| 2017 Houston Astros | ||
|---|---|---|
| World Series Champions American League Champions American League West Champions | ||
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| League | American League | |
| Division | West | |
| Ballpark | Minute Maid Park | |
| City | Houston, Texas | |
| Record | 101–61 (.623) | |
| Divisional place | 1st | |
| Owners | Jim Crane | |
| General managers | Jeff Luhnow | |
| Managers | A. J. Hinch | |
| Television | Root Sports Southwest (April–July) AT&T SportsNet Southwest (July–October) (Todd Kalas, Geoff Blum) | |
| Radio | Sportstalk 790 (Robert Ford, Steve Sparks, Geoff Blum) KLAT (Spanish) (Francisco Romero, Alex Treviño) | |
| Stats | ESPN.com Baseball Reference | |
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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 and American League West, and 18th at Minute Maid Park. The entered the season as having posted a second consecutive winning season after six consecutive losing seasons with a third-place ranking in the AL West (84–78). It was the only season in a span of ten (2015–2024) in which Houston did not qualify for the postseason, the most successful era in franchise history. The Astros won their first-ever AL West division title in 2017, as well as reaching the 100-win plateau. The Astros' season culminated with a World Series championship in seven games over the Los Angeles Dodgers for the first World Series championship in franchise history.[1]
On September 17, the Astros clinched the AL West with a 7–1 victory over the Seattle Mariners, for their first AL West division title, and their seventh division title overall. The Astros defeated the Boston Red Sox, 3–2, on September 29 to claim their 100th win of the season, their first 100-win season since 1998. Overall, the Astros finished with a 101–61 regular season record, their second-highest win total in franchise history, for a .623 winning percentage.
Just four days after the end of 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 American League pennant. Combined with their NL pennant in 2005, the Astros became the first MLB team to make it to the World Series as members of both the National and American Leagues. Finally, the Astros faced and defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series to win, 4 games to 3.
The 2017 Astros featured the highest-scoring offense in the major leagues (896 runs scored), including the highest batting average (.282), on-base percentage (.346), and slugging percentage (.478). The offense was led by AL batting champion and second baseman Jose Altuve (.346) who 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. He became just the second Astro to win the MVP following Jeff Bagwell in 1994. The ALCS MVP was starting pitcher Justin Verlander, and the World Series MVP was center fielder George Springer.
Because of its record-setting numbers and individual accolades, this Astros batting lineup is often cited as one of the highest-performing in history.
Manager A. J. Hinch led the on-field team, and general manager Jeff Luhnow presided over the baseball operations department. The Astros sent six players to the 88th All-Star Game held at Marlins Park in Miami, including Altuve, Springer, shortstop Carlos Correa, and pitchers Dallas Keuchel, Lance McCullers Jr., and Chris Devenski. Bagwell, a first baseman who spent his entire 15-year major league career in an Astros uniform, was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 30, 2017.
The season was later marred by a sign stealing scandal that ultimately led to significant backlash from many 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.