What is the best Houston Astros team of all-time?

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Houston Astros, Nolan Ryan
(Photo by Ronald C. Modra/Getty Images)

4. 1986 Houston Astros

This is by far the “hottest” take on this list, but hear me out. On paper, there is no reason why this team doesn’t win the World Series. But if you know anything about the 1986 Mets, they were just simply destined.

The 1986 Houston Astros went 96-66, winning the NL East and placing them immediately in the NLCS, where they would lose to the eventual champion New York Mets in six games. This was another killer pitching staff, consisting of Mike Scott, Bob Knepper, Nolan Ryan and Jim Deshaies.

The starting lineup consisted of Alan Ashby, Glenn Davis, Bill Doran, Dickie Thon, Denny Walling, Jose Cruz, Billy Hatcher and Kevin Bass. Besides Thon and Hatcher, every player had an OPS above .700, with three guys above .800. There might not be a ton of huge names on this team besides the pitching staff, but these guys were so consistent.

That’s exactly why they managed to win 96 games, and win a division that had 6 teams, all finishing with at least a .447 winning percentage (all of them were in the hunt). This team should have beat the Mets, and won the World Series Championship that Houston wanted oh so bad. Don’t worry 1986 Houstonians, only another 31 years to go!

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