Best (and Worst) Astros Owners — and Teams — of All Time

When you look at the Houston Astros’ journey, a few names stand taller than the rest. Some owners built a legacy. Some made history. Others… well, they made history for the wrong reasons.

Let’s take a closer look at the best — and the worst — owners and seasons in Astros history.

Best Owners in Astros History.

1. Jim Crane (2011–present)

✅ Achievements:

  • Transformed Houston into a dynasty (2017–present)
  • Oversaw two World Series titles (2017, 2022) and four AL pennants
  • Turned the franchise into one of MLB’s most successful
  • Rebuilt the farm system, increased payroll

👉 The sign-stealing scandal will always be a footnote on his watch. But Crane’s leadership, aggressiveness, and commitment to excellence are undeniable. He modernized the Astros — and made winning the expectation.

2. Drayton McLane (1993–2011)

✅ Achievements:

  • Moved Houston to the NL Central, sparking true rivalries
  • Built the 2005 NL Champion Astros
  • Secured a new stadium (Minute Maid Park)
  • Handed Crane a solid foundation

👉 Drayton cared — maybe sometimes too much. His biggest flaw was caution on payroll when it counted most. But without him, Houston’s golden era would’ve been a lot harder to build.

3. Judge Roy Hofheinz (1962–1975, Founder)

✅ Achievements:

  • Brought MLB to Houston
  • Built the Astrodome, the “Eighth Wonder of the World”
  • Changed how baseball was marketed and played

👉 You can’t leave him off this list since he started the entire party! Roy Hofheinz wasn’t just a businessman; he was a dreamer. Without him, the Houston Astros wouldn’t even exist.

Best Astros Seasons Ever.

When you talk about Houston’s best teams, a few years instantly come to mind. :

  • 2017: 101 wins, first-ever World Series title.
  • 2022: Another championship, and a team that was ruthlessly efficient.
  • 2019: 107 wins, the most in franchise history. ESPN this week named the 2019 team the most talented team…ever!
  • 2005: First-ever trip to the World Series.
  • 1986: A lovable, scrappy powerhouse that battled the Mets in one of the greatest NLCS battles ever.
  • 1980: Houston’s first real taste of postseason baseball — and heartbreak — after a gut-wrenching NLCS against the Phillies.

The Astros’ greatest seasons aren’t just about wins — they’re about heart, history, and how a city rallied behind its team.

Bonus: The Worst Owner in Astros History.

John McMullen (1979–1993)

✅ Achievements:

  • Signed Nolan Ryan.
  • Kept the Astros alive during a rocky stretch.

❌ Downside:

  • Let stars walk away.
  • Constant payroll issues.
  • Soured relationships with the city and fans.

👉 McMullen famously said owning a team was “a hobby” — and it showed. By the early ‘90s, Houston was desperate for an owner who actually treated it like a business. His early impact was positive, but the longer it went, the clearer it became: Houston needed a new chapter.

Bonus: The Worst Astros Team Ever.

2013 Houston Astros

  • Record: 51–111
  • Third straight 100-loss season
  • Laughed at nationally, pitied locally

Let’s be honest — the 2013 Astros were brutal to watch. The team was a patchwork of minor leaguers learning to survive.

But here’s the wild twist: That pain was intentional.

Jeff Luhnow’s “scorched-earth rebuild” stripped everything down to the studs so they could build it back stronger. And just a few years later, some of those same kids were raising the Commissioner’s Trophy.

Legacy:
The 2013 Astros were the worst team in franchise history — and maybe the most important one too.

Final Thoughts.

Every franchise has its peaks and valleys. The Astros are no different.
From the visionaries who dreamed big, to the rebuilders who played the long game, Houston’s journey is filled with lessons — and a few cautionary tales.

When you know where you’ve been, you appreciate where you are a whole lot more.

And if history’s any guide… the best chapters for Houston might still be ahead.

Got any quibbles with my thoughts, owners and teams — best and worst?

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27 responses to “Best (and Worst) Astros Owners — and Teams — of All Time”

  1. Just months after the Jim Crane group bought the Astros from Drayton McLane, the club signed 18 year old Lance McCullers Jr. He’s been in the organization for 13 years. Man, I’m getting old.

    Lance threw five shutout innings down in Corpus yesterday. Assuming all feels good, he might well be getting a start next week with the big club, which would be his first in MLB since November 1, 2022.

    Right now, our bats really are pretty close to hopeless. Across the way, a few of the Crawford customers are talking about trading Yordan. Some have jumped ship. There are some positives though.

    We’re pretty close to having a heck of a rotation, whether it be a five man or a six man. If we go with five, then we’re going to have Wesneski or Gusto to provide more depth in the pen, which has also been mostly solid.

    At some point, guys will start hitting. It will happen. It really will. In the meantime, we’re playing .500 ball thanks to our pitching staff and good defense overall. Patience my friends.

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  2. Chip, Jim Crane has kept the Astros relevant for a decade. We’re still relevant today, although us fans might be a bit jaded at this point. We have certain expectations. I’m looking forward to seeing if this club can move on and still put a winning team on the field without interruption.

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    • dave, staying “relevant” is hard to do, so kudos to that. It’s easier to get to the top of the mountain than it is to stay there!

      Sooo…if he can keep the Astros “relevant” for another decade, he’ll have done something very few others have done!

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  6. Maybe the Astro’s read my last post and decided to show me they ain’t dead yet. Anyway I just watched the condensed game and they looked a lot better. I sure like Pena leading off and Hunter Brown was very good again. We’ll take the positives from the game and let it go at that.

    I don’t know if any of you watched the Women’s Chevron PGA event at the Woodlands today but what a great golf match. I’m becoming a fan. A five player playoff on a challenging 18th hole, Fantastic!

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  7. It’s fair to say Crane is the best owner. He raised 2 trophies no one else did.

    Owning a team today has to be tough. Baseball has for years tried to close the gap of the haves and have nots. The haves don’t seem to care. They will create 350M payrolls and pay individual players 700M. They will defer their way to dynasties.

    I constantly lambast Crane for not having the will to sign Kyle Tucker, our next generational talent. This is no Springer, Correa, Bregman, he is even better than Altuve and Alvarez. But at what point do you give one guy 45M a year when you can’t play with the haves? As much as I hate it, Crane probably did the right thing.

    Competing in this environment, knowing you are never going to get or keep the Tuckers, Sotos, Judges, Vlads, its tough. The Royals struck early with Witt because today Bobby Witt is a candidate for 700M, but the Royals saw it and went and hammered it out before he became today’s Witt. It’s likely really past their budget, they may end up in a decade of mediocrity playing a bunch a guys no one has heard of around him, but maybe they strike hot with a group of young guys that can contend until they all start leaving.

    That’s going to be the new thing. If Cam Smith really starts becoming a star by the end of next year, can the Astros hammer out a 12-15 year deal that pays him well now to save some later? It works sometimes, but not every time. I don’t know the status of the Rays and Wander Franco, but if they are paying it, ouch.

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  8. As for the here and now – this offense is in trouble. If you are ever penciling Jeremy Pena into the leadoff spot or the cleanup spot, woah-is-me. Guy should be the 8 hitter. We all talk about the 25 HR potential, but until potential becomes reality drop him in the order. I’m not sure potential will ever be reality as long as pitchers throw sliders.

    Good to see Yainer make hard contact. Put one out, hit 2 other solids at outfielders. But dude needs to go on a roll. He needs 5-6 games in a row of this. Walker needs to join him. Dude was a foot from another dinger and ended up striking out. The 0-2 counts are back on his shoulders. Yordan hit some good ones yesterday but we are learning quick with these guys yesterday is not today.

    Montero, Abreu, and presumably Framber will be off the books next year. What can you do with 50M? Well, start with a Brown contract where you buy out the last 2 years of arbitration for 3-4 years of FA. Give him a 7/175 with significant pay raises over what the arby salaries would be. And then find a lefty bat that can play centerfield.

    But what do I expect? That at some point they trade for Luis Robert and make us watch him strike out 200 times and hit .225 just because he can hit the homerun and play good defense, all for the rebate cost of 20M. And you don’t even really know if you will be watching him or reading about how his recovery from left toe-itis is progressing and they think he will be able to walk again in the next few weeks. Why? Because that contract isn’t 35M. But I wouldn’t expect that Robert deal to happen this year, afterall, the cap is there.

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    • Joe has a tough job when it comes to filling out a line up card, even more so when Jose gets a day off. Who else is there to bat first? I’ll say this about Pena. He has been a consistent 100 OPS guy, runs the bases well, stays healthy and plays a better than average short stop. He’s good for a 4 WAR annually. Steven, you’re right, he’d be an excellent 8 hitter on a team full of bats. I also don’t expect 25 homers at any point though. Seems like every year, people talk about Pena taking that next step. I don’t see it happening. But I’m always happy to see an early season stat like his 9/16 BB/K effort. It is encouraging.

      The one guy I’m really concerned about, of all the established players on the team, is Jose Altuve. His excellent seasons at the plate when 32 and 33 years old made me think he’d age well. Now I’m not so sure. A whole lot of swing and miss entered his game last year. The OPS dropped from .915 to .790. And so far in 2025, his BB/K is 6/23, by far his worst since 2011 when he was brought up from AA ball. His chase rate is in the lowest 3% of hitters in the league. Bat speed 10%. Exit velocity 9%. His line drive rate is 10.7. Ground ball, 54.8. Over the past two weeks, his OPS is .464. Scary numbers. Is it just a slump caused by his own effort to do more when everyone else has been doing nothing? Or maybe his focus on 3000? Or does it have something to do with being 35 years old?

      We already know there is no good place to play him on the field. And we already have the best DH in the business. It’s hard for me not to think ahead.

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  9. Are you kidding, dave7? Some want to trade Alvarez? Hello gang! A month or so one of the hitting coaches said Alvarez was dipping during his AB’s, and that his mechanics were off. And he’s not squaring up fastballs. He experienced some of the same problems last yr. Sorry, but I do not have much confidence in our hitting coaches, including helping guys to improve their mechanics to make adjustments to get better. It’s like hit your way out of whatever is wrong. Heard Chas has a new stance. How long will that work? Meyers turning into a pumpkin again?

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  10. Nice come from behind win last night. It’s perplexing that Jake starts off ripping the cover off the ball and then mysteriously disappears. Now we have the same thing happening to McCormick. It seems the more they play the worse they get. Bull pen did it’s usual good job save for Ort whose usually pretty dependable. Hader looks really good right now so i hope I don’t jinx him. Blanco was a little off but hung in there long enough for us to get the Bull Pen rolling. Let’s go for two tonight!

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  11. Just looked at the day’s bulletins on MLBTR:

    Padres to DFA Yuli Gurriel.

    Angels DFA JD Davis.

    Blue Jays option Will Wagner.

    Guardians select Vince Velasquez.

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  12. Last nights game was a great example of why they play nine innings. Olsen was painting the corners. Pitch count was not high. But then he made a couple of mistakes. As far as I’m concerned, Ryan Gusto is a keeper. He did not have much last night. But he hung in there and with a smooth turn on a routine double play ball would have been through 5 innings with just 1 run. Glad to see our much maligned offense pick him up. Little glimpses of awakening by a couple of guys.

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    • Best of luck to our latest new guy. Blubaugh has his work cut out for him. Our compromised line up has had to face a whole batch of good starters recently. Jobe is no exception. We’re going to need some pitches from AJ today.

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    • Scrap Iron will certainly continue to give it his best shot. What a good man. He did not always play on the best teams or have great talent to manage but has always done everything with passion and dignity.

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  16. Bryan Abreu is heading to the paternity list to make roster room for Blubaugh. I assume Blubaugh will be optioned when Abreu returns.

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      • Some debate on that.

        Some might argue it’s another rehab start against another minor league team.

        I’ll just be happy to finally see him on a mound. As much as the baseball fandom seems tired of his name, he was a critical piece to that 2017 title.

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      • I think it’s great to have him back. And if he stays healthy, I think he’ll be a big help to the team.

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      • I think the majority of the “fandom” never had to recover from a major arm injury and have no idea how difficult that can be. I also think the majority of the people commenting on those other sites are spoiled by the last decade under this ownership group and lack perspective.

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