1980: Here Come The Astros
With Dr. John McMullen as sole owner of the Astros the team would now benefit in ways a corporation could not give them. The rumors of the Astros moving out of Houston, which started when Judge Roy Hofheinz Astrodomain started to crumble, had been stopped and the Astros were now able to compete in the free agent market. Something GE Credit and Ford Motor Credit were not able or willing to do. McMullen showed the city of Houston that he too wanted a winning team by signing nearby Alvin, Texas native to the first million dollar a year deal. Ryan had four no-hitters and struck out 383 in one season. Win or lose Ryan would fill the seats.
Joe Morgan returned to the Astros in 1980. When Morgan left Houston he was a good player that became a great player with the Cincinnati Reds. Morgan had always regretted leaving the Astros but his destiny was with the Cincinnati Reds. Now back in Houston, his two MVP awards and three World Series rings with him; Morgan wanted to help make the Astros a pennant winner.
1980 saw one of the best pitching line ups the Astros ever had. Ryan with his fastball, Joe Niekro with his knuckle ball that frustrated hitters and J. R. Richard with his imposing 6 ft 8 in frame and terrifying pitches. Teams felt lucky to face Ken Forsch who was a double digit game winner in the previous two seasons. Richard became the first Astros pitcher to start an All-Star game. He pitched two inning striking out three, including Reggie Jackson. Three days later after a medical examination Richard was told to rest his arm. During a workout in the Astrodome on July 30 Richard collapsed. He had suffered a stroke and was taken to the hospital. A blood clot that had made his arm feel tired had moved to his neck and cut off blood flow to the brain. Surgery was done to save his life. The Astros had lost their ace pitcher after a 10–4 start with a stingy 1.89 ERA. Although he attempted to come back, Richard would never again pitch a big league game.
The loss of J. R. Richard hit the Astros hard and the team had a hard time scoring runs. The Astros slipped to third place in the division behind the Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds, the Astros bounced back with a ten game winning streak that put the team back in first place in the division. The Dodgers regained the lead by two games as they came to Houston on September 9. The Astros showed the Dodgers how serious they were by winning the first two games of the series to put both clubs tied for first in the division. By seasons end the Astros held a three game lead over the Dodgers with three games left in the season against the Dodgers. The Dodgers swept all three games thus making the two teams have to square off in a one game playoff the next day to see who would be division champ.
The Astros season had come down to a one game playoff in Los Angeles. The Astros had faced the Dodgers three best pitchers the three previous days and would now face Dave Goltz who held the hopes of the Dodgers in his hand. The Astros would make the most of facing Goltz. Terry Puhl scored on a fielders choice in the first to give the Astros a 2–0 early lead. In the third Art Howe knocked one out to give the Astros a 4–0 lead. Howe would deliver the final blow to the Dodgers in the fourth to give the Astros 7. The frustrated Dodgers showed third discontent when Ashby, trying to score more another run for the Astros, slid into home where Joe Ferguson, who did not hold the ball when Puhl scored, was waiting with ball in hand to tag Ashby out. He then gave Ashby a knee to the ribs causing a benches to clear. The Dodger faithful began tossing food at the Astros players and on the field forcing the game to be stopped until order was restored. The Astros went on to clinch the division for the first time in team history. While excited by the victory the team would have to fly cross country to face the Phillies the next day for game one of the NLCS.
Read more about this topic: History Of The Houston Astros