J.R. Richard
Encyclopedia
James Rodney Richard is a former right-handed starting pitcher
in Major League Baseball
who played his entire career, from 1971 to 1980, with the Houston Astros
.
After leaving high school, Richard was selected by the Astros as the second pick in the first round of the 1969 amateur draft
. From the time he made his major league debut with the Astros in 1971 until 1975, Richard had a limited role as an Astros pitcher, throwing no more than 72 innings
in a season. In 1975, Richard played his first full season in the majors as a starting pitcher.
From 1976 to 1980, he was one of the premier pitchers in the majors, leading the National League
twice in strikeout
s, once in earned run average
, and three times in hits allowed per nine innings, winning
at least 18 games each year. On July 30, 1980, Richard suffered a stroke
and collapsed while playing a game of catch before an Astros game, and was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery to remove a life-threatening blood clot
in his neck. His condition brought a sudden end to his major league career at the age of 30. His 313 strikeouts in 1979 remains an Astros franchise record, and he held the team's record for career strikeouts (1,493) until 1987.
In 1981, Richard attempted a comeback with the Astros, but this failed because the stroke had slowed down his reaction time and weakened his depth perception
. He spent the next few seasons in the minor leagues
before being released by the Astros in 1984. After his professional baseball career ended, Richard became involved in unsuccessful business deals and went through two divorces, which led to him being homeless and destitute in 1994. Richard found succor in a local church and later became a Christian minister.
, Louisiana
and gained prominence at Lincoln High School in nearby Ruston
in both baseball and basketball
. By the time he was a high school senior, Richard stood six feet, eight inches tall (2.03 m) and weighed 220 lb (99.8 kg; 15.7 st). That year, he was one of the starting pitchers for Lincoln High School and did not concede a run for the entire season. In one game Richard hit four consecutive home run
s while pitching his team to a 48–0 victory against its local rival, Jonesboro
's Jackson High School. Richard, whose baseball idol was St. Louis Cardinals
pitcher Bob Gibson
, never lost a game he started in his high school career. Upon graduating from high school, he turned down more than 200 basketball scholarship offers to sign with the Houston Astros. The Astros would later select him with the second overall pick in the 1969 amateur baseball draft, behind the Washington Senators
' selection of outfielder
Jeff Burroughs
. Richard later recalled, "There were other guys in my high school with as much ability as I had, but instead of working at a job, they wanted to drink wine on Saturday nights. They thought that was the in thing to do, and consequently our lives went in different directions. For some people it takes that to make a world. It does not for me."
team in the Appalachian League
. Richard started 12 games for Covington, finishing with five wins and four losses. Despite accumulating an average of 11.41 strikeouts per nine innings, Richard had trouble throughout the season with his pitching mechanics and control
. In 56 innings
, Richard struck out 71 batters but walked
52 and gave up 41 earned run
s, resulting in a 6.59 earned run average.
The following year, at 20 years of age, Richard was promoted to the Cocoa Astros of the Florida State League
in high-A minor league baseball. Richard again compiled a low hits per nine innings (H/9IP) ratio by giving up only 67 hits
in 109 total innings pitched. Despite his 4–11 win–loss record, Richard finished the season with a 2.39 ERA and even threw a no-hitter
against the Daytona Beach Dodgers. During the season, Richard was able to throw an accurate fastball
which occasionally exceeded 100 miles per hour, and his slider
93 miles per hour, faster than those of most major-league pitchers. During the 1970–71 off-season, the Astros again promoted Richard: this time to Class-AAA baseball
, one step below the major leagues, with the Oklahoma City 89ers of the now-defunct American Association
. Richard wore number 50 and kept that number for the rest of his minor-league and major-league career. Richard started all but one of the games he pitched that season. He pitched eight complete game
s and led the league with 202 strikeouts in 173 innings of work. He ended the season with twelve wins and seven losses before being called up by the Houston Astros.
against the San Francisco Giants
. Richard used his fastball–slider combination to pick up the win and tied Karl Spooner
's 17-year-old major league record for striking out 15 batters in his first major league start. Richard was charged with two earned runs and seven hits in the 5–3 Astros win but struck out Willie Mays
and Dick Dietz
three times.
Richard made his next start, after five days rest, against the Cincinnati Reds
, who would later finish the NL West season in a tie for fourth place with the Astros. Richard gave up a lead-off home run to Pete Rose
in the first inning and pitched five innings of the a two-hit, one-run game. He struck out five batters but walked six. Richard struggled in his two following starts. In a September 16 match-up against the Astros' division rival, the third-place Atlanta Braves
, Richard pitched seven innings and surrendered four runs on seven hits. He struck out nine batters and even struck out the side in the first inning but also walked four batters. Furthermore, he threw two wild pitch
es in the first and fifth innings. In his final game of the season, against the Giants, Richard was replaced in the first inning after pitching to only four batters.
19 games with the 89ers before being called back up to the Astros. In Triple-A baseball in the American Association, Richard finished with 10 wins and eight losses in 128 innings of work. His 3.02 ERA was slightly higher than that of the previous season, but he maintained approximately the same walks per nine innings ratio (BB/9IP) that he had the previous year. He recorded six complete games and finished with 169 strikeouts, for a ratio of 11.88 strikeouts per 9 innings. Richard re-entered the majors, starting a day game of a day-night doubleheader for the Astros against the San Diego Padres
on July 30, 1972. He struggled and took the 10–7 loss. Richard did not pitch again until two weeks later, when he entered in relief
for Ken Forsch
in the fifth inning to keep the Giants limited to a one-run lead. In two innings of relief, Richard gave up one hit, struck out three batters and garnered the win. In his two final relief appearances of the season, Richard gave up five earned runs in just over one inning of work. He finished the season with a 13.50 ERA in only six innings of work and was again sent back down to Triple-A, this time with the Astros-affiliated Denver Bears
.
Richard started eight games with the Bears in 1973 and posted minor league career-worsts in ERA and hits allowed per nine innings. Despite his poor performance with the Bears, Richard was again called up by the Astros. Richard entered in the fourth inning of a June 16 game against the St. Louis Cardinals and his idol Bob Gibson. He pitched four innings of one-run ball and three innings of a two-hit game in his next relief outing. Afterwards, the Astros placed Richard in the starting rotation, and he made his first major league start since July 30 of the previous year. He pitched six solid innings of a one-run ballgame and struck out six while walking three batters. Richard would make his next start four days later. Richard again pitched more than six innings but earned no decision after the Astros' bullpen
gave up nine runs during the bottom of the ninth inning.
After starting a July 4 game against the Braves
(which he won), Richard was sent into the bullpen to add Tom Griffin
into the Astros' starting rotation. He made three relief appearances against the Montreal Expos
before making a start against the Los Angeles Dodgers
on July 27. Four days later, Richard threw his first shutout
against the Dodgers, in which he gave up just five hits and struck out nine batters. Nineteen days later, Richard pitched another complete game, this time giving up two runs while striking out nine and walking three batters. He concluded the season with six wins and two losses in 16 total games, 10 of which he started. He finished with a 4.00 ERA, and struck out 75 batters in 72 innings. He walked 38 batters, giving him a ratio of 4.75 walks per nine innings, which was lower than the ratio he had had in his two previous minor league seasons.
Despite his improved performance in the 1973 season, Richard was sent down to work on his pitching mechanics and ball control in Class-AA baseball with the Columbus Astros
of the Southern League
. He started 13 games with Columbus before being moved back up to Class-AAA with the Denver Bears. In four starts with the Bears, Richard threw three shutouts and pitched 33 scoreless innings with a 4–0 record and 26 strikeouts. He was called back into the majors on July 13 and stayed with the Astros for the remainder of the season. He first pitched 14 innings of baseball in six relief appearances before being placed on the starting rotation. He then started in all nine of the games he pitched during the remainder of the season. Richard finished with a 4.18 ERA in just over 64 innings of work during the 15 pitching appearances he made during the season.
Even though Richard's statistics showed he bounced between Houston and the minors during his first four years with the Astros due to his wildness, he often told reporters that racism played a role in keeping him from becoming a regular with the big club sooner.
to the Cardinals, and lost pitching ace Don Wilson, who died from carbon monoxide poisoning
at the age of 29 on January 5, 1975. As a result, Richard entered the 1975 season as the third starter of the Astros' pitching rotation, behind veterans Larry Dierker
and Dave Roberts
. Richard was scheduled to start on April 9 versus the Braves. He was removed from the game in the fifth inning after jamming his toe on the first base bag but gave up no earned runs in his start. Richard continued to exhibit wildness, as shown when he issued eight walks in both his third and fourth starts of the season. He followed by pitching a complete game win against the San Diego Padres on April 29. The following start, he walked a career-high eleven batters in just six innings of pitching and also gave up seven runs in the Astros' 12–8 win over the Giants. By the All-Star break, Richard had six wins and four losses with a 4.93 ERA in just over 98 innings of work.
In an August 10 game against the Pittsburgh Pirates
, Richard yielded just one hit in six innings but walked 10 batters. He rebounded with a complete game shutout against the New York Mets
eight days later. Richard ended the season on a strong note by winning three of his last four starts, including his final two games against the Dodgers. He finished the year with a 12–10 record for the Astros, who finished with a franchise-worst 64–97 record. Richard was the only starter on the Astros' pitching staff who had a winning record for the season. He led the team with 176 strikeouts, which was also the fifth-highest in the National League. Richard also led the league in walks allowed and wild pitches thrown, with 138 and 20, respectively.
and took over Larry Dierker's position as the Opening Day
starter for the Astros. In his first start of the season, Richard gave up four runs in four innings against the defending World Series
champion Cincinnati Reds on April 8. He followed this inauspicious beginning with wins in five of his next six decisions. One of them included a 10-inning shutout effort that led to a 16-inning 1–0 Astros victory against the Dodgers. By the end of May, however, Richard was sitting even with a 5–5 record, loser of four straight decisions. He closed the first half of the season by winning a 10-inning shutout against the Mets on July 6, and an eight-inning start against the Expos four days later. At the All-Star break, Richard had a 9–9 record with a 2.88 ERA in over 153 innings of work.
From July 10 to August 31, Richard racked up eight complete games, including one shutout, and he improved his record from 9–9 to 16–13. He pitched 98 innings and yielded only 22 earned runs, which gave him an ERA of 2.02 during the approximately 50-day span. On August 26, Richard hit his first home run of the season during the second inning of the game. In his last game of the season on October 2, Richard pitched a complete game 13-strikeout performance, and he also hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning.
Richard finished the season with a 20–15 record, 14 complete games, three shutouts, and 214 strikeouts in 291 innings of work. At age 26, Richard became only the second pitcher in Astros' history (after Dierker in 1969) to record 20 wins in a season, tying him for fourth in the NL that year. Richard also became the ninth member of the Black Aces
, an organization founded by Mudcat Grant
that consists of all African American
pitchers who have won at least 20 major league games in a season. He was named the Most Valuable Player
of the Astros by the Houston
chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America
(BBWAA). Richard finished 17th in MVP Award voting and seventh in the NL's Cy Young Award voting. His 2.75 ERA was the seventh-best among the league's starting pitchers, and he held hitters to a 0.212 batting average. He led the league in lowest number of hits allowed per nine innings and in walks allowed; Richard also finished the season second in batters faced, innings pitched and games started. In addition, he led all NL pitchers with 14 hits, two home runs, and nine runs batted in
as a hitter. However, during the year he committed ten errors
and finished with an 0.853 fielding percentage
, nearly 0.100 lower than the league average.
Richard began the 1977 season on a high note with a nine-inning, seven-strikeout performance on April 8 against the Braves. He pitched seven complete game victories in the first half of the season. By the All-Star break, Richard had nine wins and six losses in over 160 innings of work, accompanied by 119 strikeouts and a 2.69 ERA. Although Richard struggled through July and early August, he did manage to pitch three complete games (including two shutouts) in five starts from August 27 to September 17. He had 11 and 10 strikeouts respectively in the final two starts of that roughly 20-day span.
Richard closed out the season with two complete games, the first against the Braves on September 27, and the second against the Dodgers on October 2. He had a season-high 14 strikeouts in his final start, which tied Steve Carlton
's season-high mark. Richard concluded the season on a high note by winning nine of his last twelve decisions. At the end of the season, he led the Astros' pitching staff in wins, starts, complete games, innings pitched, walks and strikeouts. He had 18 wins and 12 losses in 267 innings pitched and posted a 2.97 ERA and 214 strikeouts. For the first time since becoming a permanent member of the Astros' starting rotation, Richard was not the league leader in walks allowed, but as he had done in 1976, he led the league in wild pitches. He finished fourth in the league with 13 complete games, and he improved his fielding from the previous season by going through an error-free season.
Richard hit well for a pitcher, going 20-for-87 in the season with two triples, two home runs and seven runs batted in. After the season was completed, Richard underwent an emergency appendicectomy
on October 26, 1977 at a Houston hospital. He spent most of the off-season working out at the Houston Astrodome
and, for relaxation, fishing
. In early 1978, he was a participant in ABC's
Superstars
all-around sports competition.
starter. In the first game of the season, he gave up seven runs on 11 hits and just made it into the fifth inning before being replaced in a loss to the Cincinnati Reds. He recovered from the loss by pitching a complete game two-hit shutout in his next outing against the Dodgers. In an eight-start period from April 26 to June 4, Richard threw six complete games, including two back-to-back shutouts, and lowered his ERA from 4.15 to 3.05. He struck out 67 and gave up only 39 hits in the 63 total innings he pitched. On a June 9 start against the Cardinals, Richard struck out 12 batters but also walked six and gave up five earned runs. By the end of the first half of the season Richard had pitched back-to-back games with nine and 12 strikeout performances, against the Reds
and Dodgers
, respectively. At the All-Star break, he had an 8–9 record with a 3.49 ERA but also had 157 strikeouts in 139 innings of work.
After the break, Richard threw an 11-inning, 10-strikeout game against the Expos and followed with two complete games and another nine-inning performance in a game that went into extra innings. He was selected as the National League Pitcher of the Month
after going a perfect 4–0 with a 1.29 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 56 innings during July. Throughout much of August, his season ERA hovered below 3.00, and he averaged well over a strikeout per inning. On August 21, in an 8–3 victory over the Chicago Cubs
, he broke Don Wilson's 1969 club record of 235 strikeouts. In the final two months of the season, Richard's strikeout average dramatically increased, and he struck out a double-digit number of batters in three of his last five starts. In his third-to-last start, Richard broke Tom Seaver
's NL record of 290 strikeouts by a right-hander when he struck out Bob Horner. In his final outing of the season, Richard reached the 300-strikeout pinnacle by striking out Rowland Office
in a September 28 victory over the Braves. He also hit his seventh career home run, making him the Astros' career leader in home runs by a pitcher. At that time, he became only the tenth pitcher, third National Leaguer and first NL right-hander in history to strike out more than 300 batters in a single season.
Richard finished the season with 18 wins, 11 losses and a 3.11 ERA. He led the team's pitching staff in innings pitched, starts, complete games, shutouts, hits allowed, earned runs, walks allowed and strikeouts. He held batters to a .156 batting average at home and a .196 average overall, which was the lowest in the NL. Richard again fared well in the field, finishing with three errors and a 0.957 fielding percentage, slightly higher than the 0.950 league average. He finished fourth in the Cy Young Award voting, behind Gaylord Perry
, Burt Hooton
and Vida Blue
. He finished atop the league in strikeouts per nine innings (9.90), fewest hits allowed per nine innings (6.28), walks (141), and wild pitches (16).
He finished the season with 18–13 record and a league-best 2.71 ERA.
He struck out 10 or more batters 14 times in the season, and totaled a league-leading 313 strikeouts for the season, breaking his own club record. Richard joined Nolan Ryan
and Sandy Koufax
as the only modern-day pitchers to strike out over 300 batters in consecutive seasons. He led the club in ERA, complete games and innings pitched and tied Joe Niekro
in number of games started. He gave up 220 hits in the season, which gave him a league-best 6.77 hits per nine innings ratio. He again led the league by limiting the opposing hitters' batting averages to .209 that year. Richard finished fifth in the league in walks allowed, with his first sub-100 total since he became a mainstay starter with the Astros. He also led the league with a 9.64 strikeouts per nine innings ratio. Richard finished 19th in National League MVP Award voting and third in Cy Young Award voting, behind winner Bruce Sutter
and teammate Joe Niekro, who had 21 wins and a 3.00 ERA that season. Richard fared slightly worse in batting and fielding, finishing with a .126 batting average and a .902 fielding percentage and five errors. On October 11, Richard signed a four-year contract with the Astros.
strikeout champion Nolan Ryan, who had joined the Astros as a free agent. During the first half of the season, Richard was virtually unhittable, starting the year with five straight wins, 48 strikeouts (including two starts with 12 and 13 strikeouts), and a sub-2.00 ERA. He was named National League Pitcher of the Month for April. At one point, Richard threw three straight complete-game shutouts, two against the Giants and one against the Cubs. On July 3, he broke Dierker's team record of 1487 career strikeouts in a 5–3 win over the Braves; it was to be Richard's last major league victory. After finishing the first half of the season with a 10–4 record, 115 strikeouts and a 1.96 ERA, Richard was selected to be the National League's starting pitcher in the All-Star Game on July 8, but he pitched just two innings due to various back and shoulder problems. As the season progressed, Richard began to complain of a "dead arm", citing discomfort in his shoulder and forearm. His concerns fell on deaf ears. Some in the media even interpreted these complaints as whining or malingering, citing Richard's reputation for moodiness. Others theorized that Richard was egotistical and could not handle the pressure of pitching for the Astros, while others suggested he was jealous of Ryan's $4.5 million contract.
During his next start on July 14 against the Braves, Richard was pitching well and even struck out the side in the second inning, but had trouble seeing catcher
Alan Ashby
's signs and also had difficulty moving his arm. He left the game in the fourth inning after throwing a fastball and feeling his right arm go "dead". He had numbness in the fingers of his right hand and could not grasp a baseball. The Astros placed Richard on the 21-day disabled list. As it turned out, it would be his last major league game.
Nine days later, he checked into Methodist Hospital
in Houston for a series of physical and psychological tests to determine the cause of his mysterious arm problems. An angiogram
revealed an obstruction in the distal subclavian
and axillary arteries
of the right arm. Richard's blood pressure in his left arm was normal but pressure was nearly absent in his right arm due to the completely obstructed artery. On July 25, however, the arteries in his neck were studied, and the doctors reached a conclusion that all was normal and no surgical treatment needed to be performed.
On July 30, Richard went to see a chiropractor
who rotated his neck to fix the flow of blood in his upper torso region. Later that day, Richard was participating in warm-ups before the game when he suffered a major stroke and collapsed in the outfield. Before the stroke, he had a headache and a feeling of weakness through his body. Eventually, that progressed into vision problems and paralysis in the left side of his body. A massive blockage in his right carotid artery necessitated emergency surgery that evening. An examination by neurologist
William S. Fields showed that Richard was still experiencing weakness in his extremities and on the left side of his face. He also had blurred vision through his left eye. A CAT scan
of Richard's brain later showed that Richard had experienced three separate strokes from the different obstructions in his arterial system. Furthermore, the arteries in his right arm were still obstructed. Later examinations showed that Richard was suffering from extensive arterial thoracic outlet syndrome
. While pitching, his clavicle
and first rib
pinched his subclavian artery
. As a result of this problem, Richard would feel normal for the first few innings of the game but after putting repeated pressure on his subclavian artery, his arm would start to ache in pain and eventually start to feel "heavy". His wife at the time, Carolyn, told reporters, "It took death, or nearly death, to get an apology. They should have believed him."
Richard underwent rehabilitation and missed the rest of the season. Meanwhile, the Astros recovered from the loss of one of their staff aces and qualified for the playoffs
for the first time in the club's 18-year history.
team, participating regularly in pitching and batting practice with both towards the end of the baseball season. After pitching in a few simulated games, Richard was placed on the 40-man active roster
on September 1, 1981. Astros manager Bill Virdon
thought Richard was not ready to return, so Richard did not pitch with the team during the last two months of the season.
The following year, Richard pitched in a single spring training
game and then went into extended spring training in Sarasota
, Florida
, during the first two months of the season. There he registered three wins and two losses and a 3.38 ERA in seven starts with thirty-two total innings. Afterwards, he joined the major league rehabilitation program with the Daytona Beach Astros of the Florida State League. In his six starts, Richard notched three wins, two complete games and posted a 2.79 ERA. He was then promoted to Triple-A baseball with the Tucson Toros
of the Pacific Coast League
. He struggled to control the ball, conceding a high number of runs to opposing teams. He took a loss on August 12 against the Phoenix Giants and on August 27 against the Salt Lake City Gulls
in a 13–0 rout. His longest outing as a starter—more than five innings—was an appearance against the Giants in the last game of the season on September 1. He then joined the Astros' extended roster but did not play in any games.
In 1983, Richard started to complain of pain in his left calf. The synthetic graft inserted in his July 1980 surgery had closed off, which meant that he needed a surgical bypass
in his left leg. Richard was granted free agency by the Astros on November 7, 1983, but the Astros still had faith in him, so he was re-signed on February 17 of the following year. Just a little over two months later, he was released by the Astros, thus ending his baseball career. Despite an almost complete recovery, the risk of future complications was so great that he never pitched again. His final major league record was 107–71, with 1,493 strikeouts and a 3.15 ERA in 238 games and 1,606 innings. Nolan Ryan broke his Astros record for career strikeouts in 1987.
Source:
300,000 in the deal. A few years later, Richard paid US $669,000 in a divorce settlement to his ex-wife, Carolyn. He married and divorced again, losing his suburban Houston home and most of his money. In 1989, Richard was drafted into the Senior Professional Baseball Association
and played for the Orlando Juice
but was cut from the team in pre-season play. In the winter of 1994, Richard was homeless and destitute and lived under a bridge in Houston. The savage pit of homelessness that Richard fell into was a tragic demise for a former Major League baseball star but he learned to deal with it with pride and dignity.
By 1995, Richard was eligible for his major league baseball pension
. He participated in the Old-Timers' Day
game with the Astros in the same year. In the following months, after spending many nights under the overpass Highway 59 at Beechnut Road in Houston, he turned to the Now Testament Church and sought help from its minister, Reverend Floyd Lewis. Richard overcame his homelessness by working with this minister, with a belief that he "always knew God was on his side". Richard started working at an asphalt company and later returned to the church as a minister.
Richard became involved in the Houston community and started working with local financial donors to help establish baseball programs for children. A small-budget 2005 movie, Resurrection: The J.R. Richard Story, depicted Richard's baseball career as well as his life after baseball.
Starting pitcher
In baseball or softball, a starting pitcher is the pitcher who delivers the first pitch to the first batter of a game. A pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a relief pitcher....
in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
who played his entire career, from 1971 to 1980, with the Houston Astros
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
.
After leaving high school, Richard was selected by the Astros as the second pick in the first round of the 1969 amateur draft
1969 Major League Baseball Draft
-First round selections:The following are the first round picks in the 1969 Major League Baseball draft.* Did not sign- Background :The Washington Senators tabbed slugging outfielder Jeff Burroughs of Wilson High School in Long Beach, CA as the nation's number one pick...
. From the time he made his major league debut with the Astros in 1971 until 1975, Richard had a limited role as an Astros pitcher, throwing no more than 72 innings
Innings pitched
In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two...
in a season. In 1975, Richard played his first full season in the majors as a starting pitcher.
From 1976 to 1980, he was one of the premier pitchers in the majors, leading the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
twice in strikeout
Strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....
s, once in earned run average
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
, and three times in hits allowed per nine innings, winning
Win (baseball)
In professional baseball, there are two types of decisions: a win and a loss . In each game, one pitcher on the winning team is awarded a win and one pitcher on the losing team is given a loss in their respective statistics. These pitchers are collectively known as the pitchers of record. Only...
at least 18 games each year. On July 30, 1980, Richard suffered a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
and collapsed while playing a game of catch before an Astros game, and was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery to remove a life-threatening blood clot
Thrombus
A thrombus , or blood clot, is the final product of the blood coagulation step in hemostasis. It is achieved via the aggregation of platelets that form a platelet plug, and the activation of the humoral coagulation system...
in his neck. His condition brought a sudden end to his major league career at the age of 30. His 313 strikeouts in 1979 remains an Astros franchise record, and he held the team's record for career strikeouts (1,493) until 1987.
In 1981, Richard attempted a comeback with the Astros, but this failed because the stroke had slowed down his reaction time and weakened his depth perception
Depth perception
Depth perception is the visual ability to perceive the world in three dimensions and the distance of an object. Depth sensation is the ability to move accurately, or to respond consistently, based on the distances of objects in an environment....
. He spent the next few seasons in the minor leagues
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
before being released by the Astros in 1984. After his professional baseball career ended, Richard became involved in unsuccessful business deals and went through two divorces, which led to him being homeless and destitute in 1994. Richard found succor in a local church and later became a Christian minister.
Early life
Richard was born to Clayton and Lizzie (née Frost) Richard in ViennaVienna, Louisiana
Vienna is a town in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 424 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Ruston Micropolitan Statistical Area....
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
and gained prominence at Lincoln High School in nearby Ruston
Ruston, Louisiana
Ruston is a city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,546 at the 2000 census. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Its economy caters to its college population...
in both baseball and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
. By the time he was a high school senior, Richard stood six feet, eight inches tall (2.03 m) and weighed 220 lb (99.8 kg; 15.7 st). That year, he was one of the starting pitchers for Lincoln High School and did not concede a run for the entire season. In one game Richard hit four consecutive home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s while pitching his team to a 48–0 victory against its local rival, Jonesboro
Jonesboro, Louisiana
Jonesboro is a town in and the parish seat of Jackson Parish in the northern portion of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 3,914 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Ruston Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
's Jackson High School. Richard, whose baseball idol was St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
pitcher Bob Gibson
Bob Gibson
Robert "Bob" Gibson is a retired American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Hoot" and "Gibby", he was a right-handed pitcher who played his entire 17-year Major League Baseball career with St. Louis Cardinals...
, never lost a game he started in his high school career. Upon graduating from high school, he turned down more than 200 basketball scholarship offers to sign with the Houston Astros. The Astros would later select him with the second overall pick in the 1969 amateur baseball draft, behind the Washington Senators
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
' selection of outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
Jeff Burroughs
Jeff Burroughs
Jeffrey Alan Burroughs is a former player in Major League Baseball. From through , he played for the Washington Senators , Texas Rangers , Atlanta Braves , Seattle Mariners , Oakland Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays . Burroughs batted and threw right-handed...
. Richard later recalled, "There were other guys in my high school with as much ability as I had, but instead of working at a job, they wanted to drink wine on Saturday nights. They thought that was the in thing to do, and consequently our lives went in different directions. For some people it takes that to make a world. It does not for me."
Early minor league career
After the Astros drafted Richard, they sent him to play for the Covington Astros, a rookie-level minor league baseballMinor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
team in the Appalachian League
Appalachian League
The Appalachian League is a Rookie-class minor league that began play in 1937 with one year of inactivity in 1956. From 1937 to 1962, it was a Class D League. Teams are located in the Appalachian regions of Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia and Tennessee...
. Richard started 12 games for Covington, finishing with five wins and four losses. Despite accumulating an average of 11.41 strikeouts per nine innings, Richard had trouble throughout the season with his pitching mechanics and control
Strike zone
In baseball, the strike zone is a conceptual right pentagonal prism over home plate which defines the boundaries through which a pitch must pass in order to count as a strike when the batter does not swing.-Definition:...
. In 56 innings
Innings pitched
In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two...
, Richard struck out 71 batters but walked
Base on balls
A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...
52 and gave up 41 earned run
Earned run
In baseball, an earned run is any run for which the pitcher is held accountable . Any runner who tags his base and reaches home plate is scored against the pitcher as an earned run...
s, resulting in a 6.59 earned run average.
The following year, at 20 years of age, Richard was promoted to the Cocoa Astros of the Florida State League
Florida State League
The Florida State League is a Class A-Advanced minor league baseball league operating in the state of Florida. They are one of three leagues currently operating in Class A-Advanced, the third highest of six classifications of minor leagues...
in high-A minor league baseball. Richard again compiled a low hits per nine innings (H/9IP) ratio by giving up only 67 hits
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
in 109 total innings pitched. Despite his 4–11 win–loss record, Richard finished the season with a 2.39 ERA and even threw a no-hitter
No-hitter
A no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...
against the Daytona Beach Dodgers. During the season, Richard was able to throw an accurate fastball
Fastball
The fastball is the most common type of pitch in baseball. Some "power pitchers," such as Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, have thrown it at speeds of 95–106 mph and up to 108.1 mph , relying purely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit...
which occasionally exceeded 100 miles per hour, and his slider
Slider
In baseball, a slider is a pitch that breaks laterally and down, with a speed between that of a curveball and that of a fastball....
93 miles per hour, faster than those of most major-league pitchers. During the 1970–71 off-season, the Astros again promoted Richard: this time to Class-AAA baseball
AAA (baseball)
Triple-A refers to the highest level of play in minor league baseball in the United States and Mexico.-Purpose:Triple-A teams' main purpose is to prepare players for the Major Leagues:...
, one step below the major leagues, with the Oklahoma City 89ers of the now-defunct American Association
American Association (20th century)
The American Association was a minor league baseball league at the Triple-A level of baseball in the United States from to and to . Together with the International League, it contested the Junior World Series which determined the championship team in minor league baseball, at least for the...
. Richard wore number 50 and kept that number for the rest of his minor-league and major-league career. Richard started all but one of the games he pitched that season. He pitched eight complete game
Complete game
In baseball, a complete game is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher.As demonstrated by the charts below, in the early 20th century, it was common for most good Major League Baseball pitchers to pitch a complete game almost every start. Pitchers were...
s and led the league with 202 strikeouts in 173 innings of work. He ended the season with twelve wins and seven losses before being called up by the Houston Astros.
1971 season
Richard entered Major League Baseball with the Astros in 1971 as a September call-up. On September 5, Richard made his major league debut at just 21 years of age, in the second game of a doubleheaderDoubleheader (baseball)
A doubleheader is a set of two baseball games played between the same two teams on the same day in front of the same crowd. In addition, the term is often used unofficially to refer to a pair of games played by a team in a single day, but in front of different crowds and not in immediate...
against the San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
. Richard used his fastball–slider combination to pick up the win and tied Karl Spooner
Karl Spooner
Karl Benjamin Spooner was a Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher....
's 17-year-old major league record for striking out 15 batters in his first major league start. Richard was charged with two earned runs and seven hits in the 5–3 Astros win but struck out Willie Mays
Willie Mays
Willie Howard Mays, Jr. is a retired American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his...
and Dick Dietz
Dick Dietz
Richard Allen Dietz was an American catcher in Major League Baseball who played for the San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Atlanta Braves from 1966 to 1973. Born in Crawfordsville, Indiana, Dietz enjoyed his best season in 1970 with the Giants, when he batted .300 with 22 home runs and...
three times.
Richard made his next start, after five days rest, against the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
, who would later finish the NL West season in a tie for fourth place with the Astros. Richard gave up a lead-off home run to Pete Rose
Pete Rose
Peter Edward Rose , nicknamed "Charlie Hustle", is a former Major League Baseball player and manager. Rose played from 1963 to 1986, and managed from 1984 to 1989....
in the first inning and pitched five innings of the a two-hit, one-run game. He struck out five batters but walked six. Richard struggled in his two following starts. In a September 16 match-up against the Astros' division rival, the third-place Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
, Richard pitched seven innings and surrendered four runs on seven hits. He struck out nine batters and even struck out the side in the first inning but also walked four batters. Furthermore, he threw two wild pitch
Wild pitch
In baseball, a wild pitch is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, perhaps even the batter-runner on strike three or ball four, to advance.A wild pitch usually...
es in the first and fifth innings. In his final game of the season, against the Giants, Richard was replaced in the first inning after pitching to only four batters.
In and out of the minors
During the next few seasons, Richard split time between the minors and majors and did not become a regular starter with the Astros until 1975. After his "cup of coffee" with the Astros in 1971, Richard was sent back down to Class-AAA baseball to work on his pitching with the Oklahoma City 89ers for the 1972 season. He startedGames started
In baseball statistics, games started indicates the number of games that a pitcher has started for his team. A pitcher is credited with starting the game if he faces the first opposing batter...
19 games with the 89ers before being called back up to the Astros. In Triple-A baseball in the American Association, Richard finished with 10 wins and eight losses in 128 innings of work. His 3.02 ERA was slightly higher than that of the previous season, but he maintained approximately the same walks per nine innings ratio (BB/9IP) that he had the previous year. He recorded six complete games and finished with 169 strikeouts, for a ratio of 11.88 strikeouts per 9 innings. Richard re-entered the majors, starting a day game of a day-night doubleheader for the Astros against the San Diego Padres
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...
on July 30, 1972. He struggled and took the 10–7 loss. Richard did not pitch again until two weeks later, when he entered in relief
Relief pitcher
A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...
for Ken Forsch
Ken Forsch
Kenneth Roth Forsch is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Forsch graduated from Hiram Johnson High School and played in college ball at Oregon State University through the 1967-1968 seasons. While at Oregon State University, he was an active member in Beta Theta Pi fraternity...
in the fifth inning to keep the Giants limited to a one-run lead. In two innings of relief, Richard gave up one hit, struck out three batters and garnered the win. In his two final relief appearances of the season, Richard gave up five earned runs in just over one inning of work. He finished the season with a 13.50 ERA in only six innings of work and was again sent back down to Triple-A, this time with the Astros-affiliated Denver Bears
New Orleans Zephyrs
The New Orleans Zephyrs are a minor league baseball team based in Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. The Zephyrs play in the Pacific Coast League and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. The Zephyrs play their home games at Zephyr Field....
.
Richard started eight games with the Bears in 1973 and posted minor league career-worsts in ERA and hits allowed per nine innings. Despite his poor performance with the Bears, Richard was again called up by the Astros. Richard entered in the fourth inning of a June 16 game against the St. Louis Cardinals and his idol Bob Gibson. He pitched four innings of one-run ball and three innings of a two-hit game in his next relief outing. Afterwards, the Astros placed Richard in the starting rotation, and he made his first major league start since July 30 of the previous year. He pitched six solid innings of a one-run ballgame and struck out six while walking three batters. Richard would make his next start four days later. Richard again pitched more than six innings but earned no decision after the Astros' bullpen
Bullpen
In baseball, the bullpen is the area where relief pitchers warm-up before entering a game. Depending on the ballpark, it may be situated in foul territory along the baselines or just beyond the outfield fence. Also, a team's roster of relief pitchers is metonymically referred to as "the bullpen"...
gave up nine runs during the bottom of the ninth inning.
After starting a July 4 game against the Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
(which he won), Richard was sent into the bullpen to add Tom Griffin
Tom Griffin (baseball)
Thomas James Griffin is a former professional baseball pitcher. He played all or part of fourteen seasons in Major League Baseball, from 1969–82, for the Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, California Angels, San Francisco Giants, and Pittsburgh Pirates.-External links:...
into the Astros' starting rotation. He made three relief appearances against the Montreal Expos
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of the National League of Major League Baseball . The team moved into the newly built Nationals Park in 2008, after playing their first three seasons in RFK Stadium...
before making a start against the Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
on July 27. Four days later, Richard threw his first shutout
Shutout
In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....
against the Dodgers, in which he gave up just five hits and struck out nine batters. Nineteen days later, Richard pitched another complete game, this time giving up two runs while striking out nine and walking three batters. He concluded the season with six wins and two losses in 16 total games, 10 of which he started. He finished with a 4.00 ERA, and struck out 75 batters in 72 innings. He walked 38 batters, giving him a ratio of 4.75 walks per nine innings, which was lower than the ratio he had had in his two previous minor league seasons.
Despite his improved performance in the 1973 season, Richard was sent down to work on his pitching mechanics and ball control in Class-AA baseball with the Columbus Astros
Carolina Mudcats
The Carolina Mudcats are a minor league baseball team based in the eastern suburbs of Raleigh, North Carolina. The team, which plays in the Carolina League, are the Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians major-league club beginning in 2012.-History:...
of the Southern League
Southern League (baseball)
The Southern League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the Southern United States. It is classified a Double-A league. The original league was formed in , and shut down in . A new league, the Southern Association, was formed in , consisting of twelve teams...
. He started 13 games with Columbus before being moved back up to Class-AAA with the Denver Bears. In four starts with the Bears, Richard threw three shutouts and pitched 33 scoreless innings with a 4–0 record and 26 strikeouts. He was called back into the majors on July 13 and stayed with the Astros for the remainder of the season. He first pitched 14 innings of baseball in six relief appearances before being placed on the starting rotation. He then started in all nine of the games he pitched during the remainder of the season. Richard finished with a 4.18 ERA in just over 64 innings of work during the 15 pitching appearances he made during the season.
Even though Richard's statistics showed he bounced between Houston and the minors during his first four years with the Astros due to his wildness, he often told reporters that racism played a role in keeping him from becoming a regular with the big club sooner.
Mainstay with the Astros
In the off-season, the Astros traded starting pitcher Claude OsteenClaude Osteen
Claude Wilson Osteen , nicknamed "Gomer" because of his resemblance to Gomer Pyle, is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched for six different teams: the Cincinnati Redlegs/Reds , Washington Senators , Los Angeles Dodgers , Houston Astros , St...
to the Cardinals, and lost pitching ace Don Wilson, who died from carbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs after enough inhalation of carbon monoxide . Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas, but, being colorless, odorless, tasteless, and initially non-irritating, it is very difficult for people to detect...
at the age of 29 on January 5, 1975. As a result, Richard entered the 1975 season as the third starter of the Astros' pitching rotation, behind veterans Larry Dierker
Larry Dierker
Lawrence Edward Dierker is a former Major League Baseball pitcher and manager. During a 14-year baseball career as a pitcher, he pitched from 1964–1977 for the Houston Colt .45s/Astros and the St. Louis Cardinals...
and Dave Roberts
Dave Roberts (pitcher)
David Arthur Roberts was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for eight teams from 1969 to 1981. He was second in the National League with a 2.10 earned run average in for the San Diego Padres, after which he was traded to the Houston Astros, where he spent the...
. Richard was scheduled to start on April 9 versus the Braves. He was removed from the game in the fifth inning after jamming his toe on the first base bag but gave up no earned runs in his start. Richard continued to exhibit wildness, as shown when he issued eight walks in both his third and fourth starts of the season. He followed by pitching a complete game win against the San Diego Padres on April 29. The following start, he walked a career-high eleven batters in just six innings of pitching and also gave up seven runs in the Astros' 12–8 win over the Giants. By the All-Star break, Richard had six wins and four losses with a 4.93 ERA in just over 98 innings of work.
In an August 10 game against the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
, Richard yielded just one hit in six innings but walked 10 batters. He rebounded with a complete game shutout against the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
eight days later. Richard ended the season on a strong note by winning three of his last four starts, including his final two games against the Dodgers. He finished the year with a 12–10 record for the Astros, who finished with a franchise-worst 64–97 record. Richard was the only starter on the Astros' pitching staff who had a winning record for the season. He led the team with 176 strikeouts, which was also the fifth-highest in the National League. Richard also led the league in walks allowed and wild pitches thrown, with 138 and 20, respectively.
Breakout season
Richard entered the 1976 season as the pitching staff aceAce (baseball)
In baseball, an ace is the best starting pitcher of any team and nearly always the first pitcher in his starting rotation. Barring injury or exceptional circumstances, an ace usually always starts on Opening Day...
and took over Larry Dierker's position as the Opening Day
Opening Day
Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball and most of the minor leagues, this day falls during the first week of April. For baseball fans, Opening Day serves as a symbol of rebirth; writer Thomas Boswell once penned a book...
starter for the Astros. In his first start of the season, Richard gave up four runs in four innings against the defending World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
champion Cincinnati Reds on April 8. He followed this inauspicious beginning with wins in five of his next six decisions. One of them included a 10-inning shutout effort that led to a 16-inning 1–0 Astros victory against the Dodgers. By the end of May, however, Richard was sitting even with a 5–5 record, loser of four straight decisions. He closed the first half of the season by winning a 10-inning shutout against the Mets on July 6, and an eight-inning start against the Expos four days later. At the All-Star break, Richard had a 9–9 record with a 2.88 ERA in over 153 innings of work.
From July 10 to August 31, Richard racked up eight complete games, including one shutout, and he improved his record from 9–9 to 16–13. He pitched 98 innings and yielded only 22 earned runs, which gave him an ERA of 2.02 during the approximately 50-day span. On August 26, Richard hit his first home run of the season during the second inning of the game. In his last game of the season on October 2, Richard pitched a complete game 13-strikeout performance, and he also hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning.
Richard finished the season with a 20–15 record, 14 complete games, three shutouts, and 214 strikeouts in 291 innings of work. At age 26, Richard became only the second pitcher in Astros' history (after Dierker in 1969) to record 20 wins in a season, tying him for fourth in the NL that year. Richard also became the ninth member of the Black Aces
Black Aces
The Black Aces is a book written by former Major League pitcher James "Mudcat" Grant about the only African American pitchers who have won at least 20 Major League Baseball games in a single season. Some black pitchers from Latin America, notably Luis Tiant, have expressed disappointment that they...
, an organization founded by Mudcat Grant
Mudcat Grant
James Timothy "Mudcat" Grant is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Cleveland Indians , Minnesota Twins , Los Angeles Dodgers , Montreal Expos , St. Louis Cardinals , Oakland Athletics and Pittsburgh Pirates...
that consists of all African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
pitchers who have won at least 20 major league games in a season. He was named the Most Valuable Player
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
of the Astros by the Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America
Baseball Writers Association of America
The Baseball Writers' Association of America is a professional association for baseball journalists writing for daily newspapers, magazines and qualifying Web sites. The BBWAA was founded on October 14, 1908, to improve working conditions for sportswriters in the early part of the 20th century...
(BBWAA). Richard finished 17th in MVP Award voting and seventh in the NL's Cy Young Award voting. His 2.75 ERA was the seventh-best among the league's starting pitchers, and he held hitters to a 0.212 batting average. He led the league in lowest number of hits allowed per nine innings and in walks allowed; Richard also finished the season second in batters faced, innings pitched and games started. In addition, he led all NL pitchers with 14 hits, two home runs, and nine runs batted in
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
as a hitter. However, during the year he committed ten errors
Error (baseball)
In baseball statistics, an error is the act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance would have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder.The term ...
and finished with an 0.853 fielding percentage
Fielding percentage
In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball...
, nearly 0.100 lower than the league average.
1977 season
Richard closed out the season with two complete games, the first against the Braves on September 27, and the second against the Dodgers on October 2. He had a season-high 14 strikeouts in his final start, which tied Steve Carlton
Steve Carlton
Steven Norman Carlton , nicknamed "Lefty", is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched from 1965-1988 for six different teams in his career, but it is his time with the Philadelphia Phillies where he received his greatest acclaim as a professional and won four Cy Young Awards...
's season-high mark. Richard concluded the season on a high note by winning nine of his last twelve decisions. At the end of the season, he led the Astros' pitching staff in wins, starts, complete games, innings pitched, walks and strikeouts. He had 18 wins and 12 losses in 267 innings pitched and posted a 2.97 ERA and 214 strikeouts. For the first time since becoming a permanent member of the Astros' starting rotation, Richard was not the league leader in walks allowed, but as he had done in 1976, he led the league in wild pitches. He finished fourth in the league with 13 complete games, and he improved his fielding from the previous season by going through an error-free season.
Richard hit well for a pitcher, going 20-for-87 in the season with two triples, two home runs and seven runs batted in. After the season was completed, Richard underwent an emergency appendicectomy
Appendicectomy
An appendectomy is the surgical removal of the vermiform appendix. This procedure is normally performed as an emergency procedure, when the patient is suffering from acute appendicitis...
on October 26, 1977 at a Houston hospital. He spent most of the off-season working out at the Houston Astrodome
Reliant Astrodome
Reliant Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas, USA. The stadium is part of the Reliant Park complex...
and, for relaxation, fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
. In early 1978, he was a participant in ABC's
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
Superstars
Superstars
Superstars is an all-around sports competition that pits elite athletes from different sports against one another in a series of athletic events resembling a decathlon....
all-around sports competition.
Record-setting year
Richard entered the 1978 season as the Astros' Opening DayOpening Day
Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball and most of the minor leagues, this day falls during the first week of April. For baseball fans, Opening Day serves as a symbol of rebirth; writer Thomas Boswell once penned a book...
starter. In the first game of the season, he gave up seven runs on 11 hits and just made it into the fifth inning before being replaced in a loss to the Cincinnati Reds. He recovered from the loss by pitching a complete game two-hit shutout in his next outing against the Dodgers. In an eight-start period from April 26 to June 4, Richard threw six complete games, including two back-to-back shutouts, and lowered his ERA from 4.15 to 3.05. He struck out 67 and gave up only 39 hits in the 63 total innings he pitched. On a June 9 start against the Cardinals, Richard struck out 12 batters but also walked six and gave up five earned runs. By the end of the first half of the season Richard had pitched back-to-back games with nine and 12 strikeout performances, against the Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
and Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
, respectively. At the All-Star break, he had an 8–9 record with a 3.49 ERA but also had 157 strikeouts in 139 innings of work.
After the break, Richard threw an 11-inning, 10-strikeout game against the Expos and followed with two complete games and another nine-inning performance in a game that went into extra innings. He was selected as the National League Pitcher of the Month
Pitcher of the Month
The Pitcher of the Month award is a Major League Baseball award named by each league for each month of the regular season. The National League started recognizing the award in . The American League followed in...
after going a perfect 4–0 with a 1.29 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 56 innings during July. Throughout much of August, his season ERA hovered below 3.00, and he averaged well over a strikeout per inning. On August 21, in an 8–3 victory over the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
, he broke Don Wilson's 1969 club record of 235 strikeouts. In the final two months of the season, Richard's strikeout average dramatically increased, and he struck out a double-digit number of batters in three of his last five starts. In his third-to-last start, Richard broke Tom Seaver
Tom Seaver
George Thomas "Tom" Seaver , nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "The Franchise", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched from 1967-1986 for four different teams in his career, but is noted primarily for his time with the New York Mets...
's NL record of 290 strikeouts by a right-hander when he struck out Bob Horner. In his final outing of the season, Richard reached the 300-strikeout pinnacle by striking out Rowland Office
Rowland Office
Rowland Johnie Office is a former outfielder for the Atlanta Braves , Montreal Expos and New York Yankees ....
in a September 28 victory over the Braves. He also hit his seventh career home run, making him the Astros' career leader in home runs by a pitcher. At that time, he became only the tenth pitcher, third National Leaguer and first NL right-hander in history to strike out more than 300 batters in a single season.
Richard finished the season with 18 wins, 11 losses and a 3.11 ERA. He led the team's pitching staff in innings pitched, starts, complete games, shutouts, hits allowed, earned runs, walks allowed and strikeouts. He held batters to a .156 batting average at home and a .196 average overall, which was the lowest in the NL. Richard again fared well in the field, finishing with three errors and a 0.957 fielding percentage, slightly higher than the 0.950 league average. He finished fourth in the Cy Young Award voting, behind Gaylord Perry
Gaylord Perry
Gaylord Jackson Perry is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He pitched from 1962-1983 for eight different teams in his career. During a 22-year baseball career, Perry compiled 314 wins, 3,534 strikeouts, and a 3.11 earned run average...
, Burt Hooton
Burt Hooton
Burt Carlton Hooton , nicknamed "Happy" , is a coach and former right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball...
and Vida Blue
Vida Blue
Vida Rochelle Blue Jr. is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. During a 17-year career, he pitched for the Oakland Athletics , San Francisco Giants , and Kansas City Royals He won the American League Cy Young award and Most Valuable Player Award in 1971...
. He finished atop the league in strikeouts per nine innings (9.90), fewest hits allowed per nine innings (6.28), walks (141), and wild pitches (16).
1979 season
In his second game of the 1979 season, Richard set the modern-day record for throwing six wild pitches in a single game against the Dodgers. Despite this, he finished the game with a 13-strikeout performance in a 2–1 Astros victory. He won his first four decisions that season but those victories were followed by four losses. He continued to accumulate strikeouts and finally began to walk fewer batters on average, exhibiting greater control over his pitching. Richard evened out his record at seven wins and seven losses by pitching a complete game three-hit shutout against the Padres on June 30. By the All-Star break, Richard had 7 wins, 10 losses, a 3.52 earned run average and 158 strikeouts in just a bit over 157 innings of work. By July 25, his record stood at eight wins and 11 losses, but after he pitched nine straight complete games (including two-hit and three-hit shutouts on August 27 and September 6, respectively) through September 6 and worked 86 consecutive innings without the need of a relief pitcher, which set an Astros club record, it was clear that he was on a winning streak. On September 21, in a game against the Reds, he pitched 11 innings and matched a career high of 15 strikeouts, which he also reached earlier in the season on August 3 in a game against the Braves. He closed out the season against the Dodgers by winning his 11th straight game against the team, with his last loss coming on June 23, 1976. He was honored as the National League Pitcher of the Month for September after going 4–1 with a 1.24 ERA, four complete games, two shutouts and 69 strikeouts in 53 innings pitched during the stretch.He finished the season with 18–13 record and a league-best 2.71 ERA.
He struck out 10 or more batters 14 times in the season, and totaled a league-leading 313 strikeouts for the season, breaking his own club record. Richard joined Nolan Ryan
Nolan Ryan
Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. , nicknamed "The Ryan Express", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is currently principal owner, president and CEO of the Texas Rangers....
and Sandy Koufax
Sandy Koufax
Sanford "Sandy" Koufax is a former left-handed baseball pitcher who played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers...
as the only modern-day pitchers to strike out over 300 batters in consecutive seasons. He led the club in ERA, complete games and innings pitched and tied Joe Niekro
Joe Niekro
Joseph Franklin Niekro was an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He was the younger brother of pitcher Phil Niekro, and the father of Minor League Baseball pitcher Lance Niekro. A native of Blaine, Ohio, Niekro attended Bridgeport High School in Bridgeport, Ohio and attended West...
in number of games started. He gave up 220 hits in the season, which gave him a league-best 6.77 hits per nine innings ratio. He again led the league by limiting the opposing hitters' batting averages to .209 that year. Richard finished fifth in the league in walks allowed, with his first sub-100 total since he became a mainstay starter with the Astros. He also led the league with a 9.64 strikeouts per nine innings ratio. Richard finished 19th in National League MVP Award voting and third in Cy Young Award voting, behind winner Bruce Sutter
Bruce Sutter
Howard Bruce Sutter is a former Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher. He was arguably the first pitcher to make effective use of the splitter....
and teammate Joe Niekro, who had 21 wins and a 3.00 ERA that season. Richard fared slightly worse in batting and fielding, finishing with a .126 batting average and a .902 fielding percentage and five errors. On October 11, Richard signed a four-year contract with the Astros.
1980 season and stroke
In 1980, Richard was now teamed with seven-time American LeagueAmerican League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
strikeout champion Nolan Ryan, who had joined the Astros as a free agent. During the first half of the season, Richard was virtually unhittable, starting the year with five straight wins, 48 strikeouts (including two starts with 12 and 13 strikeouts), and a sub-2.00 ERA. He was named National League Pitcher of the Month for April. At one point, Richard threw three straight complete-game shutouts, two against the Giants and one against the Cubs. On July 3, he broke Dierker's team record of 1487 career strikeouts in a 5–3 win over the Braves; it was to be Richard's last major league victory. After finishing the first half of the season with a 10–4 record, 115 strikeouts and a 1.96 ERA, Richard was selected to be the National League's starting pitcher in the All-Star Game on July 8, but he pitched just two innings due to various back and shoulder problems. As the season progressed, Richard began to complain of a "dead arm", citing discomfort in his shoulder and forearm. His concerns fell on deaf ears. Some in the media even interpreted these complaints as whining or malingering, citing Richard's reputation for moodiness. Others theorized that Richard was egotistical and could not handle the pressure of pitching for the Astros, while others suggested he was jealous of Ryan's $4.5 million contract.
During his next start on July 14 against the Braves, Richard was pitching well and even struck out the side in the second inning, but had trouble seeing catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
Alan Ashby
Alan Ashby
Alan Dean Ashby is a former catcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Cleveland Indians, Toronto Blue Jays, and Houston Astros...
's signs and also had difficulty moving his arm. He left the game in the fourth inning after throwing a fastball and feeling his right arm go "dead". He had numbness in the fingers of his right hand and could not grasp a baseball. The Astros placed Richard on the 21-day disabled list. As it turned out, it would be his last major league game.
Nine days later, he checked into Methodist Hospital
The Methodist Hospital
The Methodist Hospital is a hospital located in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas. Established in 1919 as an outreach ministry of The United Methodist Church, Methodist is one of the most comprehensive teaching hospitals in the United States, with leading specialists in every field of...
in Houston for a series of physical and psychological tests to determine the cause of his mysterious arm problems. An angiogram
Angiogram
Angiography or arteriography is a medical imaging technique used to visualize the inside, or lumen, of blood vessels and organs of the body, with particular interest in the arteries, veins and the heart chambers...
revealed an obstruction in the distal subclavian
Subclavian artery
In human anatomy, the subclavian arteries are two major arteries of the upper thorax , below the clavicle . They receive blood from the top of the aorta...
and axillary arteries
Axillary artery
In human anatomy, the axillary artery is a large blood vessel that conveys oxygenated blood to the lateral aspect of the thorax, the axilla and the upper limb...
of the right arm. Richard's blood pressure in his left arm was normal but pressure was nearly absent in his right arm due to the completely obstructed artery. On July 25, however, the arteries in his neck were studied, and the doctors reached a conclusion that all was normal and no surgical treatment needed to be performed.
On July 30, Richard went to see a chiropractor
Chiropractor
A Chiropractor, according to the Association of Chiropractic Colleges , "focuses on the relationship between the body's main structures – the skeleton, the muscles and the nerves – and the patient's health. Chiropractors believe that health can be improved and preserved by making adjustments to...
who rotated his neck to fix the flow of blood in his upper torso region. Later that day, Richard was participating in warm-ups before the game when he suffered a major stroke and collapsed in the outfield. Before the stroke, he had a headache and a feeling of weakness through his body. Eventually, that progressed into vision problems and paralysis in the left side of his body. A massive blockage in his right carotid artery necessitated emergency surgery that evening. An examination by neurologist
Neurologist
A neurologist is a physician who specializes in neurology, and is trained to investigate, or diagnose and treat neurological disorders.Neurology is the medical specialty related to the human nervous system. The nervous system encompasses the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves. A specialist...
William S. Fields showed that Richard was still experiencing weakness in his extremities and on the left side of his face. He also had blurred vision through his left eye. A CAT scan
Computed tomography
X-ray computed tomography or Computer tomography , is a medical imaging method employing tomography created by computer processing...
of Richard's brain later showed that Richard had experienced three separate strokes from the different obstructions in his arterial system. Furthermore, the arteries in his right arm were still obstructed. Later examinations showed that Richard was suffering from extensive arterial thoracic outlet syndrome
Thoracic outlet syndrome
Thoracic outlet syndrome is a syndrome involving compression at the superior thoracic outlet involving compression of a neurovascular bundle passing between the anterior scalene and middle scalene...
. While pitching, his clavicle
Clavicle
In human anatomy, the clavicle or collar bone is a long bone of short length that serves as a strut between the scapula and the sternum. It is the only long bone in body that lies horizontally...
and first rib
Rib
In vertebrate anatomy, ribs are the long curved bones which form the rib cage. In most vertebrates, ribs surround the chest, enabling the lungs to expand and thus facilitate breathing by expanding the chest cavity. They serve to protect the lungs, heart, and other internal organs of the thorax...
pinched his subclavian artery
Subclavian artery
In human anatomy, the subclavian arteries are two major arteries of the upper thorax , below the clavicle . They receive blood from the top of the aorta...
. As a result of this problem, Richard would feel normal for the first few innings of the game but after putting repeated pressure on his subclavian artery, his arm would start to ache in pain and eventually start to feel "heavy". His wife at the time, Carolyn, told reporters, "It took death, or nearly death, to get an apology. They should have believed him."
Richard underwent rehabilitation and missed the rest of the season. Meanwhile, the Astros recovered from the loss of one of their staff aces and qualified for the playoffs
1980 National League Championship Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 7, 1980 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaGame 1 was the most ordinary contest of the series. Starters Ken Forsch and Steve Carlton dueled for the first five innings, with only one run scored by Houston in the third on an RBI single by Gary Woods...
for the first time in the club's 18-year history.
Comeback attempt
In 1981, Richard underwent a rehabilitation program with the aim of recovering from the effects of the stroke. He trained with the Astros and the Texas Southern UniversityTexas Southern University
Texas Southern University is a historically black university located in Houston, Texas, United States....
team, participating regularly in pitching and batting practice with both towards the end of the baseball season. After pitching in a few simulated games, Richard was placed on the 40-man active roster
Major League Baseball rosters
A Major League Baseball roster is a roster of players able to play for their respective Major League team. There are two types of rosters, the 25-man roster and the 40-man roster.-25-man roster:...
on September 1, 1981. Astros manager Bill Virdon
Bill Virdon
William Charles Virdon is a former outfielder, manager and coach in Major League Baseball. A premier defensive outfielder during his playing days as a center fielder for the St...
thought Richard was not ready to return, so Richard did not pitch with the team during the last two months of the season.
The following year, Richard pitched in a single spring training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
game and then went into extended spring training in Sarasota
Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota is a city located in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the U.S. state of Florida. It is south of the Tampa Bay Area and north of Fort Myers...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, during the first two months of the season. There he registered three wins and two losses and a 3.38 ERA in seven starts with thirty-two total innings. Afterwards, he joined the major league rehabilitation program with the Daytona Beach Astros of the Florida State League. In his six starts, Richard notched three wins, two complete games and posted a 2.79 ERA. He was then promoted to Triple-A baseball with the Tucson Toros
Tucson Toros
The Tucson Toros are a professional baseball team based in Tucson, Arizona, in the United States. They are owned by Tucson Baseball, LLC with Jay Zucker as chairman of the board. Sean Smock is the team's general manager....
of the Pacific Coast League
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
. He struggled to control the ball, conceding a high number of runs to opposing teams. He took a loss on August 12 against the Phoenix Giants and on August 27 against the Salt Lake City Gulls
Salt Lake City Gulls
leftThe Salt Lake City Gulls, a former member of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, were based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They were a minor league affiliate of the California Angels from 1975 to 1981, and of the Seattle Mariners from 1982 to 1984...
in a 13–0 rout. His longest outing as a starter—more than five innings—was an appearance against the Giants in the last game of the season on September 1. He then joined the Astros' extended roster but did not play in any games.
In 1983, Richard started to complain of pain in his left calf. The synthetic graft inserted in his July 1980 surgery had closed off, which meant that he needed a surgical bypass
Coronary artery bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery, also coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease...
in his left leg. Richard was granted free agency by the Astros on November 7, 1983, but the Astros still had faith in him, so he was re-signed on February 17 of the following year. Just a little over two months later, he was released by the Astros, thus ending his baseball career. Despite an almost complete recovery, the risk of future complications was so great that he never pitched again. His final major league record was 107–71, with 1,493 strikeouts and a 3.15 ERA in 238 games and 1,606 innings. Nolan Ryan broke his Astros record for career strikeouts in 1987.
Career statistics
| Year | Ag | Tm | Lg | G Games played Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,... |
GS Games started In baseball statistics, games started indicates the number of games that a pitcher has started for his team. A pitcher is credited with starting the game if he faces the first opposing batter... |
W Win (baseball) In professional baseball, there are two types of decisions: a win and a loss . In each game, one pitcher on the winning team is awarded a win and one pitcher on the losing team is given a loss in their respective statistics. These pitchers are collectively known as the pitchers of record. Only... |
L | ERA Earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine... |
CG Complete game In baseball, a complete game is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher.As demonstrated by the charts below, in the early 20th century, it was common for most good Major League Baseball pitchers to pitch a complete game almost every start. Pitchers were... |
SHO | IP Innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two... |
Hits Hit (baseball) In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice.... |
R Run (baseball) In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured... |
ER Earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run for which the pitcher is held accountable . Any runner who tags his base and reaches home plate is scored against the pitcher as an earned run... |
HR Home run In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process... |
BB Base on balls A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08... |
K Strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters.... |
WHIP Walks plus hits per inning pitched In baseball statistics, walks plus hits per inning pitched is a sabermetric measurement of the number of baserunners a pitcher has allowed per inning pitched. It is a measure of a pitcher's ability to prevent batters from reaching base... |
K/9 | H/9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 21 | HOU Houston Astros The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field... |
NL National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional... |
4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3.43 | 1 | 0 | 21.0 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 16 | 29 | 1.571 | 12.43 | 7.29 |
| 1972 | 22 | HOU | NL | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 13.50 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 3.000 | 12.00 | 15.00 |
| 1973 | 23 | HOU | NL | 16 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 4.00 | 2 | 1 | 72.0 | 54 | 37 | 32 | 2 | 38 | 75 | 1.278 | 9.38 | 6.75 |
| 1974 | 24 | HOU | NL | 15 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4.18 | 0 | 0 | 64.7 | 58 | 31 | 30 | 3 | 36 | 42 | 1.454 | 5.85 | 8.07 |
| 1975 | 25 | HOU | NL | 33 | 31 | 12 | 10 | 4.39 | 7 | 1 | 203.0 | 178 | 107 | 99† | 8 | 138* | 176 | 1.557 | 7.80† | 7.89 |
| 1976**‡ | 26 | HOU | NL | 39† | 39† | 20† | 15† | 2.75† | 14† | 3 | 291.0† | 221 | 105 | 89† | 14 | 151* | 214 | 1.278 | 6.62v | 6.84* |
| 1977 | 27 | HOU | NL | 36† | 36† | 18† | 12 | 2.97† | 13† | 3† | 267.0 | 212 | 94 | 88 | 18 | 104† | 214 | 1.184† | 7.21† | 7.15† |
| 1978** | 28 | HOU | NL | 36† | 36† | 18† | 11 | 3.11 | 16† | 3† | 275.3† | 192 | 104 | 95† | 12 | 141* | 303* | 1.209 | 9.90* | 6.28* |
| 1979**‡ | 29 | HOU | NL | 38† | 38† | 18† | 13† | 2.71* | 19† | 4† | 292.3† | 220 | 98 | 88 | 13 | 98† | 313* | 1.088† | 9.64* | 6.77* |
| 1980∞ | 30 | HOU | NL | 17 | 17 | 10 | 4 | 1.90 | 4 | 4 | 113.7 | 65 | 31 | 24 | 2 | 40 | 119 | 0.924 | 9.42 | 5.15 |
| 10 | Seasons | 238 | 221 | 107 | 71 | 3.15 | 76 | 19 | 1606.0 | 1227 | 625 | 562 | 73 | 770 | 1493 | 1.243 | 8.37 | 6.88 | ||
* = Led NLNational LeagueThe National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...- † = Top 10 in National League
- ∞ = Selected to All-Star TeamMajor League Baseball All-Star GameThe Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
** = Top 10 in Cy Young AwardCy Young AwardThe Cy Young Award is an honor given annually in baseball to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball , one each for the American League and National League . The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955...
voting- ‡ = Top 10 in MVP voting
Source:
After baseball
After his professional baseball career ended, Richard returned to Louisiana and invested in some business ventures. He fell prey to an oil business scam, losing over US$Dollar sign
The dollar or peso sign is a symbol primarily used to indicate the various peso and dollar units of currency around the world.- Origin :...
300,000 in the deal. A few years later, Richard paid US $669,000 in a divorce settlement to his ex-wife, Carolyn. He married and divorced again, losing his suburban Houston home and most of his money. In 1989, Richard was drafted into the Senior Professional Baseball Association
Senior Professional Baseball Association
The Senior Professional Baseball Association was a winter baseball league based in Florida for players age 35 and over . The league began play in 1989 and had eight teams in two divisions and a 72 game schedule...
and played for the Orlando Juice
Orlando Juice
The Orlando Juice was one of the eight original franchises that began play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989. In the league's inaugural season, the Juice finished third in the Northern Division, narrowly missing the playoffs. Pitcher Pete Falcone anchored the club's pitching...
but was cut from the team in pre-season play. In the winter of 1994, Richard was homeless and destitute and lived under a bridge in Houston. The savage pit of homelessness that Richard fell into was a tragic demise for a former Major League baseball star but he learned to deal with it with pride and dignity.
By 1995, Richard was eligible for his major league baseball pension
Pension
In general, a pension is an arrangement to provide people with an income when they are no longer earning a regular income from employment. Pensions should not be confused with severance pay; the former is paid in regular installments, while the latter is paid in one lump sum.The terms retirement...
. He participated in the Old-Timers' Day
Old-Timers' Day
Old-Timers' Day generally refers to a tradition in Major League Baseball of a team, especially the New York Yankees, devoting the early afternoon preceding a weekend late afternoon game to celebrate the baseball-related accomplishments of its former players who have since retired...
game with the Astros in the same year. In the following months, after spending many nights under the overpass Highway 59 at Beechnut Road in Houston, he turned to the Now Testament Church and sought help from its minister, Reverend Floyd Lewis. Richard overcame his homelessness by working with this minister, with a belief that he "always knew God was on his side". Richard started working at an asphalt company and later returned to the church as a minister.
Richard became involved in the Houston community and started working with local financial donors to help establish baseball programs for children. A small-budget 2005 movie, Resurrection: The J.R. Richard Story, depicted Richard's baseball career as well as his life after baseball.
See also
External links
- Retrosheet: J. R. Richard
- BaseballLibrary – biography and career highlights
- The Sporting News – The tragedy of J.R. Richard: A story seldom told – August 1999 story
- AstrosDaily.com
- CBN.com – J.R. Richard: When the Bottom Falls Out – August 2005 story
- Astros are forgetting one of their legends by ESPN's Jeff Pearlman
- Facebook Fanpage and campaign to retire JR's number admined by NJMAX.com's Lary Lapczynski