The Houston Astros' 1996 season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Houston Astros attempting to win the National League Central. The Astros finished in second place in the NL Central with an 82–80 record, six games behind the St. Louis Cardinals.

Offseason

Regular season

On May 7 against Philadelphia, Jeff Bagwell reached the 500th run batted in (RBI) of his career with two home runs and four RBI. By hitting his second upper-deck home run at Three Rivers Stadium on May 29 – it travelled 459 ft – Bagwell joined longtime Pirate Willie Stargell as the only players to homer twice into the stadium's upper deck. For the month of May, he batted .360 with .740 SLG, 10 HR, 31 RBI, scored 22 runs, and stole four bases. He was named NL Player of the Month, his fourth career monthly award. On June 14, Bagwell tied a major league record with four doubles in one game against San Francisco. The Astros retired Nolan Ryan's number 34 on September 29, 1996.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Detailed records

Notable transactions

Roster

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

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

Other batters

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

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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

Other pitchers

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

Relief pitchers

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

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Jackson