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| 2022 Houston Astros | ||
|---|---|---|
| World Series Champions American League Champions American League West Champions | ||
 | ||
| League | American League | |
| Division | West | |
| Ballpark | Minute Maid Park | |
| City | Houston, Texas | |
| Record | 106–56 (.654) | |
| Divisional place | 1st | |
| Owners | Jim Crane | |
| General managers | James Click | |
| Managers | Dusty Baker | |
| Television | AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Todd Kalas, Kevin Eschenfelder, Geoff Blum, Mike Stanton) | |
| 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 | |
| ||
The 2022 Houston Astros season was the 61st season for the Houston Astros, a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 58th as the Astros, 10th in both the American League and American League West, and 23rd at Minute Maid Park. The Astros entered the season as both the defending AL and AL West champions, and they looked to avenge their 2021 World Series loss to the Atlanta Braves in six games.
The collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between MLB and the MLB Players Association (MLBPA) expired on December 1, 2021. With no new agreement in place, Commissioner of Baseball Rob Manfred announced a lockout of players the following day. On March 10, 2022, MLB and MLBPA agreed to a new CBA, thus ending the lockout. Opening Day, originally scheduled for March 31, instead took place on April 7, and a full 162-game season was played.
Behind Framber Valdez' first Opening Day start, the Astros won for the tenth straight year, which set a modern-day record and tied the Boston Beaneaters (1887–1896) for most consecutive Opening Day victories in major league history. Manager Dusty Baker reached 2,000 career wins on May 3 with a 4–0 win over the Seattle Mariners, becoming the 12th manager to reach the milestone. Two Astros pitchers, Luis García and Phil Maton, each recorded an immaculate inning on June 15, 2022, the first occurrence in major league history of more than one immaculate inning pitched on the same day. On June 25, three Astros pitchers—Cristian Javier, Héctor Neris and Ryan Pressly—combined to no-hit the New York Yankees for the 14th no-hitter in team history.[a] The following day, the hitless streak reached 16+1⁄3 innings via José Urquidy's 6+1⁄3 hitless innings, tying an expansion era record.[b].
Behind a three-home-run game from Álvarez and five hitless innings from Verlander on September 16, the Astros secured a sixth consecutive playoff berth — also their seventh in the last eight seasons. On September 19, the Astros clinched the AL West, their fifth division title in the last six seasons. This made them the first team to win the AL West five times in six years since the Anaheim Angels from 2004 to 2009. They swept Seattle in the ALDS to reach the ALCS for a sixth straight season, in doing so becoming the first team in major league history to win a postseason series in six consecutive seasons.[2] They swept the New York Yankees in the ALCS and defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in six games in the World Series, becoming just the third team after the 1995 Atlanta Braves and the 2019 Washington Nationals to sweep the LCS since it became a best-of-seven-game series and subsequently win the World Series. In Game 4, Javier, Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero, and Pressly all combined for a no-hitter, just the second in World Series history. On November 5, they beat the Phillies 4–1 in Game 6 at Minute Maid Park to win their second world championship and first since 2017. A historic bullpen that allowed just five earned runs all postseason was boosted by contributions by players such as Jeremy Peña (ALCS and World Series MVP) and Yordan Alvarez (who had go-ahead home runs in three of the eleven Astro postseason wins). Dusty Baker earned his first championship as a manager with the win. The Astros became the first team to have a winning percentage of .622 (or better) in a six-season span (2017–2022) with multiple World Series titles since the 1953–1958 New York Yankees, and they became the sixth team since 1960 to win the World Series after losing it the previous year. [3] Many experts believe the 2022 Astros to be one of the most dominant teams in MLB history, mainly due to their dominance in pitching.
- ^ McTaggart, Brian (June 25, 2022). "Javier (13 K's) leads Houston's 'shocking' combined no-hitter vs. Yanks". MLB.com. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
- ^ "Houston Astros @ Seattle Mariners". MLB Playoffs 2022 - TBS. October 15, 2022. 391 minutes in. TBS. TBS.
- ^ Stark, Jayson. "Now that the Astros have won the World Series again, what's their place in history?".
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