get the ball back to Scott for the third time.
Going 18-10 in the regular season with a league leading 2.22 ERA and 306 strikeouts, he won his only Cy Young Award. He ranks fourth on the Astros all-time wins list and fifth on the all-time Astros strikeout list.
His No. 33 was retired in 1992.
2: Roy Oswalt
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A small town boy from Mississippi who was drafted during the 23rd round in 1996 and given a starting position in 2001, Roy-O took Houston by storm in his first season going 14-3 with a 2.73 ERA and a league leading .824 winning percentage.
He placed second in the rookie of the year voting behind Albert Pujols, who would become his team's nemesis.
With his first 20-win season being in 2004 and his second in 2005, he helped deliver the Astros to the playoffs in both years. In 2005, he helped bring them all the way to the World Series for the first time in franchise history.
1: J.R. Richard
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In only six full seasons, Richard was able to get 107 wins, 1493 strikeouts and a 3.15 ERA. He set the NL strikeout record for a right-hander with 313 in 1979, which was his best season. That same year he recorded 18 wins, 13 losses and a league leading 2.71 ERA. He also led the league with 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings and finished third in the Cy Young Award voting.
If his tragic stroke didn't occur in his prime during the 1980 season, who knows where Richard would be in the record books.
His No. 50 is still yet to be retired by the team even though he is the best pitcher they ever had.
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