Houston Astros Baseball
The Houston Colt .45s play their first major league game on April 10, defeating the Chicago Cubs 11-2 in 1962. The Colt .45s became the Houston Astros in 1965. They played their first game that season in the Astrodome. This was the first domed stadium. It was made to try to avoid the Texas heat. The Astros gave their name to Astroturf, the plastic grass that came into baseball because the real thing died indoors.
In 1980, the Houston Astros claim its first title as they win the N.L. West with a 93-70 record, defeating Los Angeles in a one-game playoff. The Astros won their second title in 1986 and right-hander Mike Scott becomes Houston's first ever Cy Young award winner. He led the league in ERA (2.22) and strikeouts (306), and winning 18 games for the second straight year.
In 1997, the Houston Astros were able to pull in their first-ever N.L. Central title and their first division title in 11 years. Craig Biggio became the first player in major league history to have not grounded into a double play in a 162-game season. Larry Dierker became one of only six managers in major league history who won a division title in his first year as manager.
In 2004, the Houston Astros captured the National League Wild Card spot and their hopes were still alive. The Astros won their first postseason series in franchise history when they defeated the Atlanta Braves 3-2 in the Division Series. They ended up falling one game short of making their first ever World Series to the Cardinals. On the up side, Roger Clemens won his seventh Cy Young award.
Minute Maid Park
On November 5, 1996, the voters of Harris County approved the construction of a new ballpark in downtown Houston. Astros owner Drayton McLane Jr. had agreed that September to keep his team in Houston if the ballot measure passed. The $265 million ballpark has a retractable roof and a natural grass-playing surface.
Minute Maid Park covers about 25 acres downtown in the area just northeast of the old Union Station. Team officials note that approximately 60 percent of fans enter Minute Maid Park via Union Station. Union Station's lobby features The Shed, the Official Astros Team Store and a cafe.
The ballpark has some unique features. It has a 10-degree grass-covered incline in the deepest part of center field named Tal’s Hill. It is named after the man who thought of the idea, Astros president Tal Smith. Minute Maid Park is the first major sports facility to feature a closed-captioning board for the hearing impaired. The Daktronics black-and-white matrix board and Daktronics color matrix board present baseball fans with a unique experience. The park also has escalators and elevators to take ticket holders to all levels.