Richard Allen Reed (born August 16, 1964) is an American former

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

who played for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

(1988–1991),

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

(1992–1993), Texas Rangers (1993–1994),

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

(1995),

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...

(1997–2001) and

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

(2001–2003). He batted and threw right-handed.

Early baseball career

After playing for

Marshall University Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States. The university is currently composed of nine colleges ...

, Reed was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 26th round of the 1986 Major League Baseball Draft. He made his major league debut for Pittsburgh in 1988, but saw only limited playing time each year through 1991. After 1991, he spent several more years mostly in the minors. A highlight of Reed's early baseball career came on June 13, 1990 when Reed picked up the only save of his major league career in a 6-5 Pirates victory over the Cardinals.

Replacement baseball

In 1995, which was Reed's 10th year of pro ball, he agreed to be a replacement player for the Cincinnati Reds during the 1994 Major League Baseball strike. Reed's mother, Sylvia, was a diabetic without health insurance, and he was paying her medical bills. Reed had been scheduled to be the Reds' opening day starter in 1995 if the strike hadn't been settled. He told reporters in 1995 that he sat in his hotel room the weekend before the scheduled start and prayed the strike would end so he wouldn't have to take the mound. "It was their season to start, not mine," Reed said of the regular players.

After the strike

After the strike, Reed was pitching well in the minor leagues with an 8-4 record and a 3.17 earned-run average. On July 21, 1995, Reed was recalled by Cincinnati to the consternation of several of his teammates who had gone on strike. In Reed's first major league start in 1995, he pitched innings of no-hit baseball during a home game against the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

. The Cubs'

Mark Grace Mark Eugene Grace (born June 28, 1964) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman who spent 12 seasons with the Chicago Cubs and three seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks of the National League (NL). He was a member of the 2001 Wor ...

broke up the no-hitter with an infield single off the glove of shortstop and future Hall of Famer Barry Larkin with one out in the seventh inning. During the rest of the 1995 season in the majors, Reed did not pitch well. He was optioned back to Triple-A

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

on August 14, 1995. On October 16, 1995, Reed filed for free agency. On November 7, 1995, Reed was signed by the New York Mets system. Reed spent the 1996 season in the minors, pitching in the New York Mets' system for the Triple-A Norfolk Tides.

Return to the majors, and success

In 1997, Reed found his major league stride with the New York Mets, going 13–9 and finishing sixth in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

with a 2.89 ERA. His most productive season came in 1998, when he won 16 games and held a 3.48 ERA, striking out 153 batters while

walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...

just 29. An All-Star in 1998 and 2001, he also was a member of the Mets team that faced the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

in the 2000 World Series. Reed was traded by the Mets to the Minnesota Twins for

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

Matt Lawton midseason in 2001. He won 15 games for Minnesota in 2002 and led the American League in fewest

walks per nine innings In baseball statistics, bases on balls per nine innings pitched (BB/9IP or BB/9) or walks per nine innings (denoted by W/9) is the average number of bases on balls, (or walks) given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by m ...

. After a disappointing 2003 season where he went 6–12 with a 5.07 ERA, Reed retired. In a 15-season career, Reed posted a 93–76 record with 970 strikeouts and a 4.03 ERA.

After the majors

In 2005, Reed returned to Marshall University as the pitching coach for the Thundering Herd baseball team.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Rick 1964 births Living people Marshall Thundering Herd baseball players Baseball players from West Virginia National League All-Stars Cincinnati Reds players Kansas City Royals players Minnesota Twins players Pittsburgh Pirates players Texas Rangers players New York Mets players Harrisburg Senators players Salem Buccaneers players Macon Pirates players Indianapolis Indians players Norfolk Tides players Omaha Royals players Binghamton Mets players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Oklahoma City 89ers players Major League Baseball pitchers Marshall Thundering Herd baseball coaches Sportspeople from Huntington, West Virginia Sportspeople from Manhattan Major League Baseball replacement players Gulf Coast Pirates players