Astros Rookies (Bill Greif/J.R. Richard/Ray Busse)

James Rodney “J.R.” Richard (March 7, 1950-) still holds a number of the Houston Astros pitching records, both good and bad, and remains a fan favorite from Astros lore who was cut down in his prime. The Houston Astros took J.R. with the second overall pick of the 1969 MLB June Amateur Draft, debuting two years later in 1971 and finally finding a spot in the Astros starting rotation in 1975. Once J.R. broke into the starting lineup, he won ten of more games in each season including four consecutive with 18 wins or more. His wildness was legendary and batters struggled to get a handle on him and dig in at home plate, as he was a 6’8”, 222 lbs. flamethrower who could strike then out, walk then or bean them with a 100 mph fastball that even he might not know where it goes. Richard led the National League three times in walk, three times in wild pitches, three times in hits per nine innings but also twice in strikeouts and once in ERA. Astros’ ace J.R. mowed down batter in the NL for ten seasons (1971-1980), earning multiple Cy Young and MVP considerations and a 1980 NL All-Star selection. In June of 1980, Richard complained of a “dead” arm and numbness that didn’t allow him to grip a baseball and on July 30th he suffered a career ending stroke warming up for a game against the Philadelphia Phillies. After recovery from the stroke and surgery to alleviate artery blockage, Richard attempted a comeback, but had lost too much of the motor skills to field his position and the velocity on his pitches to play at the Major League level. J.R. Richard ended his promising career with a 107-71 record, 76 complete games, 19 shutouts, 1,493 strikeouts and a 3.15 career ERA.