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.[3] Langford led the American League in complete games and innings pitched that year, and also won a career high 19 games for the Athletics. Charlie Metro was one of his coaches in Oakland and had this to say about him: "Rick Langford was another one of those pitchers with Oakland who was a little short on stuff but great on moxie. He knew how to pitch to get the most out of his skills. Boy, he had a lot of determination. He was a likeable guy. He'd give you a good effort every time he was out on the mound. Billy [Martin] loved him."[4]
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.[5] However, he'd already been in decline before then. Although he reportedly had a sore elbow late in the 1982 season, his lackluster statistics (11-16, 4.32 ERA) led baseball writer Rob Neyer to wonder if he'd been injured earlier in the season. Neyer estimated that in 1981, Langford threw as many as 129 pitches per complete game, a heavy workload for a young pitcher even then. A's manager Billy Martin has often been criticized for overworking Langford and the other members of the 1981 rotation[6] He had a 4–19 win–loss record from the 1983 through 1986 seasons.[3] 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.[7]
Langford joined the Toronto Blue Jays organization in 1996 as a pitching coach in the minor leagues.[8] He served as a major league pitching coach in 2002.[8] After the 2008 season, the Blue Jays named Langford their roving minor league pitching instructor.[9] The Blue Jays named Langford their major league bullpen coach for the 2010 season.[8] After the 2010 season, he became the Blue Jays' pitching rehab coordinator.[10] He became the pitching coach for the Syracuse Chiefs of the Class AAAInternational League.[1]
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.[7]