Astro company man....13 out of 14 seasons
under the Astrodome home field*...minimal minor league exposure round about
1964....age 18 at MLB debut in 1968....typical of his Houston peers a majority of whom were
pressed into MLB service in first year of pro ball....starting 1965 gained more
innings then starts....gained 7 wins that year...10 in 1966 then 6 1967 both
could have been much better had not injury struck in the former and military
service in the later....hit full bloom in 1969 with 20 wins and Houston reached
.500 for the first time....strung along wins 16, 12, and 15 in the following
years....injuries came back in 1973 and only able be active for three
weeks....was able to get back into rotation next three years taking 11, 14, and
13 victories....threw a no hitter in 1976 his last as a ‘stro player....Finished
his pitching arts with handful of unimpressive games for St.
Louis....Eventually returned as Astro manager.... suffered a seizure in 1999
and missed 27 games... despite excellent five year run with four 1st
place finishes, Houston brass was soured by his 3-12 playoff record
Always wondered why the Astros got rid of him as a manager. I always thought he was a great leader. Bobby Cox of the Braves had something like 10 straight 1st place finishes and only won one world series...and he's in the HOF!
ReplyDeleteYes the timing does seem strange, if anything his job as manager would appear to be in more jeopardy the year before when the Astros lost 90 games. The next year the Astros win 21 more games and return to the playoffs.
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