1996 Houston Astros season

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

 * January 5, 1996: Anthony Young was signed as a free agent by the Astros.

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.

Game log

 * Legend:      = Win       = Loss Bold = Astros team member
 * Legend:      = Win       = Loss Bold = Astros team member

Notable transactions

 * June 3, 1996: Greg Swindell was released by the Astros.
 * June 4, 1996: Roy Oswalt was drafted by the Astros in the 23rd round of the 1996 Major League Baseball draft. Player signed May 18, 1997.
 * July 23, 1996: Rich Loiselle was traded by the Astros to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Danny Darwin.
 * July 27, 1996: Rick Wilkins and cash were traded by the Astros to the San Francisco Giants for Kirt Manwaring.

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''

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