| Ron Reed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Pitcher | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born: (1942-11-02)November 2, 1942 (age 83) LaPorte, Indiana, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| September 26, 1966, for the Atlanta Braves | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last MLB appearance | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| September 29, 1984, for the Chicago White Sox | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Win–loss record | 146–140 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Earned run average | 3.46 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strikeouts | 1,481 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Saves | 103 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ronald Lee Reed (born November 2, 1942) is an American former professionalbaseball andbasketball player. He spent two seasons as apower forward in theNational Basketball Association (NBA) with theDetroit Pistons before spending nearly two decades as aMajor League Baseballpitcher.[1]
Reed was born inLaPorte, Indiana, and was abaseball,basketball andfootball star atLaPorte High School. After high school, he attendedNotre Dame on a basketball scholarship.[2]
The 6’6″ forward set the Notre Dame single season rebounding record, averaging 17.7 a game his junior year. He averaged nineteen points and 14.3 rebounds a game over his college career[3] on his way to being selected by theDetroit Pistons in the third round of the1965 NBA draft.[4] Shortly afterwards, he also signed as an amateur free agent to pitch for theMilwaukee Braves.
Reed made his NBA debut with theDetroit Pistons in a 111–103 loss to theNew York Knicks on October 16, 1965.[5] He spent two seasons with the Pistons, and averaged 8 points per game. During the 1966–67 season, Reed informed head coach and teammateDave DeBusschere — who was, himself, a two-sport star who pitched for theChicago White Sox — that he had decided to pursue his baseball career.
Regardless, he was selected 25th overall by theSeattle SuperSonics in the1967 NBA expansion draft.[6]
Reed spent the1965 season in the high AFlorida State League. In1966, he jumped all the way to triple A, while compiling a 13–5 record and 2.57earned run average. He received a September call-up, and made his major league debut on September 26, 1966, against theSan Francisco Giants.[7] The fourth batter he faced,Willie McCovey, hit a two-runhome run to give him the loss in his debut. He fared better in his second appearance.Starting against theCincinnati Reds, he held them scoreless over six innings to pick up his first major league win.[8] He spent the1967 season with theRichmond Braves, and went 14–10 with a 2.51 ERA. He again received a September call-up, and went 1–1 with a 2.95 ERA in three starts.
Reed joined theAtlanta Braves out ofSpring training1968. After three appearances out of thebullpen, Reed was moved into thestarting rotation on April 29. He went 6–0 with a 1.73 ERA over his first six starts. His record fell to 8–4 with a 3.21 ERA by the All-Star break, but it was still good enough to earn him selection to theNational LeagueAll-Star squad. Reed was one of six pitchers to hold theAmerican League team scoreless.[9]
Reed had a tremendous year in1969, winning a career-high eighteen games to help the Braves capture theNational League West crown in the first season of divisional play to reach the post-season for the first time since moving toAtlanta. He got the start in game two of the1969 National League Championship Series againstJerry Koosman and theNew York Mets. He surrendered fourruns in just 1.2innings to take the loss.[10]
Reed spent five more seasons in Atlanta, going 49–66 with a 3.93 ERA and 490 strikeouts. He was the winning pitcher in the game in whichHank Aaron hit his 715th career home run, surpassingBabe Ruth for the all-time record.[11]
He was traded from the Braves to theSt. Louis Cardinals forRay Sadecki andElias Sosa on May 28,1975.[12]Bob Gibson'sHall of Fame career was in its twilight when the Cardinals acquired Reed to replace him in the rotation.[13] His first start with his new club came against his former franchise, and he allowed two runs (0 earned) over seven innings to pick up the victory.[14] He went 9–8 with a 3.23 ERA his only season in St. Louis. Between the Braves and the Cards, Reed pitched 250.1 innings, faced 1067 batters, and surrendered only five home runs.
Reed was acquired by thePhiladelphia Phillies from the Cardinals forMike Anderson at theWinter Meetings on December 9, 1975.[15] In 1975, the Phillies finished in second place, 6.5 games behind thePittsburgh Pirates, in theNational League East. In 1975, Philliesrelief pitchers were 28–22 with a 3.21 ERA. The Phillies acquired Reed with the intention of using him as a right-handed complement toTug McGraw at the back end of the bullpen.
His career inPhiladelphia got off to a rocky start. Following a poor performance against his former Cardinals teammates on May 22,1976,[16] Reed's record stood at 2–1 with a 4.95 ERA, with one of his two wins being the result of having blown a save for starterSteve Carlton on April 24.[17]
From there, he became rock solid. Through August, Reed went 6–3 with twelvesaves and a 1.97 ERA, while holding batters to a .188batting average. For the season, he and McGraw combined for 25 saves, and a 2.48 ERA to help the Phillies win 101 games, and take their division by nine games.
Unfortunately, this success did not carry into the post season. TrailingCincinnati's "Big Red Machine" two games to zero in the1976 National League Championship Series, the Phillies jumped to a 3–0 lead in game three of the series.ManagerDanny Ozark handed Reed the ball in the seventh inning with runners on first and second with noouts. He allowed both inherited runners to score, as well as giving up two more runs to allow Cincinnati to take a 4–3 lead. The Phillies battled back to recapture a 6–4 lead, however, Reed surrendered back-to-back home runs toGeorge Foster andJohnny Bench to lead off the ninth. Five batters later,Ken Griffey Sr.'sbases loadedsingle offTom Underwood completed the three-game sweep for the Reds.[18]
Reed emerged as one of the most dominant pieces of Danny Ozark's bullpen. Over the next two seasons, Reed went 10–9 with 32 saves and a 2.51 ERA to help the Phillies capture their division for three consecutive seasons (they were defeated in theNational League Championship Series by theLos Angeles Dodgers both times).[19][20]1978 was the first season of Reed's career that he did not make a single start. He did, however, amass a career high seventeen saves. In1979, Reed led MLB with thirteenreliefwins.
The Phillies returned to the post-season in1980. Reed was the losing pitcher in game two of the1980 National League Championship Series against theHouston Astros,[21] however, he pitched shutout ball over the remainder of the post season, earning a save in game two of theWorld Series.[22]
He also pitched in the inauguralNational League Division Series in 1981 with Philadelphia (vs.Montreal); the Division Series format was adopted as a result of theplayers' strike. Reed's finest season in Philadelphia was his last. In1983, Reed pitched 95.2 innings, and went 9–1 with eight saves. He appeared in three of the five World Series games against theBaltimore Orioles. After the season, and shortly after his 41st birthday, Reed was traded to theChicago White Sox for a player to be named later. The White Sox sent fellow 41-year-old Jerry Koosman to the Phillies to complete the trade.
In his only season inChicago, Reed was 0–6 with a 3.08 ERA. He was released the following spring, and retired.
Reed is one of fifteen pitchers in MLB history to have at least 100 wins and 100 saves.[23] He is one of only five pitchers in MLB history to have 100 wins, 100 saves and 50 complete games. The other four areEllis Kinder,Firpo Marberry,Dennis Eckersley andJohn Smoltz. Reed was 0–2 record with one save, and a 5.06 ERA over 32 innings in 22 postseason games.
| W | L | PCT | ERA | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BF | H | ER | R | HR | BAA | K | BB | BB/9 | WP | HBP | Fld% | Avg. |
| 146 | 140 | .510 | 3.46 | 751 | 256 | 55 | 8 | 103 | 2477.1 | 10304 | 2374 | 953 | 1084 | 182 | .252 | 1481 | 633 | 2.3 | 72 | 50 | .975 | .158 |
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Source[24]
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965–66 | Detroit | 57 | 17.5 | .355 | .540 | 5.9 | 1.6 | 7.5 |
| 1966–67 | Detroit | 62 | 20.1 | .372 | .594 | 6.8 | 1.3 | 8.5 |
| Career | 119 | 18.9 | .364 | .571 | 6.4 | 1.5 | 8.0 | |
Reed is one of 13 athletes to have played in both theNational Basketball Association andMajor League Baseball. The thirteen are:Danny Ainge,Frank Baumholtz,Hank Biasatti,Gene Conley,Chuck Connors,Dave DeBusschere,Dick Groat,Steve Hamilton,Mark Hendrickson,Cotton Nash, Reed,Dick Ricketts andHowie Schultz.[25]
In 1990, he was inducted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame.[2]
In 2005, he was inducted into National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.[3]
In 2022, he was inducted into thePhiladelphia Phillies Wall of Fame.
