2017 Houston Astros season

The 2017 Houston Astros season was the 56th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 53rd as the Astros, fifth in both the American League (AL) and AL West division, and 18th at Minute Maid Park. They entered the season as having posted an 84–78 record, in third place and 11 games behind the division-champion Texas Rangers.

Dallas Keuchel made his third consecutive Opening Day start on April 3 for Houston, who hosted the Seattle Mariners and won, 3–0. The Astros' first-round draft pick in the amateur draft was pitcher J. B. Bukauskas; they also chose outfielders Jake Meyers and Chas McCormick in the 13th and 21st rounds, respectively.

The Astros sent six players to the 88th All-Star Game, including second baseman Jose Altuve, center fielder George Springer, shortstop Carlos Correa, and pitchers Keuchel, Lance McCullers Jr., and Chris Devenski. First baseman Jeff Bagwell, who had spent his entire 15-year major league career with Houston, became the second inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame as an Astro.

Near the end of August, the Astros acquired pitcher Justin Verlander at the trade deadline, who won his first five starts. Meanwhile, as Hurricane Harvey impacted Greater Houston, the Astros relocated their August 29–31 series with the Rangers from Minute Maid Park to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Following the storm, Astros personnel assisted with rebuilding and charitable efforts around Houston.

On September 17, the Astros clinched the AL West with a 7–1 victory over the Seattle, for their first AL West division title, eighth division title overall, and 11th postseason qualification. The Astros defeated the Boston Red Sox, 3–2, on September 29 to claim their 100th win of the season for their first 100-win season since 1998.

Following the regular season, the Astros met the Red Sox at home in the American League Division Series (ALDS), and defeated them in four games. Houston then advanced to the American League Championship Series (ALCS) and defeated the New York Yankees in seven games for their first AL pennant. After going 2–0 with a 0.56 earned run average (ERA) and 21 strikeouts, Verlander was named ALCS Most Valuable Player (MVP). The pennant was Houston's first since winning the National League (NL) pennant in 2005. The Astros' season culminated with the first World Series championship in franchise history, winning in seven games over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Springer, who tied a World Series record with five home runs, was named World Series MVP.

The 2017 Astros featured the highest-scoring offense in the major leagues (896 runs), the highest batting average (.282), on-base percentage (.346), and slugging percentage (.478). AL batting champion Jose Altuve (.346) won a number of distinctions, including Most Valuable Player (AL MVP), Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year, and Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year. Altuve joined Bagwell as the second Astro to win the MVP, winning it in 1994.

Because of its record-setting numbers and individual accolades, this Astros batting lineup is often cited as one of the highest-performing in history.

The season was later marred by a sign stealing scandal that ultimately led to significant backlash from baseball fans, the loss of draft picks and a record setting fine from the MLB, and the dismissal of employees in the organization that were directly linked to the scandal.