Jerry Reuss Houston Astros Signed 8x10 W/coa

Jerry Reuss Stats & Facts

 

Jerry Reuss

Position: Pitcher
Bats: Left  •  Throws: Left
6-5, 200lb (196cm, 90kg)
Born: June 19, 1949 in St. Louis, MO
Draft: Drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2nd round of the 1967 MLB June Amateur Draft from Ritenour HS (St. Louis, MO).
High School: Ritenour HS (St. Louis, MO)
Schools: University of California, Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara, CA), University of Central Missouri (Warrensburg, MO)
Debut: September 27, 1969 (10,560th in MLB history)
vs. MON 7.0 IP, 2 H, 3 SO, 3 BB, 0 ER, W
Last Game: October 3, 1990 
vs. NYM 5.1 IP, 6 H, 1 SO, 1 BB, 3 ER
Full Name: Jerry Reuss
Pronunciation: \ROYCE\
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject

 

Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1969

Darrell Evans
Bill Buckner
Carlton Fisk
Steve Garvey
Bill Russell
Toby Harrah
Vida Blue
Jerry Reuss
Thurman Munson

 

The Jerry Reuss Teammate Team

C: Mike Scioscia
1B: Willie Stargell
2B: Steve Sax
3B: Ron Cey
SS: Barry Larkin
LF: Lou Brock
CF: Robin Yount
RF: Dave Parker
DH: Harold Baines
SP: Bob Gibson
SP: John Candelaria
SP: Bob Welch
SP: Fernando Valenzuela
SP: Don Sutton
RP: Ken Tekulve
RP: John Franco
M: Tommy Lasorda

 

Notable Events and Chronology for Jerry Reuss Career

Jerry Reuss Biography

Tall, blond southpaw Jerry Reuss pitched in four different decades, winning 220 games, while toiling for six different teams. He anchored the Pittsburgh Pirate staff of the 1970s, and later helped the Dodgers win the 1981 World Series. He was the Sporting News named Reuss Comeback Player of the Year in 1980 when he finished second in Cy Young voting and pitched a no-hit, no-run, no-walk game marred only by an error by shortstop Bill Russell.

He struck out all three batters he faced in that year’s All-Star Game and pitched 4 scoreless frames in his 2 all-star game appearances going 1-0, 0.00 ERA, striking out 5. It didn’t make up a little for his lack of playoff success. Reuss recorded a dismal 2-8 post-season record in 11 starts, but his ERA was a respectable 3.58. In-Game One of the 1974 NLCS he was defeated 3-0 by Don Sutton; in Game Two of the 1981 NLDS he pitched nine shutout innings, but his teammates could not score off Joe Niekro, the Astros failed to score upon him in 19 innings of that year’s divisional. In-Game One of the 1983 NLCS Steve Carlton beat him 1-0, wasting eight innings of the four-hit ball by Reuss. Reuss threw a five-hit shutout in Game Five of the 1981 National League Division Series against the Houston Astros, out-dueling Nolan Ryan. Reuss also outdueled Ron Guidry in the pivotal fifth game of the 1981 World Series.

Reuss came up with the Cardinals in 1969 and was a .500 pitcher for three years. He then spent two seasons with Houston; he led National League pitchers in walks in 1973 (117), but later became one of the best control pitchers in the league. Going to Pittsburgh in return for Milt May after the 1973 season, he became the anchor of the Pirates’ staff and helped the slugging team to division titles in 1974 and 1975, having his best Pirate season the latter year, going 18 and 11 with an ERA of 2.54.

Traded straight up for the similarly-talented Rick Rhoden just prior to the start of the 1979 season. Reuss would say “I’m looking forward to next season knowing I’ll be a starter. That’s something I haven’t known for a couple of years. And I’ll spend the winter at home jogging and getting into condition.” — Dodgers lefty Jerry Reuss, late in 1979. Reuss was 7 and 14 in 1979, but he rebounded with his Comeback year and from 1980 to 1983 was one of the Dodgers’ more consistent winners (18-6, 10-4, 18-11, 12-11).

While with the Dodgers in the early 1980s, Jerry Reuss was treated by a psychiatrist for his fear of pitching in Chicago’s Wrigley Field.

Jerry Reuss won 18 games and had a 2.51 ERA in 1980, despite allowing nine grand slams! The nine slams allowed were a National League record, and Reuss allowed just three additional homers that season.

Three straight losing, injury-plagued seasons from 1984 to ’86 led to his release after just one game in 1987; picked up by the Cincinnati Reds, he was 0 and 5 and was released again. A stint with the Angels was slightly more successful (4-5), but at the end of 1987 he was allowed to become a free agent. Signed by the pitching-poor Chicago White Sox near the end of spring training in 1988, he again came back, going 13-9 with a 3.44 ERA despite being supported by the worst offense and defense in the league.

Near Perfect:

Pitched a no-hitter on July 27, 1980, against the Giants in Candlestick Park. He was deprived of a perfect game when shortstop Bill Russell committed a throwing error in the first inning to allow the Giants’ lone baserunner. Two years later, on June 11, 1982, Reuss again came within one batter of pitching a perfect game. The lefty allowed a leadoff double to Cincinnati’s Eddie Milner and then retired 27 in a row for a 11-1 win

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Factoids, Quotes, Milestones and Odd Facts

Tall, blond southpaw Jerry Reuss pitched in four different decades, winning 220 games, while toiling for six different teams. He anchored the Pittsburgh Pirate staffs of the 1970s, and later helped the Dodgers win the 1981 World Series. In 1980 he hurled a no-hitter, missing a perfect game when shortstop Bill Russell made a throwing error.

Played For
St. Louis Cardinals (1969-1971)
Houston Astros (1972-1973)
Pittsburgh Pirates (1974-1978)
Los Angeles Dodgers (1979-1987)
Cincinnati Reds (1987)
California Angels (1987)
Chicago White Sox (1988-1989)
Milwaukee Brewers (1989)
Pittsburgh Pirates (1990)

Similar: Mickey Lolich, Joe Niekro, Rick Reuschel, Jerry Koosman

Linked: After Reuss poulled a hamstring, Fernando Valenzuela earned the opening day assignment for the Dodgers in 1981, launching his phenomenal rookie season… Reuss retired with 220 wins, but never having won 20 in a season, a record. Later, Frank Tanana finished his career with 233 wins and no 20-win seasons.

Best Season, 1981
Reuss probably had a better regular season in 1975 for the Pirates, but in ’81 for the Dodgers he won two games in the post-season to help the team to the World Series title. He was 10-4 with a 2.30 ERA in the regular season, and then notched a win in the NL Division Series against the Astros, and a victory in the Fall Classic over the Yankees.

No-Hit Fame
6/27/1980: For LA (N) vs. SF (N), 4-0 at SF. 9 innings pitched.

Post-Season Appearances
1974 National League Championship Series
1975 National League Championship Series
1981 National League Championship Series
1981 National League Division Playoffs
1981 World Series
1983 National League Championship Series
1985 National League Championship Series

Factoid
While with the Dodgers in the early 1980s, Jerry Reuss was treated by a psychiatrist for his fear of pitching in Chicago’s Wrigley Field.

Post-Season Notes
Reuss recorded a dismal 2-8 post-season record in 11 starts, but his ERA was a respectable 3.58. In Game One of the 1974 NLCS he was defeated 3-0 by Don Sutton; in Game Two of the 1981 NLDS he pitched nine shutout innings, but his teammates could not score off Joe Niekro; in Game One of the 1983 NLCS Steve Carlton beat him 1-0, wasting eight innings of four-hit ball by Reuss… Reuss threw a five-hit shutout in Game Five of the 1981 National League Division Series against the Houston Astros, out-dueling Nolan Ryan.

Feats: Pitched a no-hitter on July 27, 1980, against the Giants in Candlestick Park. He was deprived of a perfect game when shortstop Bill Russell committed a throwing error in the first inning to allow the Giants’ lone baserunner. Two years later, on June 11, 1982, Reuss again came within one batter of pitching a perfect game. The lefty allowed a leadoff double to Cincinnati’s Eddie Milner and then retired 27 in a row for a 11-1 win… Pitching for the White Sox on May 9, 1988, Reuss notched his 200th career win, against the Baltimore Orioles.

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Transactions
June 6, 1967: Drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2nd round of the 1967 amateur draft; April 15, 1972: Traded by the St. Louis Cardinals to the Houston Astros for Scipio Spinks and Lance Clemons; October 31, 1973: Traded by the Houston Astros to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Milt May; April 7, 1979: Traded by the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Rick Rhoden; April 10, 1987: Released by the Los Angeles Dodgers; April 18, 1987: Signed as a Free Agent with the Cincinnati Reds; June 14, 1987: Released by the Cincinnati Reds; June 19, 1987: Signed as a Free Agent with the California Angels; November 9, 1987: Granted Free Agency; March 29, 1988: Signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago White Sox; July 31, 1989: Traded by the Chicago White Sox to the Milwaukee Brewers for Brian Drahman; November 8, 1989: Released by the Milwaukee Brewers; March, 1990: Signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago White Sox; April 3, 1990: Released by the Chicago White Sox; April 14, 1990: Signed as a Free Agent with the Houston Astros; May 14, 1990: Released by the Houston Astros; July 7, 1990: Signed as a Free Agent with the Pittsburgh Pirates; November 5, 1990: Granted Free Agency.

Factoid
Jerry Reuss won 18 games and had a 2.51 ERA in 1980, despite allowing nine grand slams! The nine slams allowed were a National League record, and Reuss allowed just three additional homers that season.

All-Star Selections
1975 NL
1980 NL

Replaced
Dave Giusti and Ray Washburn in the Cardinals’ rotation, 1970.

Replaced By
In spring of 1990, the White Sox promoted youngsters Jack McDowell and Alex Fernandez to their rotation, and released Reuss as the regular season began.

Best Strength as a Player
Reuss struggled with his control early in his career, but evolved into a control pitcher.

Largest Weakness as a Player
Durability. Reuss spent parts of seven seasons on the disabled list.

 

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