Books and articles about Rick Langford

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Langford, who had tied for the AL lead with 19 losses in 1977, had his first of two winning seasons when Billy Martin arrived in Oakland in 1980. Langford went 19-12 that year with league highs of 290 innings pitched and 28 complete games - 22 of them consecutive, setting an A's record. In 1981 he again led the AL in complete games (18) and won the clincher in the AL Western Division playoffs. He was a fast-working finesse pitcher and an excellent fielder; his first major league error (10/2/80) broke a streak of 230 consecutive chances accepted - an AL record for pitchers. When he developed elbow trouble in 1983 after leading the A's in innings and complete games a fourth straight year, many - but not Langford - blamed Martin for having overworked his starters. Langford struggled to come back through the last four years of a six-year contract and went 1-10 (7.36) in a final try in 1986. (JCA)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » March 15, 1977: The Pirates trade outfielders Tony Armas and Mitchell Page, and four pitchers, including Rick Langford, to the A's for 2B Phil Garner, IF Tommy Helms, and P Chris Batton. » August 23, 1979: At Cleveland, the A's Rick Langford gives up six hits and six runs in the 1st inning, including a grand slam to Andre Thornton and a solo by Ron Hassey. He then allows just one hit over the next eight innings, and the A's come back to win, 8–6. » August 10, 1980: Steve McCatty becomes the 4th A's starter to pitch a 14-inning complete game this season, losing 2–1 to Seattle despite pitching a 6-hitter. Teammates Matt Keough (on May 17th), Mike Norris (June 11th), and Rick Langford (July 20th) have also pitched 14-inning complete games for manager Billy Martin, who will later be widely criticized for ruining their arms through overwork. » August 15, 1980: Oakland's Rick Langford (13-9) defeats the Mariners 11–3 for his 17th consecutive complete game, the most in the majors since Robin Roberts' 20 in a row in 1953. » September 17, 1980: After surrendering a 2-run home run to Rusty Staub, Rick Langford is removed with two outs in the 9th inning of Oakland's 6–4 win over Texas, ending his consecutive complete-game streak at 22. » June 12, 1982: A's RF Tony Armas sets a pair of ML records for the position with 11 putouts and 12 total chances in an 8–1 win over the Blue Jays. Harry "Silk Stocking" Schafer's record of 11 total chances had stood since 1877, and matched four times, most recently by Bake McBride, in 1978. Armas has a single and a triple, including the game winner for Rick Langford. » September 4, 2002: Aaron Myette, ejected yesterday for two pitches behind Melvin Mora, starts today's game, allowing six of the 11 walks in an 8–3 loss to Baltimore. According to the New York Times, it is the first back to back start by a pitcher since Steve McCatty in 1980 [though five pitchers -- Dennis Martinez (Baltimore), Bert Blyleven (Cleveland), Pete Vuckovich (Milwaukee), Rick Langford (Oakland), and Juan Eichelberger (San Diego) -- made the last start before the 1981 strike and the first start after].