On June 24, Jeff Bagwell hit three home runs against the Los Angeles Dodgers at the Astrodome – two in the same inning – in a 16–4 rout, becoming the first Astro since Glenn Davis in 1990 to do so. He was the NL Player of the Week for consecutive weeks on June 19 and June 26 and the NL Player of the Month for June, his second career monthly award.
Bagwell finished the 1994 season playing in 110 games and batting.368 with a.750 SLG, 1.201 OPS, 39 HR, 116 RBI, 104 runs scored, 300 total bases and 213 adjusted OPS in 400 at-bats. He led the major leagues in SLG, OPS+, RBI, and total bases, and the NL in runs scored and OPS, but fell short of winning the batting Triple Crown, finishing second for the batting title to Tony Gwynn, who, after batting.394, had the highest average in the major leagues since Ted Williams in 1941. Bagwell finished second in HR to Matt Williams, who hit 43. Bagwell set the record for the fewest plate appearances in a season with at least 100 runs and RBI and became the first National Leaguer to finish first or second in batting average, home runs, RBI, and runs scored since Willie Mays in. His.750 SLG at the time ranked as the seventh-best ever – it still ranks as the 11th best single-season mark in Major League history – and was the highest by a National Leaguer since Rogers Hornsby in 1925. He unanimously won the NL Most Valuable Player Award, becoming the fourth player in National League history to be unanimously voted the award, and the first Astros player to win the award. Bagwell also won his first Silver Slugger Award and Rawlings Gold Glove Award, and Player of the Year Awards from the Associated Press, Baseball Digest, and USA TodayBaseball Weekly. At the time, in National League history, the 213 OPS+ trailed only Hornsby's 1924 season for the second-highest ever; as of 2015, it was tied for 24th highest of all time in all major league seasons, and was the eighth highest among all not by Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth or Williams. Bagwell generated a.383 Isolated Power mark, the 16th-highest in history. Twelve of the 15 higher seasons belonged to Bonds, Ruth, and Mark McGwire. Seven of the ten seasons that exceeded his.750 SLG belonged to Bonds and Ruth. Bagwell's 10.26 at bats per home run ratio is the 25th-best in history. The 1.2009 OPS is the 20th-highest in history; 13 of the seasons that are higher belong to Bonds, Ruth and Williams. The 116 RBI in 110 games qualified for the 13th-highest ratio in history. Projecting Bagwell's totals to 162 games and 650 plate appearances, he was on pace to amass 47 doubles, 57 home runs, 170 RBI, 22 stolen bases, 95 walks, 216 hits, along with.451 OBP,.750 SLG, and 1.201 OPS. When leading off an inning, he batted.460,.514 OBP,.990 SLG, 1.504 OPS, 14 HR, nine doubles and a triple. He also hit 23 home runs in 56 games at the Astrodome, setting a record that stood for the stadium that was famed to be pitcher-friendly until the Astros moved out following the 1999 season. Bagwell's other totals in the Astrodome that season included a.373 batting average, 54 runs scored, 58 RBI,.816 SLG and 1.275 OPS. In 125 plate appearances against left-handed pitching, he batted.457 with 20 BB, 18 HR and 11 doubles for a.544 OBP, 1.095 SLG and 1.639 OPS. He set single-season club records for batting average, SLG, OPS, OPS+, AB/HR, and offensive win percentage, and also for home runs, breaking Wynn's 27-year-old record, and RBI, breaking Bob Watson's record he had set 17 years earlier – later which he again both subsequently broke. By Friday, August 12, the Astros had compiled a 66-49 record through 115 games. They were trailing the Cincinnati Reds by half a game for the NL Central Division lead and the Atlanta Braves by 2.5 games in the 1994 NL Wildcard Race. They had scored 602 runs and had allowed 503 runs. Offensively, the Astros led the Majors in doubles during the strike-shortened season intentional walks and sacrifice hits.
Game Log
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Opening Day lineup
Notable transactions
May 2, 1994: Mike Simms was signed as a free agent by the Astros.
May 31, 1994: Mitch Williams was released by the Astros.
