Houston Astros place pitcher J.R. Richard on the disabled list amidst rumors that he is malingering and feigning an arm injury

On July 16, 1980, Despite much speculation that he is simply malingering, the Astros place star pitcher J.R. Richard on the 21-day disabled list with a mysterious arm problem. The 6′ 8″ right-hander is 10-4 with a 1.89 ERA and 119 strikeouts in 114 innings, but has removed himself from 10 games this year complaining of fatigue and a “dead arm.” In his last start he took himself out during the fourth inning of a 2-0 loss to Atlanta two days before, although he got one of the two Houston hits in what would be his final major league at-bat.

On July 23rd, Richard will check into a hospital for a series of physical and psychological tests to determine the cause of his “erratic” behavior, and shorty after that, Richard will suffer a devastating stroke, curtailing his promising career.
@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiTGVhcm4gTW9yZSBhYm91dCB0aGUgdGVhbXMsIHBsYXllcnMsIGJhbGwgcGFya3MgYW5kIGV2ZW50cyB0aGF0IGhhcHBlbmVkIG9uIHRoaXMgZGF0ZSBpbiBoaXN0b3J5IC0gLSAtIC0gLSAtIC0gIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6InBvc3RfdGFnIn19@