By Alexander Gu
J.R. Richard died on Wednesday at 71 years old in Houston. While he did not make the Corridor of Fame or the World Collection, he may have made them had a stroke not caused his death. He had 1,493 strikeouts, tied with Larry Dierker, and 107 victories, same as Edwin Jackson.
“I child you not: In the event that they took the radar gun that they’re utilizing properly now they usually put it on J.R., when the ball left his hand like that, it was in all probability going 110,” said the longtime outfielder Gary Matthews. “If he doesn’t have that stroke, he’s within the Corridor of Fame. He had Corridor of Fame stuff and he would have had Corridor of Fame stats. J.R. Richard doesn’t have to take a seat again to any pitcher that’s ever pitched within the main leagues.”
As a child, he would bring some rocks and chuck them into the woods at rabbits and birds. His fastball was first developed then. He also stumbled across a pitching handbook across a highway. He learned the pitch so fast that he was drafted by the Astros while still in highschool. In 1971, he tied the number of strikeouts in a significant league debut with 15 in opposition.
Richard faced 16 Corridor of Fame batters for a total of 548 at-bats, the equal of a batter’s full season. In total they hit .245 off him, with 150 strikeouts. Everybody else mixed to hit .209.