1988 Houston Astros season
| 1988 Houston Astros | |
|---|---|
| League | National League |
| Division | West |
| Ballpark | The Astrodome |
| City | Houston, Texas |
| Record | 82–80 (.506) |
| Divisional place | 5th |
| Owners | John McMullen |
| General managers | Bill Wood |
| Managers | Hal Lanier |
| Television | KTXH HSE |
| Radio | KTRH (Bill Brown, Milo Hamilton, Larry Dierker, Bruce Gietzen, Bill Worrell) KBUC (Orlando Sánchez-Diago, Rolando Becerra) |
The 1988 Houston Astros season was the 27th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 24th as the Astros, 27th in the National League (NL), 20th in the NL West division, and 24rd at The Astrodome. The Astros entered the season having completed a 76–86 record and in third place, 14 games behind the division champion San Francisco Giants.
On April 5, Mike Scott made his second Opening Day start for the Astros. They hosted the San Diego Padres and won, 6–3, also the 2,000th victory in franchise history. During the amateur draft, the Astros selected outfielder Willie Ansley in the first round at 7th overall, infielder Dave Silvestri in the second round, and outfielder Kenny Lofton in the 17th round.
Pitcher Bob Knepper represented the Astros at the MLB All-Star Game, and played for the National League, his second career selection.
The Astros concluded the season with an 82–80 record, in fifth place and 12+1⁄2 games behind the division champion and World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Pitcher Nolan Ryan, who led the NL in strikeouts (228) for a second consecutive and in his final season as an Astro, made for the third consecutive season an Astros hurler led the league in strikeouts for the first time in franchise history