By the time he was a high school senior, Richard stood 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 m) tall and weighed 220 pounds (99.8 kg 15.7 st). Richard was born to Clayton and Lizzie ( née Frost) Richard in Vienna, Louisiana, and gained prominence in both baseball and basketball at historically black and since closed Lincoln High School in nearby Ruston. In 2019, he was inducted into the Houston Astros Hall of Fame. Richard found solace in a local church and later became a Christian minister. 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. He spent the next few seasons in the minor leagues before being released by the Astros in 1984. In 1981, Richard attempted a comeback with the Astros, however this failed because the stroke had slowed down his reaction time and weakened his depth perception. Two-time National League MVPs Johnny Bench and Dale Murphy both named Richard as the toughest pitcher they ever faced. His 313 strikeouts in 1979 remained an Astros franchise record until Gerrit Cole surpassed it on September 24, 2019, and he held the team's record for career strikeouts (1,493) until 1987. His condition brought a sudden end to his major league career at the age of 30. On July 30, 1980, Richard suffered a stroke and collapsed while playing a game of catch before an Astros game, caused by a blood clot in his neck. In 1975, Richard played his first full season in the majors as a starting pitcher.įrom 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 a year between 19. 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. Richard led the National League (NL) twice in strikeouts and was named an NL All-Star player in 1980.Īfter graduating from high school, Richard was selected by the Astros as the second overall pick in the first round of the 1969 amateur draft. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as a right-handed starting pitcher for the Houston Astros from 1971 to 1980. James Rodney Richard (Ma– August 4, 2021) was an American professional baseball player. The Blue Jays entered play Tuesday just a half-game behind the Rangers for the third AL Wild Card.September 5, 1971, for the Houston Astros They are now in third place, two games out of first and are in danger of missing the playoffs after it seemed like a near-certainty just a few weeks ago. 500 and sitting with a 3 1/2 game lead in the AL West at that time. They opened August with an eight-game winning streak and were 12-2 on the month through Aug. On the other side of the spectrum, here would be the Rangers. They've now won two straight, which means they've won seven of 10 overall. They had won five in a row but then were swept at home over the weekend by the last-place Yankees. Let's not overlook the excellent work on the mound from Framber Valdez, as he allowed only one run in seven innings. Usually light-hitting catcher Martín Maldonado homered twice. Given the score, it won't be surprising to hear that Altuve was far from alone in having a big offensive game. He became the first Astros player ever to hit five home runs in a two-game span ( via ). Also, looping back to Monday's game, Altuve homered in five out of six plate appearances and four straight. He also hit three homers in Game 1 of the 2017 ALDS. This was the first career regular-season game for Altuve with three home runs.
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