1962 Houston Colt .45s season

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1962 Houston Colt .45s
Major League affiliations
  • National League (since 1962)
Location
Results
Record64–96 (.400)
League place8th
Other information
Owner(s)Craig F. Cullinan, Jr., Roy Hofheinz
General manager(s)Paul Richards
Manager(s)Harry Craft
Local televisionKTRK
(Al Helfer, Gene Elston, Guy Savage)
Local radioKPRC (AM)
(Al Helfer, Gene Elston, Loel Passe)
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The 1962 Houston Colt .45s were an expansion team in American Major League Baseball's National League, and 1962 was the first season in franchise history. Harry Craft was Houston's first manager. The .45s finished eighth among the National League's ten teams with a record of 64–96, 36½ games behind the league champion San Francisco Giants.

Offseason[]

  • September 11, 1961: Rusty Staub was signed as an amateur free agent by the Colt .45's.[1]
  • October 13, 1961: Al Cicotte was purchased by the Colt .45s from the St. Louis Cardinals.[2]
  • March 24, 1962: Dave Philley was signed as a free agent by the Colt .45s.[3]
  • March 24, 1962: Dave Philley was traded by the Colt .45s to the Boston Red Sox for Tom Borland.[3]
  • Prior to 1962 season: J. C. Hartman was acquired by the Colt .45s from the Houston Buffaloes as part of a minor league working agreement.[4]

Expansion draft[]

The Colt .45s were one of two teams added to the National League before the 1962 season, the other being the New York Mets. This brought the number of teams in the NL to ten, matching the 1961 expansion of the American League.

Regular phase[]

$75,000 per player

Premium phase[]

$125,000 per player
  • Joey Amalfitano, infielder, San Francisco Giants
  • Turk Farrell, pitcher, Los Angeles Dodgers
  • Hal Smith, catcher, Pittsburgh Pirates
  • Al Spangler, outfielder, Milwaukee Braves

1961 minor league affiliates[]

The Colt .45s and Mets were established on October 17, 1960, giving them time to acquire professional minor-league players, sign amateur free agents (there was no MLB first-year player draft until 1965) and enter into working agreements with minor league affiliates during the 1961 season. Houston had formal working agreements with two minor league baseball teams in 1961:

Level Team League Manager
A Jacksonville Jets Sally League Tom Saffell and Dixie Howell
D Salisbury Braves Western Carolinas League Alex Cosmidis

The first game[]

April 10, Colt Stadium, Houston, Texas

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Chicago 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 5 0
Houston 1 0 4 0 0 0 3 3 X 11 13 2
W: Shantz (1–0)  L: Cardwell (0–1)
HRs: Mejias (2), Smith (1), Banks (1)

Opening Day lineup [8]

14 Bob Aspromonte    3B
21 Al Spangler CF
25 Román Mejías RF
10 Norm Larker 1B
23 Jim Pendleton LF
  8 Hal Smith C
11 Joey Amalfitano    2B
18 Don Buddin SS
42 Bobby Shantz P

[9]

Regular season[]

The Colt .45s started their inaugural season on April 10, 1962, with an 11–2 win against the Chicago Cubs, highlighted by a three-run home run in the bottom of the third inning by Román Mejías.[9] The .45s would go on to sweep the Cubs in their first three-game series at Colt Stadium. The team finished April with a 7–8 record, 4 games in front of the expansion Mets and only 5 games behind the National League leading Pirates and Giants.

By June 2, with the second loss to the Pirates in Pittsburgh, the Colt .45s had fallen to 16 games behind eventual National League Champion Giants, a deficit that no pre-wild card team had recovered from to make the post season.[10] And, with an August 21 loss at the hands of the Phillies,[11] the Houston Colt .45s were mathematically eliminated from the postseason with a 37-game deficit to the Dodgers with 37 games left.

To get an idea of how the first season was for Houston, look at the team's best pitcher, Richard "Turk" Farrell. A starter for the Colt .45s, he was primarily a relief pitcher when he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies. Turk lost 20 games in 1962, but had an ERA of 3.02. Turk was selected to both All-Star games that year.[12]

There was a bright spot in the line up in 1962. Román Mejías, who was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates in the expansion draft, was named the Colt .45s starting right fielder. It was in Houston that Mejías would play the best season of his career. While he played better the first half of the season, an injury slowed him the second half of the season. However, he still finished with a .286 batting average, 24 home runs, and 76 RBIs. His modesty and his hard play made him a fan favorite that year. Despite his good year, Mejías was traded to the Boston Red Sox in the fall of 1962.[13]

Season standings[]

National League W L Pct. GB Home Road
San Francisco Giants 103 62 0.624 61–21 42–41
Los Angeles Dodgers 102 63 0.618 1 54–29 48–34
Cincinnati Reds 98 64 0.605 58–23 40–41
Pittsburgh Pirates 93 68 0.578 8 51–30 42–38
Milwaukee Braves 86 76 0.531 15½ 49–32 37–44
St. Louis Cardinals 84 78 0.519 17½ 44–37 40–41
Philadelphia Phillies 81 80 0.503 20 46–34 35–46
Houston Colt .45s 64 96 0.400 36½ 32–48 32–48
Chicago Cubs 59 103 0.364 42½ 32–49 27–54
New York Mets 40 120 0.250 60½ 22–58 18–62

Record vs. opponents[]


Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
Team CHC CIN HOU LAD MIL NYM PHI PIT SF STL
Chicago 4–14 7–11 4–14 8–10 9–9 10–8 4–14 6–12 7–11
Cincinnati 14–4 13–5 9–9 13–5 13–5 8–10 13–5 7–11 8–10
Houston 11–7 5–13 6–12 7–11 13–3–1 1–17 5–13 7–11 9–9–1
Los Angeles 14–4 9–9 12–6 10–8 16–2 14–4 10–8 10–11 7–11
Milwaukee 10–8 5–13 11–7 8–10 12–6 11–7 10–8 7–11 12–6
New York 9–9 5–13 3–13–1 2–16 6–12 4–14 2–16 4–14 5–13
Philadelphia 8–10 10–8 17–1 4–14 7–11 14–4 7–10 5–13 9–9
Pittsburgh 14–4 5–13 13–5 8–10 8–10 16–2 10–7 7–11 12–6
San Francisco 12–6 11–7 11–7 11–10 11–7 14–4 13–5 11–7 9–9
St. Louis 11–7 10–8 9–9–1 11–7 6–12 13–5 9–9 6–12 9–9


Notable transactions[]

Roster[]

1962 Houston Colt .45s
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Game log[]

Houston Colt .45s 1962 Regular Season Game Log
April 1962 (7–8)
May 1962 (12–19)
June 1962 (13–14)
July 1962 (5–24)
August 1962 (12–19)
September 1962 (15–12)

Player stats[]

Batting[]

Starters by position[]

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases Positional abbreviations: C = Catcher; 1B = First base; 2B = Second base; 3B = Third base; SS = Shortstop; LF = Left field; CF = Center field; RF = Right field

Pos Player G AB R H 2B 3B Avg. HR RBI SB
C Hal Smith 109 345 32 81 14 0 .235 12 35 0
1B Norm Larker 147 506 58 133 19 5 .263 9 63 1
2B Joey Amalfitano 117 380 44 90 12 5 .237 1 27 4
3B Bob Aspromonte 149 534 59 142 18 4 .266 11 59 4
SS Bob Lillis 129 457 38 114 12 4 .249 1 30 7
LF Al Spangler 129 418 51 119 10 9 .285 5 35 7
CF Carl Warwick 130 477 63 124 17 1 .260 16 60 2
RF Román Mejías 146 566 82 162 12 3 .286 24 76 12

Other batters[]

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases

Player G AB R H 2B 3B Avg. HR RBI SB
J. C. Hartman 51 148 11 33 5 0 .223 0 5 1
Al Heist 27 72 4 16 1 0 .222 0 3 0
Dave Roberts 16 53 3 13 3 0 .245 1 10 0
Don Taussig 16 25 1 5 0 0 .200 1 1 0
Dick Gernert 10 24 1 5 0 0 .208 0 1 0
George Williams 5 8 1 3 1 0 .375 0 2 0

Pitching[]

Starting pitchers[]

Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Player G GS IP W L ERA R ER BB K
Turk Farrell 43 29 241.2 10 20 3.02 91 81 55 203
Ken Johnson 33 31 197 7 16 3.03 100 84 46 178
Bob Bruce 32 27 175 10 9 4.06 92 79 82 135
Hal Woodeshick 31 26 139.1 5 16 4.39 84 68 54 82

Other pitchers[]

Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Player G GS IP W L SV ERA R ER BB K
Jim Golden 37 18 152.2 7 11 1 4.07 84 69 50 88
Dave Giusti 22 5 73.2 2 3 0 5.62 49 46 30 43
George Brunet 17 11 54 2 4 0 4.50 31 27 21 36
Dick Drott 6 1 13 1 0 0 7.62 12 11 9 10

Relief pitchers[]

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L SV ERA R ER BB K
Don McMahon 51 76.2 5 5 8 1.53 14 13 33 69
Bobby Tiefenauer 43 85 2 4 1 4.34 42 41 21 60
John Anderson 10 17.2 0 0 0 5.09 12 10 3 6
Al Cicotte 5 4.2 0 0 0 3.86 4 2 1 4

Farm system[]

1962 minor league affiliates[]

Level Team League Manager
AAA Oklahoma City 89ers American Association Connie Ryan
B Durham Bulls Carolina League Lou Fitzgerald
C Modesto Colts California League Fred Hatfield
D Moultrie Colt .22s Georgia–Florida League Jim Walton

References[]

  1. ^ Rusty Staub at Baseball-Reference
  2. ^ Al Cicotte at Baseball-Reference
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Dave Philley at Baseball-Reference
  4. ^ J. C. Hartman at Baseball-Reference
  5. ^ Merritt Ranew at Baseball Reference
  6. ^ Don Taussig Archived March 1, 2009, at the Wayback Machine at Baseball Reference
  7. ^ Norm Larker at Baseball Reference
  8. ^ https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/HOU/HOU196204100.shtml
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b "Retrosheet Boxscore: Houston Colt .45s 11, Chicago Cubs 2". Archived from the original on May 4, 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2009.
  10. ^ Vass, George (2005). "The greatest pennant-chase comebacks in baseball history: here are 14 teams that trailed by 10 or more games near the season's midpoint and went on to win division or league titles". Baseball Digest.
  11. ^ "Retrosheet Boxscore: Philadelphia Phillies 5, Houston Colt .45s 3 (1)". Archived from the original on May 4, 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2009.
  12. ^ Coons, Ron (May 10, 2006). "Richard "Turk" Farrell". find a grave. Retrieved October 2, 2008.
  13. ^ Briley, Ron (June 10, 2003). "ROMAN MEJIAS – BRIEF BIOGRAPHY". McFarland & co. Archived from the original on May 4, 2009. Retrieved October 2, 2008.
  14. ^ John Anderson at Baseball Reference
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b Bob Cerv at Baseball Reference

External links[]

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