Jerry Reuss

Jerry Reuss (born June 19, 1949)—pronounced "royce"—is an American former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball, best known for his years with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Reuss played for eight teams in his major league career; along with the Dodgers (1979–87), he played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1969–71), Houston Astros (1972–73), and Pittsburgh Pirates (1974–78). At the end of his career (1987–90), he played for the Cincinnati Reds, California Angels, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, and the Pirates again (Reuss is one of only two Pirates to have played for Danny Murtaugh, Chuck Tanner, and Jim Leyland, the other being John Candelaria). With the Dodgers, he won the 1981 World Series over the New York Yankees. In he became the second pitcher in history, joining Milt Pappas, to win 200 career games without ever winning 20 in a single season (a feat later matched by: Frank Tanana, Charlie Hough, Dennis Martínez, Chuck Finley, Kenny Rogers, and Tim Wakefield). 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 Scipio Spinks and Lance Clemons on April 15, 1972. 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.