16 of their 24 April games, and were still in last place in the NL West after 127 games (at 47–80) on August 18. On that day, Gómez was released in favor of Bill Virdon. As the Astros' pilot, he finished with a record of 128 wins and 161 losses. Once again, Gómez took to the coaching lines, for the St. Louis Cardinals () and then back to the Dodgers (1977–79), where he assisted Tommy Lasorda for three seasons and coached in two more World Series — 1977 and 1978. Chicago Cubs and California Angels The exposure led to one last major league managing job, with the Cubs — but again Gómez met with frustration. The last-place Cubs dropped 52 of their first 90 games, and on July 23 Gómez was fired again, to be replaced by Joey Amalfitano. His career managing record, over seven years, was 346 wins, 529 losses (.395) with four last-place finishes. Highly respected, Gómez remained in baseball as third-base coach (1981–84) of the California Angels, then served the Angels' organization as a special assignments scout and assistant to the general manager from 1985 until his death. Ongoing no-hitters aborted On two occasions, Gómez sent in pinch-hitters to hit for pitchers who had pitched no-hitters through eight innings. He did this on July 21, 1970, with the Padres' Clay Kirby and on September 4, 1974, with the Astros' Wilson. Both pitchers were losing their respective games at the time they were pulled. In both cases, the hitting strategy failed, and the games were ultimately lost. Managerial record Death Gómez sustained major head injuries when he was struck by a vehicle at a Blythe, California, gas station on March 26, 2008. The accident occurred while Gómez was on his way home to Chino Hills, California, from the Angels' spring training in Arizona. He died from his injuries on January 13, 2009, in Fullerton, California, aged 85. The 2009 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim honored Gómez' memory with a uniform patch in the shape of a black diamond with the name "Preston" written in white. See also List of St. Louis Cardinals coaches References External links News report on the life of Preston Gomez AP Obituary at the Orange County Register 1923 births 2009 deaths Bismarck Barons players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players California Angels coaches California Angels executives Charleston Senators players Chicago Cubs managers Cuban expatriate baseball