World Series: Did You Know?

Paul Blair was the last out for Baltimore in games three and four in 1969. The Orioles could have used a hit or a walk in those situations, but it wasn't to be.

Blair's Baltimore Orioles were fresh off a sweep of the Minnesota Twins in the very first American League Championship Series. They kept the momentum going as the World Series started. The O's were up against the surprising New York Mets. Two at home at Memorial Stadium to start this thing. Three years earlier, Paul Blair had hit a home run in the first World Series game played there. Baltimore beat Los Angeles 1-0 in games three and four of the 1966 October Finale, completing a sweep.

But New York had won 100 games in '69, so the 4-1 didn't discourage them. They bounced back with an impressive 2-1 win in the second contest. The win was crucial. Not only did it square the 1969 Fall Classic at one game all, but it sort of changed the momentum. The Orioles would not return home, much to Blair's chagrin.

Blair should have had at least one hit in the third game at Shea Stadium. He was facing a relief pitcher by the name of Nolan Ryan. The game was seemingly over, as the Mets had forged ahead, 4-0. However, it's not like Baltimore wasn't getting their bats on the ball. Tommie Agee (Whose home run in the bottom of the first off Jim Palmer started the Mets on their way) had made a great catch off Elrod Hendricks in the top of the fourth.

So, after two quick outs in the top of the seventh, there didn't seem to be much chance of Blair getting to bat. But New York's starting pitcher was beginning to have control problems here. The previous six innings had gone by with Gary Gentry issuing just two free passes. But with two outs and the bases empty, Gary was wild. A walk. Another. Make it three in a row! Bases filled, two away.

So Paul Blair was the batter and now Nolan Ryan was the pitcher. With the count 0-2, the Orioles' centre fielder got a good pitch to hit. Hit it, Paul did. It seemed like a gapper to cut the Mets' lead to 4-3. At least that's what it appeared to be. Tommie Agee wasn't about to be upstaged in this game. He made it two great catches to go along with a longball as he slide face first, and snared it!

A big play, no doubt, as momentum appeared to be shifting towards Baltimore. It was New York that would tack on still another run (Courtesy of an Ed Kranepool home run the bottom of the eighth), putting the home team up five runs. The Orioles weren't saying, "Let's just give up and come back tomorrow," however. In the top of the eighth, Frank Robinson hit a 3-2 pitch off Ryan to the gap in left. Tommie Agee got over and made a catch that wasn't spectacular, but he had his back almost against the wall when he did it. 

Nolan Ryan was on to preserve the win in the ninth. He begane to experience the same issues Gary Gentry had two innings prior.

It seemed awfully familiar situation. There seemed to be no chance of Paul Blair coming up, as the first two batters were retired. A walk to Mark Belanger, who was not a difficult out, extended the game. Clay Dalrymple didn't walk, he did better! His single moved Belanger to second. And Paul Blair into the on-deck circle. Chico Salmon ran for Belanger. But if Ryan could retire Don Buford, Blair would not bat. Nolan Ryan managed to hit the strike zone once in the five pitches thrown to Buford. The bases on balls loaded 'em up.

So Paul Blair was back up again. Again with the bases loaded. Would Nolan Ryan stay in the game? Both Tug McGraw and Ron Taylor were throwing in the Mets' bullpen. Gil Hodges came out to the mound, and decided to stick with the hard-thrower from Refugio, Texas.

So it was down to the stuff of dreams: The big strikeout pitcher vs. the terrific slugger! Bases loaded, two outs. But Nolan reached back for his best stuff, fanning Blair on just three pitches, the third a nice 12-6 curve that the batter never even swung at!

The 5-0 win was big for the New York Mets. They were up in the 1969 World Series, 2-1. Plus, they had their ace, Tom Seaver, going in the fourth contest.

Well, the fourth contest was a gem of a pitcher's duel. Mike Cuellar was just as good as Seaver. He kept Baltimore in it, but trailed 1-0 in the top of the seventh. That's when his manager, Earl Weaver, pinch hit for him.

But Tom Seaver fanned Dave May, and had a 1-2-3 seventh. Eddie Watt pitched the bottom of the eighth and held the Mets at bay. This enabled the visiting Orioles to tie it in the top of the ninth. With any luck, they'd have gotten more. But there was right fielder Ron Swoboda, robbing Brooks Robinson of a double with a diving catch. Brooks had to settle for a sac fly.

Swoboda wasn't done tormenting Baltimore. With two away in the bottom of the ninth, Ron singled Cleon Jones to third. But pinch hitter Art Shamsky grounded out to second basemen Davey Johnson.

Johnson would then lead off the tenth, and just send a grounder to third. Wayne Garrett had come in for Ed Charles, who Art Shamsky had batted for. Garrett could not come up with it, and the home side had a problem.

With a man on, Mark Belanger tried to bunt, but popped to the catcher on the second pitch. Clay Dalrymple hit for Eddie Watt and delivered a single. It was conference time on the mound as bullpen activity was in full force. Both Tug McGraw and Ron Taylor were throwing. Pitching coach Rube Walker conversed with Tom Seaver, who ended up staying in the game.

Ron Swoboda was still in right, and the batter, Don Buford. Buford sent one Swoboda's way. Ron caught the ball on the warning track. Davey Johnson went to third after the catch. Paul Blair was next.

Two on, two outs. Seaver threw the first pitch, Blair swung and missed. A slider was then swung on and missed. Seaver was doing to Blair what Nolan Ryan had done one day and one inning earlier. Tom missed high, 1-2. But a breaking pitch was then missed by Blair.

The Mets would pull it out with some controversy. With runners on first and second, J.C. Martin was sent up to hit for Tom Seaver. Martin bunted, and as he ran to first, appeared to be to have exited the running lane to the left. When the throw from new pitcher Pete Richert hit Martin, it allowed the winning run to score. Baltimore had a strong case for interference. But their protest was to no avail.

Blair wasn't able to do much in game five, either. His team, however, appeared to get back on track. Blair fanned against Jerry Koosman in the top of the third, but that was about the only thing the Mets' pitcher did right that half inning (Jerry hit a double in the bottom of the frame, only to be stranded). Both Dave McNally and Frank Robinson hit home runs, and it was 3-0, Baltimore.

In the top of the sixth inning, Blair send a Koosman offering to deep centre. Tommie had a beat on it, appeared to misjudged it, but then reached out to his left and grab it. Another well-hit ball that Paul's counterpart in centre just gobbled up.

Koosman settled down after that. The New York Mets were a team of destiny, that overcame a great Orioles team. The Mets put together three rallies, scoring twice in the sixth and eighth frames, and one more time in the seventh. The 5-3 win game the underdogs a surprising Fall Classic.

As for Paul Blair, he'd be back in 1970. This time, Baltimore came out on top against Cincinnati. A year later, the Orioles came up just short against the Pirates (In the fourth contest, Blair was the first hitter in a World Series first, as the contest started at night). His experience in four Fall Classics (1966, 1969-1971) with Baltimore would come in handy years later. Maybe he'd lost to a New York team in the World Series. But he'd get on one by the time 1977 rolled around. Blair helped the New York Yankees win world championships in 1977 and '78.



References

Brown Jr., Thomas J. “October 15, 1969: Seaver’s Pitching, Swoboda’s Defense Help Mets Win Game 4.” Society for American Baseball Research, SABR, 17 Apr. 2020, https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/october-15-1969-seavers-pitching-swobodas-defense-help-mets-win-game-4/. Accessed 16 Feb. 2023.

Enders, Eric. 100 years of the World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. 

Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball 1992. St. Martin's Press, 1992. 

--------------. The World Series: Complete Play-By-Play of Every Game, 1903-1989, St. Martin's Press, New York, 1990.

Nemec, et al. The Baseball Chronicle: Year-By-Year History of Major League Baseball. Publications International, Ltd., 2008.

Snyder, John S. World Series!: Great Moments and Dubious Achievements. San Francisco: Chronicle, 1995. 

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. https://www.baseball-reference.com/. 16 Feb. 2023.

Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/. 16 Feb. 2023.

YouTube, Google, www.youtube.com/. 16 Feb. 2023.

World Series: Did You Know?

The first batter Nolan Ryan faced in the Fall Classic was Paul Blair. And later on in the same game, Ryan faced him again. Both times, it was with the bases loaded. It was also the only World Series Ryan ever pitched in.

The 1969 New York Mets were trying to pull off an upset of the great Baltimore Orioles in 1969. The Orioles, out to win it all again (Having blown away the Los Angeles Dodgers in four straight three years earlier), beat Tom Seaver and company, 4-1 in the opener in Baltimore. Jerry Koosman tried to equal things in the second contest, and it was the Mets squeaked by with a 2-1 win. All tied up, and heading to The Big Apple.

Game three at Shea Stadium matched Baltimore's Jim Palmers with New York Gary Gentry. Tommie Agee got the home squad off on the right foot as he hit a Palmer pitch right over Paul Blair's head in centre for a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first. The Mets were ahead to stay.

Gentry himself doubled home two more runs the next inning, and it was quickly 3-0, New York. Could Baltimore retaliate?

Well, they put two men on the very next inning, and Elrod Hendricks came to the dish. With two strikes on him, Elrod sent one to left centre. Agee, the Mets centre fielder, raced for it. He finally snagged it with a backhand stab just in front of the 396 sign. That saved the home team from having their lead to just a single run.

Gentry allowed the Orioles another two base runners in the top of the sixth. With two away, Frank Robinson drew a walk. When Boog Powell singled, it was time for Nolan Ryan to get up in the Mets' bullpen and start throwing. Brooks Robinson (Not related to Frank) was the next batter for the O's.

Gentry fell behind in the count 3-1, in danger of loading the bases. But on the next pitch, Robinson sent a tame fly to Art Shamsky in right to end that. The next inning proved to be Gentry's last, however.

New York got another run of Jim Palmer in the bottom of the frame, for some more breathing room. Now ahead 4-0, the home team looked to have it all under control. The roof then nearly caved in.

Hendricks led off the top of the seventh by sending Agee to the warning tracks the other way. In right. Agee made the putout on the long, loud out. When Davey Johnson flied to centre, Gentry seemed to be on cruise control. Suddenly, his control eluded him. Three straight walks loaded the bases. Paul Blair was the batter. However, Gary Gentry was no longer the pitcher. Manager Gil Hodges had seen enough. Nolan Ryan hopped in with a 4-0 lead, but the tying run at the plate. So this was a save situation.

Blair sent one to right centre. Agee had a beat on this one, too. He finally caught up with it, made a desperate dive, and made a terrific catch to stop Baltimore from scoring two, or possibly three runs.

The eighth inning was a little less eventfull for Nolan. Ryan fanned both Boog Powell and Brooks Robinson in a 1-2-3 top of the eighth Before that, though, it was Frank Robinson sending Agee all the way to the wall with a powerful drive. Agee caught it with his back to the fence. The Mets, meanwhile scored again in the last of the eighth, their fifth and final tally of the game.

The ninth inning saw Elrod Hendricks and Davey Johnson fly to Shamsky. Ryan seemed to have it all together. But then Mark Belanger. Pinch hitter Clay Dalrymple was sent to bat for the pitcher. Dalrymple sent a grounder just past the mound to Ryan's left. The ball continued to centre. Al Weis got to it, and tried to get Belanger at second. The throw was too late. Chico Salmon came on to bat for Dalrymple, who had been credited with an infield single. It was the first hit by the O's off Ryan,

It was back to the top of the lineup for the Orioles. That was enough of a concern for Gil Hodges that Tug McGraw and Ron Taylor began to loosen up in the New York Mets' bullpen. Don Buford drew the second walk of the inning for Baltimore (After sending a long foul ball into the stands in left). And that brought Blair back up. And the bases were loaded again.

Although up 5-0, New York couldn't afford to give up any ground here. Baltimore had probably given this up as a loss, but you never know with the bases loaded. Weren't the Orioles due?

It was conference time on the mound as Hodges decided to leave Ryan in. Quickly, he got ahead of Blair 0-2. The next pitch curveball that umpire Larry Napp called a strike! Nolan Ryan had a save in his one and only Fall Classic appearance. More importantly, the Mets were up 2-1 on the Orioles courtesy of this 5-0 win. New York made sure to build on the momentum. The took game four 2-1, and wrapped it up at home with a 5-3 triumph in the fifth contest. The New York Mets were on top of the world in 1969. And Nolan Ryan made his solo appearance on baseball's grandest stage count.



References

Enders, Eric. 100 years of the World Series. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. New York, 2005. Print.

Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. 327. Print.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 13 May 2016.

MLBClassics. "1969 World Series, Game 3: Orioles @ Mets." Online Video Clip. YouTube. YouTube, 11 Oct. 2010. Web. 13 May 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHSksQbNZD4>.

Baseball History On Youtube: Game 3 Of The 1969 World Series

Well, it wasn't quite the Miracle On 34th Street, was it? With the 1969 Fall Classic tied at a game a piece, the New York Mets came home for three against the Baltimore Orioles. Who would have thought they'd sweep all three for a stunning World Series win.

But it all started with a win in game three:




Things To Look Out For:

1) This is the oldest surviving colour televised broadcast of a World Series game, although colour tv dates back to 1955 in the Fall Classic

2) Okay, it was 5-0 final. But that's gotta be the closest 5-0 ball game I've seen.

3) @ 5:45, the New York Mets have Yogi Berra and Eddie Yost as coaches? Now there's a contrast! Yogi, once of the best "Bad ball" hitters around, hit .285 but had only a .348 on-base percentage. Eddie, one of baseball's finest "Moneyball" players (Before the term was invented, hit just .254, but had a career on-base percentage of .394.

4) @ 9:07, Roy Campanella. Paralyzed from shoulder down in a car accident in January of 1958, he stayed in the game with the Dodgers for years to come. 1969 was a great year for him, as he made the Hall Of Fame!

5) @ 21:53, it's the Mets Tom Agee, who did it all this game, getting them off on the right foot!

6) In this game, you see a pitcher (Jim Palmer) who won a Fall Classic game in three different decades (Not in 1969) and another pitcher who never won a World Series game. More on that later.

7) @ 57:05, Agee makes Gem #1

8) @ 1:04:16, is the play obstruction. Earl Weaver sure thinks so!

9) @ 1:25:07, someone brought one of those to the game. Interesting!

10) @ 1:31:28, Nelson Rockefeller gets interviewed by Tony Kubek. He'd die ten years later. Mets fan?

11) @ 1:42:07, Nolan Ryan. Never won a World Series, alas. This would be his sole Fall Classic appearance.

12) @ 1:42:46, why Kubek is interviewing his old manager!

13) @ 1:44:28, Agee makes Gem #2! How many runs has he saved for the Mets at this point? He's also given them one!

14) @ 2:02:22, Nolan Ryan in the on-deck circle. But he does not get to bat, alas!

15) @ 2:14:08...DUCK! It's coming right at...You!

16) @ 2:14:31, Ryan gets the save!


References


Burns, Ken, director. Ken Burns' Baseball. PBS, 1994. DVD. Ward, Geoffrey C., and Ken Burns. “A Whole New Ballgame.” Baseball, season 1, episode 8, PBS, 27 Sept. 1994.

Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.

Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin's. 1990. Print.

Retrosheet. Retrosheet. Web. 07 Dec. 2015. <www.retrosheet.org>.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 07 Dec. 2015.

Youtube. Youtube. Web. 07 Dec. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/>.

Common Denominator: Last Out In Nolan Ryan's 7th No-Hitter and ALCS (1991)

That would be THE player from the Toronto Blue Jays. Roberto Alomar. Robbie was a young man in 1991, 23-years-old. But he played the game like a 33-year-old would.

1991 was Alomar's first season in Toronto. He'd come over in a blockbuster trade from San Diego in December of 1990. In that trade, Toronto parted ways with Tony Fernandez (Who'd return a few times later) and Fred McGriff in return for 1993 World Series hero Joe Carter and Alomar.

Carter played in Nolan Ryan's 7th no-hitter. It was on the first of May in Texas. Alomar batted second behind Devon White (Who himself had been acquired in the off-season in another multi-player trade that saw Toronto part ways with Junior Felix). Carter batted in the cleanup slot behind Alomar and Kelly Gruber.

And Gruber drew a walk off Ryan as the third batter of the game. Alomar had grounded out to second for the second out. Kelly was picked off but safe on an error. Carter ended the inning by popping up. The Jays were in for a long night!

By the time Alomar batted again in the top of the fourth, things were not looking up. Actually, Toronto was looking at no runs, no hits. Ryan was humming along, Toronto trailed 3-0, and things looked real bad. Alomar fanned. Alomar whiffed again in the top of the seventh. Gruber followed suit. Carter drew a walk. It was Toronto's second and last baserunner in the game. John Olerud, batting fifth, ended the inning with pop up to third in foul territory.

Alomar then batted in the top of the ninth. Two down, no one on. 3-0 Texas. He batted Ryan to a 2-2 pitch, but then missed the fastball. The 44-year old had his seventh no-hitter. He also had sixteen strikeouts. Alomar, three of those.



Toronto recovered from that setback, however. Ryan faced the Jays three more times that year and Toronto won all three games. Did Alomar get any sweet revenge? A two-run triple in the bottom of the bottom of the third, one week later at home, put the Jays up 2-0. Ryan went six innings and gave up two hits, but Toronto won, of course. Alomar went 2-4 on July 18th vs. Texas. Ryan only lasted 6 1/3 innings. Five days later, David Wells was the pitcher with the shutout. For Toronto, as the Jays beat Ryan, 4-0. But Alomar could manage only a single off Ryan.

Toronto went on to 91 wins in '91. They faced the Minnesota Twins in the ALCS. For Alomar, it was his first taste of postseason play. And he delivered.

Robbie went 2-4 in game one, but Toronto lost 5-4. He did his best to help the Jays, down 5-0 at one point, make a game of it.

(Gotta go to about 27:03 for the action)



The Blue Jays won game two, 5-2. Both of these games were on the road, and Toronto had the next three at home. Alomar had another two hits in the second tilt. Things were looking up heading back to Toronto's Skydome.

But Minnesota eked out a 3-2 win in extras in game three, and suddenly, the home-field advantage was lost as Toronto would have to go back to Twinland to win this. Amazingly enough, that was not necessary, as it turns out.



The Blue Jays lost game four badly, 9-3, despite 11 hits. Alomar had another two. But he wasn't getting the help he needed. Devon White was hitting, but Joe Carter was hurt and now just DH'ing. Joe was 0-5 with three K's in game four.

Alomar gave it his all to try and save the Toronto season. Robbie got two hits, as did Devo. Manny Lee added two of his own. Toronto trailed 2-0 in the bottom of the third when Roberto knocked home Lee with the first Jays' run. They didn't stop there and added two more.

Another two runs scored the next inning as Alomar hit a single. 5-2, Toronto! Is this guy just clutch and awesome when we need him, or what?

But the Twins rallied via a pair of three-run innings. Top of the sixth, three. Top of the eighth, three. It was 8-5, Minny. Alomar drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the seventh, but nothing came of it. In the bottom of the ninth, Alomar came up with the bases empty and two outs. Sound familiar? This time, he didn't fan. But he flied out to left to end the Jays' season.



A frustrating series. But Alomar had hit .474 to lead all hitters. It was a sign of things to come from him in the postseason. Robbie made sure the Jays won it all the next two seasons. But even Superman have to battle cryptonite sometimes! Alomar may have been the last out of two bad memories from 1991 for Toronto, but somehow, he always kept the Jays in the game with his bat, legs, glove, speed, and arm. Jays fans knew when he came, that happiness was every time Robbie trotted out to his familiar second base position.


References

1991 Toronto Blue Jays Trades and Transactions | Baseball-Reference.com (Baseball-Reference.com) http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/TOR/1991-transactions.shtml

1991 Toronto Blue Jays Schedule and Results | Baseball-Reference.com (Baseball-Reference.com)
http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/TOR/1991-schedule-scores.shtml

1991 ALCS - Minnesota Twins over Toronto Blue Jays (4-1) | Baseball-Reference.com (Baseball-Reference.com) http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1991_ALCS.shtml

Retrosheet (Retrosheet) http://www.retrosheet.org/

(YouTube) https://www.youtube.com/

Letang: Let's Hope He's Not Another J.R. Richard!

Kris Letang was getting better and better the last few years. Last year, despite missing 13 games, he averaged better than a point a game (38 points in 35 regular season games, plus 16 points in 15 playoff games). Kris could be a Norris Trophy candidate for years to come.

This year was not as good. And then, came the stroke. Always sad to read about strokes affecting young athletes.

I hope he comes back. But there is one thought in my mind right now: He just might not ever return!

Remember J.R. Richard? The flame thrower on Houston in the mid to late 70s? Oh, yes, and 1980. 1980, that is, until he came down from a stroke that he never returned to major league baseball from.

Richard's was right there in the middle of his prime in 1980. You need only look at his teammate on the Houston Astros that year to know how good he was. That teammate was Nolan Ryan. And for many years before that, J.R. looked liked he'd be better than Nolan!

In his first four seasons, young Richard struggled with control. He had plenty on his pitches, but very little mastery of it. He averaged better than 12 K's per 9 innings pitched his first two short seasons (1971 and 1972). Granted, this was only in 21 and 6 innings pitched respectively, but the potential was there. Where have we read this all before?

But once he started to pitch more, he started to harness it. Just like Sandy Koufax's early years, it was going to take some time, but his talent was quickly becoming apparent! In '73, J.R. tossed just 72 innings, but went 6-2. Most impressively, he allowed just 54 hits during that span. And, on top of that, he K'd 75 batters for an average of 9.4 per 9 innings!

Alas, J.R. fell back the next year, and all his numbers went down. But the young man, who was 25 in 1975, would not let that season affect his progress. 1975 was the next step. A make or break season.

And he made it!

Although only 12-10 with a 4.39 ERA, it nevertheless marked his first full season on the mound. And a closer look reveals several bright spots:

178 hits allowed in 203 innings pitched. That was good enough for just 7.9 hits allowed per 9 innings. Pretty good! Indeed, it was just outside the top 10 in the National League. 176 K's? That meant Richard averaged 7.8 K's per 9 innings pitched. And that was good enough for 2nd, behind only John Montefusco.

Okay, his wildness was still there. He walked 138 batters and threw 20 wild pitches. And those numbers were high enough to lead the league in each category. But as with a young Koufax, these were problems that you just had to accept. Richard's was heading in the right direction and poised for the breakthrough.

It came soon enough. 1976 was a huge step forward for the 26 year old!

Although 20-15, which isn't good by W% standards, his 2.75 ERA was splendid! It was good enough for 7th place in the senior circuit.

The K's weren't as good. He only fanned 214 batters in 291 innings. But, at 6.6 K's per 9, that was still good enough for 4th place. The walks were up to 151, enough to lead the league. That was also enough for 4.7 walks per nine innings pitched. But up until the 1976, J.R. had averaged a career mark of 5.8 per 9. So it was an improvement. And it was quite a comedown from 1975, where Richard average 6.1 walks per 9 innings. And how about giving up just 221 hits for 6.8 per 9? That lead the NL and was third overall in the bigs! And while he walked more, his wildness did improve in two areas. Richard only hit 2 batters in 1976 compared to 5 in 1975. And he tossed just 13 wild pitches, compared to 20 in 1975.

Richard would never win 20 games again, but he was about to become an elite pitcher in the next 3 1/2 seasons.

In 1977, at the age of 27, Richard came home with 18 wins. The amazing thing? The walks were down to just 104 in 267 innings pitched. That meant only 3.5 for 9 innings. And the K's were again 214, only this time it was good enough for 7.2 per 9. The ERA climbed to 2.97. None of these numbers were good enough to lead the league. But J.R. was right there, and getting better and better.

After losing 12 games in '77, Richard lost 11 in 1978, but again won 18 games. The ERA was and over 3 (3.11). The wildness was back. He lead the NL in wild pitches with 16 and walks with 141. But how about the K's? Over 300! 303 to be exact. And it was in only 275 1/3 innings pitched. That's almost 10 (9.9) strikeouts per 9 innings pitched. Needless to say, he lead the NL in K's and K/9IP. J.R. also led the NL in fewests hits allowed per 9 innings, with just 6.3!

1979, and more of the same. Only this time, Richard added the ERA crown (2.71). Another 18 wins (granted, he lost 13). Look at this:

His allowed per 9: 6.8

K's: 313

K/9IP: 9.6

All of that lead the junior circut.

And the next year looked to be even better. The Astros had a new pitcher that year named Nolan Ryan, but J.R. was making even him look mortal! The ERA was low, real low (1.90). 10 wins and only 4 losses. 119 K's in only 113 2/3 inning. But when he left his start on July 14th of that season (1980) he was appearing the bigs for the last time. J.R. was then 30 years old.

The stroke ended his season and career. Richard tried several times to come back. When he pitched in the minors and spring training, he looked like the same pitcher as before the stroke (aside from some struggles in 6 Triple-A ball games in 1982). He recovered completely. Now, I should be telling you about his return to the majors. But there was none, as the risk ultimately proved to be too great.

So what does this all mean for Letang? Staying with hockey, there was Brian Mullen. Mullen, preparing for the 1993/94 season, suffered a stroke in August of that year and never played again. He was only 31. Mullen was never really much of a star, but he was consistent. In an 8 year span from 1982/83 to 1989/90 Brian scored at least 21 goals. Mullen's high was 32 in only 69 games in 84/85. His brother, Joe actually played for the Penguins (Kris Letang's current team) and made the Hockey Hall Of Fame.

Letang is only 26. Will he come back? The odds seem good with his age, say the doctors. Last season, the league lost Erik Karlsson for most of the season. Erik is the best defenceman in the league in my book. Letang is almost as good. But I looked forward to some epic "Battle for the Norris Trophies" from both. That's why I sure hope Kris does come back, as writing this about J.R. was more painful than I could have imagined.


References

Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.

Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Lincolnwood, Ill: Publications International, 1993. Print.

"Official Site of the National Hockey League” | NHL.com. National Hockey League. Web. 28 Feb. 2014. <https://www.nhl.com>. 

Shalin, Mike, and Neil Shalin. "J.R Richard." Out By A Step: The 100 Best Players Not In The Baseball Hall of Fame. Lanham: Diamond Communications, 2002. Print. pp. 172-174.

Sports Reference LLC. "(title of a particular page or blank for general citation)." Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.

Sports Reference LLC. "(title of a particular page or blank for general citation)." Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. Web. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.

Teotonio, Isabel. “Why Did 26-Year-Old Pittsburgh Penguin Kris Letang Have A Stroke?” The Toronto Sun / Thestar.com, Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd, 7 Feb. 2014. Web. 28 Feb. 2014. <www.thestar.com/life/2014/02/07/why_did_26yearold_pittsburgh_penguin_kris_letang_have_a_stroke.html>.

Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 28 Feb. 2014. <https://en.wikipedia.org>.