The 1999 Houston Astros

Houston Astros

The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...

 season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Houston Astros attempting to win the National League Central

National League Central

The National League Central Division is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was created in 1994, by moving two teams from the Western Division and three teams from the Eastern Division of the National League...

.

Offseason

• November 17, 1998: Ken Caminiti
  Ken Caminiti
  Kenneth Gene Caminiti was an American third baseman in Major League Baseball and the 1996 National League Most Valuable Player. He was born in Hanford, California, and attended San Jose State University...
  
   was signed as a free agent by the Astros.
• January 19, 1999: Ryan Thompson
  Ryan Thompson
  Ryan Orlando Thompson is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played all or part of nine seasons in the majors between 1992 and 2002 for the New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros, New York Yankees, Florida Marlins, and Milwaukee Brewers. He also played one season in Japan for...
  
   was signed as a free agent by the Astros.
• January 21, 1999: Alex Diaz
  Alex Diaz (baseball)
  Alexis Diaz is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played all or part of eight seasons in the majors, from until , for the Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, San Francisco Giants and Houston Astros.-External links:...
  
   was signed as a free agent by the Astros.

New stadium

In 1999, the Astros played their final season in the Astrodome as their new stadium was being prepared for play to begin in the 2000 season. The ballpark was first christened as Enron

Enron

Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. Before its bankruptcy on December 2, 2001, Enron employed approximately 22,000 staff and was one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas, communications, and pulp and paper companies, with...

 Field on April 9, 1999, with naming rights

Naming rights

In the private sector, naming rights are a financial transaction whereby a corporation or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, typically for a defined period of time. For properties like a multi-purpose arena, performing arts venue or an athletic field, the term ranges from three...

 sold to the Houston energy and financial trading company in a 30 year, $100 million deal. Astros management faced a public relations nightmare when the energy corporation went bankrupt in the midst of one of the biggest corporate scandals in American history

Enron scandal

The Enron scandal, revealed in October 2001, eventually led to the bankruptcy of the Enron Corporation, an American energy company based in Houston, Texas, and the dissolution of Arthur Andersen, which was one of the five largest audit and accountancy partnerships in the world...

 in 2001, and they bought back the remainder of Enron's thirty years of naming rights for $2.1 million, rechristening the ballpark as Astros Field on February 7, 2002. The field was unofficially known as "The Field Formerly Known As Enron" by fans and critics alike, in wake of the Enron scandal. On June 5, 2002, Houston-based Minute Maid

Minute Maid

Minute Maid is a product line of beverages, usually associated with lemonade or orange juice, but now extends to soft drinks of many kinds, including Hi-C...

, the fruit-juice subsidiary of Coca-Cola

The Coca-Cola Company

The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation and manufacturer, retailer and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups. The company is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola, invented in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in Columbus, Georgia...

, acquired the naming rights to the stadium for 28 years at a price exceeding $100 million.

Based on its downtown location next to the old Union Station buildings, one of the suggested names (and nicknames) is the Ballpark at Union Station, or the BUS. During its days as Enron Field, it was also dubbed "Ten-Run" or "Home Run" Field due to its cozy left-field dimensions. In keeping with this theme while paying homage to its current sponsor, the nickname

Nickname

A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....

 "The Juice Box" is colloquially used today.

Notable transactions

• August 3, 1999: Josh Dimmick (minors) was traded by the Astros to the Minnesota Twins
  Minnesota Twins
  The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
  
   for George Williams
  George Williams (catcher)
  George Erik Williams , is a retired professional baseball player who played catcher in the Major Leagues from -. He played for the Oakland Athletics and San Diego Padres.-External links:...
  
  .
• August 31, 1999: Alex Diaz was released by the Astros.

Roster

1999 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers		Catchers Infielders		Outfielders		Manager Coaches

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
	30	50	11	.220	1	7

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO

Atlanta Braves vs. Houston Astros

Atlanta wins series, 3-1

Game	Score	Date
1	Houston 6, Atlanta 1	October 5
2	Atlanta 5, Houston 1	October 6
3	Atlanta 5, Houston 3 (12 innings)	October 8
4	Atlanta 7, Houston 5	October 9

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Martinsville