James Rick Langford (born March 20, 1952) is an American retired

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who played for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

and

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) from 1976 through 1986. He has served as a

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

in MLB and for their

farm team In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

s in Minor League Baseball.

Career

Langford grew up in

Varina, Virginia Varina ( ) is a former unincorporated community and current magisterial district in the easternmost portion of Henrico County, Virginia, United States. History John Rolfe and Varina Plantation Varina was named for Varina plantation establishe ...

. He attended

Varina High School Varina High School is located in eastern Henrico County, Virginia. It is one of nine high schools in Henrico County Public Schools and was founded in 1909, with the current campus opening in 1963. The school's mascot is the Blue Devil, branded aft ...

, where he participated in four sports. He signed with the

as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 1973. He made his MLB debut with the Pirates in 1976. Before the 1977 season, the Pirates traded Langford,

Tony Armas Antonio Rafael Armas Machado (born July 2, 1953) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder from 1976 to 1989. He is the father of pitcher Tony Armas Jr. and the older brother of ...

Doug Bair Charles Douglas Bair (born August 22, 1949) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played for 15 Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons — from 1976 to 1990 — for seven teams. Career Pittsburgh Pirates Bair was drafted by the ...

Dave Giusti David John Giusti, Jr. (born November 27, 1939) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 1962 to 1977, most notably as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates teams that won f ...

Doc Medich George Francis "Doc" Medich (born December 9, 1948) is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1972–1982. He was a medical student at the University of Pittsburgh, and acquired the nickname "Doc" during his e ...

and

Mitchell Page Mitchell Otis Page (October 15, 1951 – March 12, 2011) was a Major League Baseball player. He finished second to Hall of Famer Eddie Murray in American League Rookie of the Year balloting when he came up with the Oakland Athletics in . Page pl ...

to the

for

Phil Garner Philip Mason Garner (born April 30, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as an infielder with the Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers and ...

Chris Batton Christopher Sean Batton (born August 24, 1954) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He played part of one season in Major League Baseball for the Oakland Athletics. Batton was drafted by the Athletics in the 12th round of the 1972 Major Lea ...

, and

Tommy Helms Tommy Vann Helms (born May 5, 1941) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. Over a 14-year Major League Baseball career (–), Helms played for four teams, including eight seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, four with the Ho ...

. In a streak that began on May 23, 1980, Langford pitched 22 consecutive

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s. The streak ended on September 17, when he came within of an inning of another complete game. He then pitched consecutive complete games in his next three starts. Langford led the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

in complete games and innings pitched that year, and also won a career high 19 games for the Athletics. Charlie Metro was one of his coaches in Oakland and had this to say about him: "Rick Langford was another one of those pitchers with Oakland who was a little short on stuff but great on moxie. He knew how to pitch to get the most out of his skills. Boy, he had a lot of determination. He was a likeable guy. He'd give you a good effort every time he was out on the mound. Billy

artin Artin may refer to: * Artin (name), a surname and given name, including a list of people with the name ** Artin, a variant of Harutyun, an Armenian given name * 15378 Artin, a main-belt asteroid See also

{{disambiguation, surname ...

loved him." In 1983, Langford was hit by a

line drive In the sports of baseball and softball, a batted ball is a pitch that has been contacted by the batter's bat. Batted balls are either fair or foul, and can be characterized as a fly ball, pop-up, line drive, or ground ball. In baseball, a fou ...

in his elbow and tore a muscle in the elbow when trying to play through the injury. However, he'd already been in decline before then. Although he reportedly had a sore elbow late in the 1982 season, his lackluster statistics (11-16, 4.32 ERA) led baseball writer

Rob Neyer Rob Neyer (born June 22, 1966) is an American baseball writer known for his use of statistical analysis or sabermetrics. He started his career working for Bill James and STATS and then joined ESPN.com as a columnist and blogger from 1996 to 2011 ...

to wonder if he'd been injured earlier in the season. Neyer estimated that in 1981, Langford threw as many as 129 pitches per complete game, a heavy workload for a young pitcher even then. A's manager

Billy Martin Alfred Manuel Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989), commonly called "Billy", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yan ...

has often been criticized for overworking Langford and the other members of the 1981 rotation He had a 4–19 win–loss record from the 1983 through 1986 seasons. He attempted a comeback to baseball in 1988, pitching for the

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...

, a minor league baseball affiliate of the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

. The Yankees did not promote him to the major leagues, and he retired after the season. Langford joined the

organization in 1996 as a

pitching coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

in the minor leagues. He served as a major league pitching coach in 2002. After the 2008 season, the Blue Jays named Langford their roving minor league pitching instructor. The Blue Jays named Langford their major league bullpen coach for the 2010 season. After the 2010 season, he became the Blue Jays' pitching rehab coordinator. He became the pitching coach for the

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL ...

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

Personal life

Langford lives in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

with his wife Terrie, an art teacher. They have two children: Jamie, an elementary school teacher, and Travis, a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Langford, Rick Pittsburgh Pirates players Oakland Athletics players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Virginia 1952 births Living people People from Farmville, Virginia Florida State Seminoles baseball players SCF Manatees baseball players Toronto Blue Jays coaches Gulf Coast Pirates players Salem Pirates players Charleston Charlies players Shreveport Captains players Modesto A's players Tacoma Tigers players Columbus Clippers players Major League Baseball pitching coaches Major League Baseball bullpen coaches State College of Florida, Manatee–Sarasota alumni