Win–loss record 73–106 Role Baseball player Name Rick Langford | Strikeouts 671 Earned run average 4.01 | |
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James Rick Langford (born March 20, 1952) is an American retired professional baseball pitcher who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1976 through 1986. He has served as a coach for the Toronto Blue Jays in MLB and for their farm teams in Minor League Baseball.
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Career
Langford grew up in Varina, Virginia. He attended Varina High School, where he participated in four sports. He signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates as a free agent in 1973. He made his MLB debut with the Pirates in 1976. Before the 1977 season, the Pirates traded Langford, Tony Armas, Doug Bair, Dave Giusti, Doc Medich and Mitchell Page to the Oakland Athletics for Phil Garner, Chris Batton, and Tommy Helms.
In a streak that began on May 23, 1980, Langford pitched 22 consecutive complete games. The streak ended on September 17, when he came within 1⁄3 of an inning of another complete game. He then pitched consecutive complete games in his next three starts. Langford led the American League in complete games and innings pitched that year, and also won a career high 19 games for the Athletics. In 1983, Langford was hit by a line drive in his elbow and tore a muscle in the elbow when trying to play through the injury. 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, a minor league baseball affiliate of the New York Yankees. The Yankees did not promote him to the major leagues, and he retired after the season.
Langford joined the Toronto Blue Jays organization in 1996 as a pitching coach 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 of the Class AAA International League.
Personal life
Langford lives in Florida with his wife Terrie, an art teacher. They have two children: Jamie, an elementary school teacher, and Travis, a lieutenant in the United States Air Force.