The 1998 Houston Astros season was the 37th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise in Houston, Texas. On the strength of a club record 102 wins, they rocketed to a second consecutive trip to the postseason with an National League Central title. They did not win 100 games again until 2017, while the record for wins would be broken the following year. On September 14, the Astros clinched the division title when the Chicago Cubs, the eventual NL Wild Card winners, lost. The next day, Craig Biggio became the first Astro to collect 200 hits in a season.

Offseason

Regular season

First baseman Jeff Bagwell hit his first career grand slam while tying a career-high six runs batted in (RBI) against Cincinnati on September 9 in a 13–7 victory. It was his 218th career home run, making his streak the then-longest among active players without a grand slam.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable Transactions

July 31, 1998: Randy Johnson was traded by the Seattle Mariners to the Houston Astros for a player to be named later, Freddy Garcia, and Carlos Guillén. The Houston Astros sent John Halama (October 1, 1998) to the Seattle Mariners to complete the trade.

Roster

Game log

Regular season

Postseason Game log

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

Relief pitchers

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

National League Divisional Playoffs

Houston Astros vs. San Diego Padres

The Astros season ended by defeat in four games to the San Diego Padres in the National League Division Series, including losing two starts against Kevin Brown – one of the league's highest-accomplished pitchers that year – both by a 2–1 score. As the Game 1 starter opposing Randy Johnson, Brown allowed no runs in eight innings and struck out 16 Astros, a career-high, and second to that point in MLB playoff history only to Bob Gibson's 17-strikeout performance in the 1968 World Series. Bagwell, Derek Bell, and Craig Biggio combined for six hits in 51 at bats in this series.

Awards and records

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: New Orleans; LEAGUE CO-CHAMPIONS: Auburn