Houston Astros Make Surprising Staff Change and Part With Legendary Base Coach

The Houston Astros are shaking things up around the base paths.

Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros are making a staff change and shaking things up around the base paths.

According to a report from USA Today baseball insider Bob Nightengale, the team is letting go of legendary third base coach Gary Pettis after a decade with the team, with Pettis having arrived prior to the 2015 season. Houston brass did not actually fire Pettis, but the result is the same as his contract was expiring and the team is electing not to renew it.

Beginning his coaching career just a few years after his time on the field ended, Pettis has coached for the Angels, the White Sox, the Mets, and the Rangers. During his ten seasons with the Astros, Pettis was a part of seven AL West titles, the seven consective ALCS appearances, four World Series appearances, and of course two championships. Lasting through three separate managers, Pettis experienced all of the highs and lows of this era of dominance from the team that was the most successful run in the history of the franchise.

In 2024, Houston had a 79 percent steal conversion, right on the nose of what the league average measures out to be. This was up two percent from the 2023 season where they fell three percent below the league average of 80 percent. Throughout the last decade, Houston has always been at the very least a solid base running team, and seeing Pettis not be brought back is unfortunate.

Pettis was a fantastic player in his own right throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, winning five Gold Glove awards in center field with the Angels, Tigers, and Rangers. He was never a force at the plate, but was known as an elite defender and a threat on the base paths with five seasons of 40 or more steals.

He has coached at the major league level for 27 years and will almost assuredly be able to find a job elsewhere if he chooses to do so. At 66 years old and having gotten used to coaching in Houston, retirement could also be on the table for Pettis.