Don Gullett Passes Away

The Reds announced that former big leaguer Don Gullett passed away today at the age of 73. “Don dedicated 24 years to this franchise as a player, coach and minor league instructor,” Reds CEO Bob Castellini said in a statement. “An anchor on the pitching staff of one of the greatest baseball teams in history, his contributions to our rich tradition, our city and his community will never be forgotten.”

Born in Lynn, Kentucky in 1951, Gullett went on to be a three-sport athlete at McKell High School in South Shore, Kentucky, including excelling in baseball as a left-handed pitcher. He was selected by the Reds in the first round of the 1969 draft.

Despite being just 19 years old, he was able to make his major league debut with the Reds in 1970. That was the first of seven seasons he spent with the Reds, suiting up for them from 1970 to 1976. He appeared in 236 games for the Reds over that stretch, including 156 starts, logging 1,187 innings. He allowed 3.03 earned runs per nine frames in that time, with a record of 91 wins, 44 losses and also recording 11 saves.

This was a great era for the club, as the Reds won the National League West in five of those seven seasons. They won the NL pennant in four of them and hoisted the World Series trophy in 1975 and ’76. In the ’75 World Series, Gullett started the first game for the Reds and kept the game scoreless through six innings. But things came off the rails in the seventh, with the Red Sox scoring six and eventually holding on to win 6-0. Gullett got the ball again in the fifth game, with the series now knotted at two games apiece. He tossed 8 2/3 innings, allowing two earned runs as the Reds won 6-2. After a travel day, three days of heavy rain delayed Game Six, which was eventually won by Boston thanks to Carlton Fisk’s legendary home run. In Game Seven, Gullett started and allowed three earned runs over four innings, with the Reds eventually emerging victorious 4-3.

In ’76, Gullett started Game One and allowed one run over 7 1/3, with the Reds eventually sweeping the Yankees. That was his last appearance as a Red, as he reached free agency and signed with the Yankees. In ’77, he made 22 starts for the Yanks with a 3.58 ERA. The Yanks won the East and got by the Royals in the ALCS, earning a spot in the World Series against the Dodgers. Gullett started Game One and went 8 1/3, allowing three earned runs, with the Yanks eventually winning 4-3 in 12 innings. He started again in Game 5 with the Yankees up 3-1 in the series but was lit up and didn’t get through the fifth. The Yanks lost that game but won the series in Game Six, with Reggie Jackson’s historic three-homer performance highlighting the clincher.

Gullett returned to the Yanks in ’78 but shoulder problems limited him to just eight starts in what would eventually be his final season in the big leagues. His playing career finished with him having a record of 109-50 after having tossed 1,390 innings with a 3.11 ERA. He added another 93 frames in the postseason with a 3.77 ERA while winning three straight World Series rings. Later in life, he served as the Reds’ pitching coach from 1993 to 2005.

We at MLBTR join the rest of the baseball world in sending our condolences to Gullett’s family, friends, fans and many associates through the game.