ХЮ Астрос

The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after spending their first 51 seasons in the National League (NL).

The Astros were established as the Houston Colt .45s and entered the National League as an expansion team in 1962 along with the New York Mets. The current name, reflecting Houston's role as the host of the Johnson Space Center, was adopted three years later, when they moved into the Astrodome, the first domed sports stadium and the so-called "Eighth Wonder of the World." The Astros moved to a new stadium called Minute Maid Park in 2000. The Astros played in the NL West division from 1969 to 1993, then the NL Central division from 1994 to 2012, before being moved to the AL West as part of an MLB realignment in 2013.

The Astros posted their first winning record in 1972 and made the playoffs for the first time in 1980, and they won three division titles in the 1980s. Spearheaded by the Killer B's, a collection of prominent hitters that included the Astros' only Hall of Fame members Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell, the Astros began reaching major prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s with four further division titles and two Wild Card appearances, culminating in their first World Series appearance in 2005 where they were swept by the AL’s Chicago White Sox. After a major slump throughout the next decade, the team was purchased by business owner Jim Crane in 2011 for $680 million. Under Crane's ownership, the Astros embraced sabermetrics and pioneered new analytical technologies in their transition to the American League, and by the mid-2010s has transformed from a poor franchise into one of MLB's most dominant and successful clubs. Since then, the Astros have won over 100 games in four seasons, appeared in a record six consecutive American League Championship Series, and won four of the last six American League pennants. During this time, the Astros won the 2017 World Series, their first championship, against the Los Angeles Dodgers; they made later appearances in 2019 against the Washington Nationals, 2021 against the Atlanta Braves, and 2022 against the Philadelphia Phillies, winning their second title in the latter series. They are the only team to win a postseason series in six straight seasons. Their fifth pennant in 2022 made them the second team created in the expansion era to win five league pennants (after the Mets), and they are the fifth expansion team to have won two World championships.

During the 2019–2020 off-season, the Astros became the prime suspect in an MLB-wide sign stealing scandal that took place during the 2017 and 2018 seasons, resulting in the suspensions of manager A. J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow, with Crane later firing both. The Astros' roles in the scandal, as well as what were believed to be minimal punishments for its players, have caused the Astros to become one of the most maligned baseball teams in the modern age. Despite this, many have noted the Astros' continued success, and they are widely seen as the most dominant team in the American League today.

From 1962 through the end of the 2022 season, the Astros' all-time record is 4,831-4,820 (.501). In addition to having the most postseason appearances by an expansion team, they are the only expansion era team with an all-time winning record.