On the
blog today, we spotlight another card from my 1981 "Drake's Big
Pitchers" custom set from last year, this one the card for Houston
Astros pitching great J.R. Richard:
It would take a few years, but he'd become the power-arm all-star
by the 1975 season, and would go on to post two 300+ strikeout
campaigns, four straight 200+ K years, four straight seasons of 18+
wins (1976-1979), and an E.R.A. crown in 1979 before tragically
having his career cut short in 1980 by a stroke.
His final numbers are indicative of what we could have expected
well into the 1980's had he not been cut down at the age of 30: a 107-71
record with 1493 strikeouts and a 3.15 ERA in 238 games and 1606
innings.
It really would have been something to see Richard and Nolan Ryan team up to rack-up incredible numbers together.
One of the ultimate "what could have been" stories in baseball during my childhood for sure…