Astros: How the 2021 Team Ranks in Franchise History

How do the ’21 Astros rank when compared to all other Astros’ squads? Read on for more!

Playoffs now ensue. Thursday afternoon, Lance McCullers toes the rubber for the Houston Astros against the Chicago White Sox. But—as they say—sometimes it’s good to stop and smell the roses. Looking back, the 2021 regular season represented one of the Astros best campaigns in 11 key metrics. Let’s take a look:

All in all, the Astros—formerly the Colt .45s—have played 60 seasons. This year represented one of the best campaigns by the numbers. And while numbers do not necessarily tell the whole story, analyzing this year’s team compared to squads of the past might give credence to just how formidable the ’21 Astros might be in the playoffs. Let’s take a look at how this year’s Astros squad fared compared to the 59 others in franchise history in 11 key metrics.

1) Win-Loss Record: 7th out of 60

The ’21 ball club earned the seventh highest winning percentage in franchise history, going 95-67. The best Astros win-loss percentage came in 2019, the only season Houston won at least 107 games in a season. In effect, when it comes to regular season winning percentage, the ’21 Astros rank seventh out of all 60 Houston MLB rosters to ever take the field.

7) Team Fielding Percentage: 4th out of 60

Defense wins championships, so they say. So how did the ’21 Astros fare when it came to fielding percentage? Well—the Astros’ defense finished tied for fourth best in franchise history. The ’21 Astros turned in a .988 fielding percentage, way above the Major League average.

Did you know—the last four consecutive seasons for the Astros were all top-five finishes in franchise history in fielding percentage? Put another way, not only have these teams made the playoffs so frequently over the last half decade, they have outcompeted almost every Astros squad to ever suit up when it comes to making the fewest errors on defense.

The ’21 ball club performed at a superior level compared to most previous seasons. While nothing is guaranteed in the postseason, fans should feel lucky to receive such highly ranking on-field regular season results, especially when compared to most previous seasons in franchise history.

8) Team Pitching Staff ERA: 31st out of 60

No Houston pitching squad has ever topped the 1981 team who finished with a ridiculously low team ERA of 2.66. Nolan Ryan, Joe Niekro, and Don Sutton, anyone? That year, the Ryan Express turned in a 1.69 ERA through 21 starts.

The ’21 Astros finished with a 3.76 ERA, respectably below 4.00, but only good for a 31st place finish in franchise history. In fairness, the game has changed and the amount of earned runs over different eras has fluctuated for a variety of reasons—so maybe not the best metric to judge the ’21 Astros. But, hey—Lance McCullers, José Urquidy, and Zack Greinke all have World Series pitching experience going into this postseason.

9) Team Pitching Staff Strikeouts: 4th out of 60

Well, even if the ’21 Astros’ team ERA did not register as historically good, the pitching staff’s strikeout numbers certainly do. This season, Houston finished with the franchise’s fourth highest strikeout total since its inception, fanning a collective 1,456 batters on the season. The Astros’ best strikeout year came in 2018, courtesy of an elite rotation anchored by none other than Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander. The 2018 Astros struck out a mind-blowing 1,687 batters.

10) Team Pitching Staff Strikeouts per Nine Innings: 4th out of 60

The pitching staff finished the ’21 season with the fourth highest total of strike outs per nine innings pitched in franchise history. This statistic speaks to the dominance and quality of the pitching staff’s collective arsenal of pitches to retire batters frequently via the strike out.

While this year’s team averaged 9.07 strike outs per game, the best mark in franchise history belongs to the 2017 Astros, who averaged fanning 10.44 batters per nine innings.

11) Surrendered Home Runs per Nine Innings Pitched: 50th out of 60

One drawback to the ’21 pitching staff has been its propensity to surrender the long ball. Of all 60 Astros teams ever fielded, the ’21 squad ranks 50th worst in how frequently they have allowed opposing teams to hit home runs, averaging 1.16 per game. Then again—maybe Verlander is on to something—maybe the balls just might fly further now.