Houston Astros: It’s time to retire J.R. Richard’s number

The Houston Astros have retired 10 numbers in franchise history. It’s time for J.R. Richard’s number 50 to be the 11th.

J.R. Richard should have his number retired by the Houston Astros

In franchise history, nine players who have taken the field for the Houston Astros have had their numbers retired by the franchise (the 10th is Jackie Robinson’s number 42, retired by all MLB teams). The last number retired by the franchise belonged to Craig Biggio, who had the honor in 2008.

The next number to be retired should be Richard’s, honoring a dominant pitcher who was indeed, as the Astros tweeted out, a legend in his time.

During his time on the mound, Richard was as dominating and imposing as any Major League pitcher. From 1975 through 1980, Richard was a part of 199 games for the Astros (starting 197) and posted a 3.01 ERA, FIP of 2.84, and WHIP of 1.220 over 1,442.1 innings of work. He struck out 8.4 per nine innings while giving up just 6.8 hits per nine.

His 2.71 ERA in 38 starts during the 1979 season led all MLB pitchers, as did his 313 strikeouts (the second year he paced MLB pitchers in that category and topped 300 whiffs in a season).

Sadly, the next season, Richard’s career would be cut short by a stroke he suffered just two weeks after being placed on the then-disabled list by the Astros. By the time Richard landed on the DL, he had logged 10 wins and earned a spot in his first (and what would be only) All-Star Game, flashing his dominance on the mound there as well.

Any talk of Richard’s career will always be followed with “what might have been.” However, there is no questioning what he meant to the Astros during his all-too-short time with the team.

With Richard passing away in August, the 2022 season would be the perfect time to honor Richard and his legacy with the Astros. Here’s hoping that number retirement day is scheduled in Houston soon.