The 2020 Houston Astros season was the 59th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise in Houston, Texas, their 56th as the Astros, eighth in the American League West, and 21st at Minute Maid Park. The team entered the season as both the defending champions of the American League and the American League West; and runner-ups of the World Series.
The season was shortened to a 60-game schedule due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[1] The 2020 All-Star Game was also canceled due to the delayed start to the season.
On September 25, by virtue of a loss by the Los Angeles Angels, the Astros clinched a playoff berth, making it their fourth consecutive postseason appearance, as well as their fifth in the last six years. The Astros finished the regular season 29–31, becoming the second American League team to reach the playoffs with a losing record, the first being the 1981 Kansas City Royals. They received the No. 6 seed in the newly expanded playoffs. On September 30, the Astros became the first sub-.500 team to win a playoff series, eliminating the Minnesota Twins in a two-game sweep in the ALWCS, becoming the first sub-.500 team to win a playoff game the day before (as of 2023, they remain the only sub-.500 team to ever win a playoff game or series). The Astros advanced to the ALDS where they defeated the Oakland Athletics three games to one, batting in a historic 33 runs (and 12 home runs) across 35 innings. They then advanced to their fourth consecutive ALCS, where they lost to the Tampa Bay Rays in seven games despite nearly completing a dramatic comeback in forcing a Game 7 after trailing three games to none.
After the season, pitcher Cristian Javier was named a finalist for the 2020 AL Rookie of the Year Award, finishing third in voting.
On March 12, 2020, MLB announced that because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the start of the regular season would be delayed by at least two weeks in addition to the remainder of spring training being cancelled.[2] Four days later, it was announced that the start of the season would be pushed back indefinitely due to the recommendation made by the CDC to restrict events of more than fifty people for eight weeks.[3] On June 23, commissioner Rob Manfred unilaterally implemented a 60-game season. Players reported to training camps on July 1 in order to resume spring training and prepare for a July 24 Opening Day.[4]
For years, some individuals on other teams had suspected the Astros of stealing signs, but there was no public reporting on the subject until November 2019, when The Athletic reporters Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich at The Athletic published an article detailing the team's activities. Mike Fiers, a pitcher who played for the Astros in 2017, told The Athletic that the organization used a video camera in center field to film the opposing catcher's signals to the pitcher regarding the next pitch. Astros players or team staffers watching the live camera feed behind the dugout used various audio cues to signal to the batter what type of pitch was coming next. MLB opened an investigation into the allegations and confirmed in January 2020 that the Astros illegally used a camera system to steal signs during the 2017 regular season and postseason, during which they won the World Series, as well as in part of the 2018 regular season. MLB found no evidence of illicit sign stealing in the 2019 season, in which the Astros advanced to the World Series but lost.
As a result, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and field manager A. J. Hinch were suspended for the entire 2020 season for failing to prevent the rules violations. The Astros were fined the maximum allowable $5 million and forfeited their first- and second-round picks in the 2020 and 2021 drafts. No players were punished because they had been given immunity by MLB in exchange for their cooperation.[5] The Astros subsequently fired both Luhnow and Hinch on the day their suspensions were announced.[6] MLB's investigation also determined that Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora helped mastermind the Astros' sign stealing while serving as Hinch's bench coach in 2017; Boston and Cora mutually parted ways the following day, and MLB later suspended Cora through the 2020 postseason. Carlos Beltrán was the only Astros player from 2017 who was specifically named in the report; he had been hired to manage the New York Mets in November 2019 but parted ways with the team after the results of MLB's investigation were announced.
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases; BB = Walks; AVG = Batting average; SLG = Slugging average
Source:[1]
Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts
Source:[2]
As of mid-April 2020, Astro teammates Carlos Correa and Martin Maldonado, along with fellow Major Leaguers such as Francisco Lindor and Eddie Rosario, as well as musical stars, have already shipped 26 pallets of medical supplies to the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. Astros owner Jim Crane has waived all shipping and logistic charges through his company Crane Worldwide Logistics.[17]
