J. R. Richard

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J. R. Richard bigraphy, stories - Major League Baseball starting pitcher; career ended at age 30 when he suffered a stroke

J. R. Richard : biography

March 7, 1950 –

James Rodney Richard (born March 7, 1950) 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 strikeouts, once in earned run average, and three times in hits allowed per nine innings, winning at least 18 games between 1976 and 1979. 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.

Mainstay with the Astros

In the off-season, the Astros traded starting pitcher Claude Osteen 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.

Breakout season

Richard entered the 1976 season as the pitching staff ace 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.