1977 jr richard

jr richard gets a different crop and a relocated facsimile autograph on his 1977 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

jr richard was the second player chosen in the 1969 draft, and he went to the astros.  barely two years later, he made his big league debut and struck out 15 batters in doing so.  by the time 1977 rolled around, richard had won 20 games and was one of the premier pitchers in the national league, if not all of baseball.  he went 18-12 in 1977, with a 2.97 era and 214 strikeouts.  he also pitched 13 complete games, including 3 shutouts (two of which were 3-hitters), and helped himself at the plate with a couple of triples and home runs and a .230 average.

as a dodger fan, i cringed when he started against the blue, and with good reason.  case in point, james rodney struck out a season high 14 dodgers in his last start of the 1977 season.  of course, we all know that richard suffered a stroke shortly after the 1980 all-star game (which he started for the nl) and never pitched in a big league game again. as a baseball fan, that is a tragedy.

voici à vous, jr richard!