Introduction
by Carrie Colbert
Hey friends – Take me out to the ball game! What says summer time more than an afternoon at the baseball game? Well, baseball fever is especially high right now in Houston after our hometown Astros won the World Series last season! Fun fact: Elle was born and then the Astros won the World Series for the first time ever! Coincidence? I think not.
On the subject of fun facts, we thought it’d be fun to have our resident sports expert Jayme Lamm chime in with some Astros trivia! Whether you are an avid fan or not, read on for some fun facts about the Houston Astros! You’ll be fully equipped to impress everyone with your sports knowledge and insights this summer!
27 Fun Facts About the World Champion Houston Astros
by Jayme Lamm | The Blonde Side
We are well into baseball season and there’s no time like the present to get to know your 2017 World Champion Houston Astros. Fun fact – I relocated to Houston from the east coast in 2006 for a marketing job with the Astros.
As a sportswriter and someone with experience working in the front office of a Major League Baseball team, knowing a few random tidbits about various teams is always fun. I’ve also learned a great way to get people interested in a sport (whether you’re male or female) is providing some semi-useless trivia (i.e. like the fact that pitcher Justin Verlander is married to supermodel Kate Upton) adds to the excitement and overall feel of the sport.
So here are 27 (because 27 is Jose Altuve’s number – duh!) fun facts about the Houston Astros (and if you’re just here for the lovely art murals, scroll down to #18 to get your fix):
1. The Astros won their first (hopefully of many!) World Series last season (2017), beating the LA Dodgers in seven games for a dramatic and historic close to an epic season.
2. Winning Game 7 in the 2017 World Series was the first time Houston has ever played a game in the month of November.
3. The entire 2017 offense returned for the 2018 season (with the exception of Carlos Beltran who retired), so the odds of return success for winning it all are up there (fingers crossed!).
4. Speaking of odds, the Astros odds of winning it all again this season are 21-4, according to Bleacher Report.
5. The Astros are worth $1.65 billion, according to Forbes (ranking them the 11th most valuable team).
6. Orbit, the Astros lovable and unpredictably hilarious mascot, is the only MLB mascot to win back-to-back Mascot of the Year awards.
7. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is Orbit’s favorite book.
8. Only 6 of the 30 MLB teams have a retractable roof, making rain delays in Houston non-existent. (Teams with retractable roofs/domes: Astros, Blue Jays, Diamondbacks, Mariners, Brewers and Marlins.)
9. It takes 12-20 minutes to close the roof at Minute Maid Park, and it moves back and forth an estimated 160 times a year for a distance of 14.6 miles. Pro tip: check #RoofStatus on Twitter to find out if the roof will be open or closed – it’s key to planning your wardrobe, wearing a hat or bringing sunglasses and lathering up the sunscreen!
10. Minute Maid Park (also known as MMP or “The Juice Box”) opened in 2000 where Houston’s Union Station used to be.
11. The Astrodome, dubbed the “Eight Wonder of the World” opened in 1965.
12. In 2015, Dallas Keuchel became the first major league pitcher to go a perfect 15-0 at home.
13. Justin Verlander (married to supermodel Kate Upton) was the highest-paid Astro in 2017, making a smug $28M (that breaks down to a whopping $137.2K per inning pitched).
14. Verlander graduated from Old Dominion University (in Norfolk, VA) — I threw this fun fact in there because that’s my hometown!
15. Kate Upton pretty much single-handedly sold out the vintage-inspired Astros sweater in a matter of minutes after wearing it during Game 7. It’s been one of the hottest (and hard to find) Astros items since then.
16. The famous rainbow uniforms were unveiled in 1975 and worn through 1986.
17. The wildly popular rainbow uniforms were designed by an advertising agency, McCann Erickson.
18. Local artist Donkeeboy and Art Institute of Houston students unveiled a new Astros mural in “Home Run Alley” at Minute Maid Park earlier this month.
19. Jose Altuve set a team record in 2014 recording 225 hits.
20. In the same season (2014), Altuve recorded the most multi-hit performances by a right-handed batter since Michael Young did back in 2006 with the Rangers.
21. Another popular second baseman for the Astros was none other than Craig Biggio, who ended his career with a whopping 3,060 hits.
22. Craig Biggio made his Major League debut with the Astros in 1998 and spent his entire 20-year career with the team.
23. Although they didn’t win the World Series that year, the Astros won a franchise-best 102 games in 1998.
24. George Springer was named the 2017 World Series MVP after going 11 for 29 with three doubles, five home runs and seven RBI, becoming just the third player to hit five homers in the Fall Classic.
25. Don Wilson is the only pitcher to throw two no-hitters for the Astros (back in 1967 and 1969).
26. During his 1991 NL Rookie of the Year campaign, Jeff Bagwell hit 15 homeruns.
27. The Houston franchise first debuted in 1962 and the name of the team back then was the Colt .45s.
*Stats were gathered from the Houston Astros media guide, Mike Acosta (one of the most knowledgeable Astros guys around), team info and various web sources.
Be sure to follow Jayme for more Houston sport’s knowledge, pictures and random facts on Instagram.
