Jerry Reuss —pronounced "royce"—is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball, best known for his years with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who had a 22-year career from to. Reuss played for eight teams in his major league career; along with the Dodgers, he played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros, and Pittsburgh Pirates. At the end of his career, he played for the Cincinnati Reds, California Angels, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, and the Pirates again. In he became the second pitcher in history, joining Milt Pappas, to win 200 career games without ever winning 20 in a single season. Reuss is one of only 29 players in major league history to play in four different decades.
Career
Reuss was drafted in the second round of the 1967 Major League Baseball draft by the Cardinals after graduating from Ritenour High School in Overland, Missouri. He won his first Major League game in 1969, and became part of the starting rotation in 1970. In the spring of, Reuss wanted a raise from $17,000 to $25,000. Cardinals General Manager Bing Devine, under owner Gussie Busch's directive, was unwilling to give more than $20,000. Reuss also grew a mustache that raised Busch's ire. When Reuss refused to bend on the salary issue, Busch directed Devine to "get rid of him". Devine then traded Reuss to the Astros for pitcher Scipio Spinks and Lance Clemons. The trade looked like a fairly even swap at the time. While Spinks had shuttled between Houston and their top minor league affiliate, the Oklahoma City 89ers, over the last three years, he had been almost unhittable during his minor league stints. However, Spinks never recovered from a freak knee injury suffered on July 4, 1972 and was out of baseball by 1976. Reuss played two seasons before being traded to the Pirates after the season for Milt May after a season in which he led the National League in walks with 117. Reuss was a two time All-Star – first in with the Pirates, having 18 wins and 11 losses that season and an earned run average of 2.54, and then again in with the Dodgers, striking out all three batters he faced in that year's game, and earning the win. In 1980 Reuss had one of the best seasons of his career with 18 wins and only six losses, and leading the majors in shutouts with six; he also threw a no-hitter against the San Francisco Giants on June 27, striking out only 2 batters, narrowly missing a perfect game due to a throwing error in the first inning by shortstop Bill Russell; Reuss's no-hitter is just one of ten in baseball history in which a pitcher did not walk or hit a batter, but whose perfect game bid was foiled by a fielding error. Reuss finished second behind Steve Carlton in the running for the Cy Young Award, and won Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award. In Reuss went 10-4 with a career-low 2.30 ERA in a strike-shortened season, and won two postseason games including one against the New York Yankees in the 1981 World Series, helping the Dodgers win the title. On June 11, 1982, Jerry Reuss recorded 27 consecutive outs in a game, with only the opponent's leadoff batter reaching base. Reuss had two more winning seasons with the Dodgers before injuries took their toll from to, and was released at the beginning of the season. He then played for the Reds, going 0-5 before getting released again, and then for the Angels before becoming a free agent. Reuss then signed with the Chicago White Sox, having a 13-9 season and earning his 200th career win in 1988, and played a few more seasons before retiring in 1990.
