Richard Allen Williams (born November 9, 1952) is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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. He was a ,

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

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 appeared in 48 games, 17 as a starter, for the 1978–1979 Houston Astros. Williams attended

Merced High School Merced High School is located in Merced, California, United States. It is a part of the Merced Union High School District. The current enrollment is over 1,800 students in grades 9 through 12. The school is currently under Principal Marcus Knott ...

Merced, California Merced (; Spanish for "Mercy") is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 86,333, up from 78,958 in 2010. Incorporated on April 1 ...

where, in April 1969, he threw a no-hitter in a 1–0 duel against Al Autry of

Grace M. Davis High School Grace M. Davis High School, commonly referred to as Davis High School, is a public high school located in Modesto, California, United States. Established in 1961, the school serves students in grades 9-12. Davis High was recognized as a Califo ...

. Williams attended

Merced College Merced College is a public community college in Merced, California. History In 1961, the Merced High and Le Grand High School Districts petitioned the State Board of Education for permission to set an election to approve the establishment of a ...

. He was signed by Houston as an undrafted free agent in May 1972 and began his pro career in the Rookie-level

Florida East Coast League The Florida East Coast League was the name of two United States, American minor league baseball circuits based on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of Florida. The first edition of the league operated as a Class D (baseball), Class D level league ...

that season. He reached the Triple-A level in 1975 and made his Major League debut on June 12 of the 1978 season in the eighth inning of a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at the

Astrodome The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Houston ...

. Pitching in

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Joe Niekro Joseph Franklin Niekro ( ; November 7, 1944 – October 27, 2006) was an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He was the younger brother of pitcher Phil Niekro, and the father of former Major League first baseman Lance Niekro. Niekr ...

with the Astros trailing 4–0, Williams allowed a run during his inning of work to make the score 5–0, Pittsburgh. But in the bottom of that inning, Houston scored six runs and won the game, 6–5. Williams (removed for a pinch hitter during Houston's six-run rally) was credited with the

victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes ...

, while

Joe Sambito Joseph Charles Sambito (born June 28, 1952) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Houston Astros (1976–1982, 1984), New York Mets (1985) and Boston Red Sox (1986–1987). He batted and threw left-handed. Early life H ...

picked up the save. Williams worked in 17 games for the 1978 Astros, including one game as a starting pitcher, and fashioned a 1–2 record and a 4.67

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

in 34 innings pitched. The following year, he appeared in 31 games for Houston, and made 16 starts. In May 1979, he recorded two complete game

shutouts In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

, the only two of his Major League career. On May 20, he blanked the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

on five hits, beating future

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Gaylord Perry Gaylord Jackson Perry (September 15, 1938 – December 1, 2022) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right-handed pitcher for eight different teams from 1962 to 1983. During a 22-year baseb ...

, 1–0. Eleven days later, he went the distance and whitewashed the Cincinnati Reds on seven hits, 3–0. He took a regular turn in the Astro rotation during June, but in July he transitioned to a spot-starter and relief pitcher "swingman" role. All told, he worked in innings, won four of 11 decisions, and posted an ERA of 3.26. Williams returned the minor leagues in 1980, but struggled to regain his effectiveness, and his Major League tenure was over. All told, in 156 MLB innings pitched, Williams surrendered 165 hits and 40 bases on balls. He

struck out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denote ...

54. His pro career ended after the 1982 season, his 11th in the game.

References

External links

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Retrosheet
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Venezuelan Professional Baseball League
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Rick 1952 births Living people Baseball players from Merced, California Cedar Rapids Astros players Charleston Charlies players Cocoa Astros players Columbus Astros players Houston Astros players Iowa Oaks players Leones del Caracas players Major League Baseball pitchers Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Toledo Mud Hens players Tucson Toros players