H.B. "Spec" Richardson served as the General Manager

General manager

General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...

 for 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...

 from 1967 until 1975. He took over for Tal Smith

Tal Smith

Talbot Merton Smith is an American former professional baseball executive who has served in high baseball operations positions — including general manager and club president — as well as the founder of a firm that advises Major League Baseball teams on salary arbitration cases.A veteran of 54...

 and Paul Richards

Paul Richards (baseball)

Paul Rapier Richards was an American professional baseball player, manager, scout and executive in Major League Baseball. During his playing career, he was a catcher and right-handed batter with the Brooklyn Dodgers , New York Giants , Philadelphia Athletics and Detroit Tigers...

, each of whom built one of the most talented farm systems in baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

.

Richardson traded 31 year-old Mike Cuellar

Mike Cuellar

Miguel Ángel Cuellar Santana [KWAY-ar] was a Cuban left-handed starting pitcher who spent fifteen seasons in Major League Baseball with the Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles and California Angels...

 to the Baltimore Orioles

Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...

 for Curt Blefary

Curt Blefary

Curtis Le Roy Blefary was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball who played with the Baltimore Orioles , Houston Astros , New York Yankees , Oakland Athletics and San Diego Padres...

 in 1968, who would stay in Houston for a single season before being traded once again to the Yankees for Joe Pepitone

Joe Pepitone

Joseph "Joe" Anthony Pepitone is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and outfielder who played the bulk of his career for the New York Yankees. He also played several seasons with the Chicago Cubs and had short stints with the Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves...

. Pepitone would only stay one year in the Astrodome before going to 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...

. Cuellar, however, was a key component of the Earl Weaver

Earl Weaver

Earl Sidney Weaver is a former Major League Baseball manager. He spent his entire 17-year managerial career with the Baltimore Orioles . Weaver was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.-Playing career:After playing for Beaumont High School in St...

 Orioles' pitching staff.

Richardson then traded Rusty Staub

Rusty Staub

Daniel Joseph "Rusty" Staub is an American former Major League Baseball right fielder, designated hitter, and first baseman. He enjoyed a 23-year baseball career with 5 different teams...

 - a 24 year-old outfielder and first baseman who displayed remarkable ability to hit for high average and decent power (leading the league in doubles in 1967) within the confines of the cavernous Astrodome - to the Montreal Expos

Montreal Expos

The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...

 for Jesus Alou

Jesús Alou

Jesús María Rojas Alou is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. During a 17-year baseball career, he played for the San Francisco Giants , Houston Astros , Oakland Athletics , and New York Mets...

 and Donn Clendenon

Donn Clendenon

Donn Alvin Clendenon was a Major League Baseball first baseman. He is best remembered as the World Series MVP for the Amazin' Mets.-Early life:...

. Clendenon refused to report, however, and Montreal instead sent Jack Billingham

Jack Billingham

John Eugene Billingham is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers , Houston Astros , Cincinnati Reds , Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox...

, Skip Guinn

Skip Guinn

Drannon Eugene "Skip" Guinn is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played parts of three seasons in the majors, between and , for the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros.-Sources:...

, and cash. The club may have felt that Staub's ankle problems would shorten his career, but Staub instead continued his exceptional hitting in Montreal, Detroit, and New York. John Mayberry

John Mayberry

John Claiborn Mayberry is a former Major League Baseball player who played for the Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees from 1968 to 1982.-High school and minor leagues:...

 - another young first base prospect - was traded to the Kansas City Royals

Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...

 for mediocre bullpen help. There he became an integral part of the Royals.

But Richardson's most memorable trade featured Joe Morgan

Joe Morgan

Joe Leonard Morgan is a former Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, and Oakland Athletics from 1963 to 1984. He won two World Series championships with the Reds in 1975 and 1976 and was also named the...

, the Astros' young second baseman. Morgan was traded (along with Cesar Geronimo

César Gerónimo

César Francisco Gerónimo Zorrilla , known as César Gerónimo, is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball, who was a member of the famed Big Red Machine of the Cincinnati Reds during the 1970s. He batted and threw left-handed....

, Denis Menke

Denis Menke

Denis John Menke is a former professional baseball infielder. He played all or part of thirteen seasons in Major League Baseball from 1962 to 1974. He played for the Milwaukee Braves , Atlanta Braves , Houston Astros and Cincinnati Reds , all of the National League...

, and Jack Billingham

Jack Billingham

John Eugene Billingham is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers , Houston Astros , Cincinnati Reds , Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox...

) to 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....

 for Lee May

Lee May

Lee Andrew May is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball. From through , May played for the Cincinnati Reds , Houston Astros , Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals . He batted and threw right-handed. He is the brother of former Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees outfielder...

 and spare parts. Morgan went on to become the offensive heart of the Big Red Machine, and is largely held to be the greatest second baseman of the second half of the 20th century.

To his credit, Richardson recognized Cesar Cedeno

César Cedeño

César Cedeño Encarnación is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball who played with the Houston Astros , Cincinnati Reds , St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers . He batted and threw right-handed....

 as a potential superstar, but the Astros spent his tenure and several years after it mired in mediocrity. Sabermetric research shows that the Astros would likely have been the best team in the National League throughout much of the 1970s. Instead, the team would not appear in the playoffs until 1980.

Richardson also served as general manager for 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....

from 1976 to 1980.