Don Gullett, Ace for the Big Red Machine, Dies at 73

Don Gullett, a flame-throwing left-handed pitcher who starred for 3 World Series champion groups within the Seventies, first with the Cincinnati Reds after which with the New York Yankees, died on Wednesday. He was 73.

The Reds group confirmed the demise in a assertion however didn’t cite a trigger or say the place he died.

The Reds throughout Gullett’s tenure have been one of many nice groups of all time. The Big Red Machine, because it was recognized, was well-known for its lumber, with an era-defining lineup of hitters that included Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez and Pete Rose.

While the crew’s pitching hardly ever obtained high billing, Gullett established himself as a feared ace throughout the crew’s run as a dynasty. Nicknamed Smokin’ Don, he blew away batters with a fastball whose velocity tickled triple digits, at instances drawing comparisons to his idol, Sandy Koufax, the storied Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander.

Willie Stargell, the Hall of Fame slugger for the Pittsburgh Pirates, as soon as mentioned that Gullett “could throw a ball through a carwash without it ever getting wet.”

Adding a nasty forkball that left batters waving at air, he went 17-11 with a 3.04 earned run common in 1974. Sparky Anderson, the Reds’ supervisor, predicted that, “barring an injury,” Gullett “is almost sure of making the Hall of Fame.”

Those phrases would transform prophetic, however not in the way in which Anderson meant.

Gullett had the respect of beginning Game 1 of the World Series for 3 straight years starting in 1975 — the primary two with the Reds, the third with the Yankees. In an exciting seven-game conquer the Boston Red Sox in 1975, Gullett misplaced the opener however got here again to win Game 5, surrendering solely two earned runs in 8 ⅔ innings.

After the Reds steamrolled the Yankees in a four-game sweep the subsequent yr, the Bronx Bombers’ principal proprietor, George Steinbrenner, had apparently seen sufficient: He signed Gullett to a six-year contract for $2.1 million (the equal of about $11 million at this time) as a free agent.

“He had to take it,” Bench was quoted as saying in Gullett’s obituary in The Cincinnati Enquirer. “It was the hardest decision I think Don Gullett ever made in his life, but for his family it was the only decision he could make.”

In his first yr in pinstripes, in 1977, Gullett went 14-4, serving to the crew to its first World Series victory since 1962.

Surgery in 1978 for a double tear within the rotator cuff of his left shoulder would mark the tip of his taking part in days. His efforts to rehabilitate his throwing arm failed. He sat out the 1979 season, and the Yankees launched him in 1980.

Still, Gullett had tallied 109 wins towards 50 losses throughout his profession, ending with a profitable share of .686 — the seventh finest in league historical past for pitchers who notched not less than 1,000 innings.

On a Reds crew stacked with stars, his athleticism had stood out to teammates — as had his humble method. “He was a total athlete,” The Enquirer quoted Bench as saying. “He could hit and run like the wind and the nicest, nicest person. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a bad word ever said about Don.”

Donald Edward Gullett was born on Jan. 6, 1951, close to Lynn, Ky., not removed from the Ohio border, the sixth of eight youngsters of Buford and Lettie Gullett.

As an adolescent, Don constructed his energy baling hay on native farms whereas changing into a stunning All-State star on the diamond, gridiron and hardwood at McKell High School. He grew to become an area legend, recognized for feats like scoring 72 factors in a soccer recreation and putting out 20 of 21 batters whereas pitching an ideal recreation.

Chosen 14th total out of highschool by Cincinnati within the 1969 draft, Gullett appeared in solely 11 video games within the minor leagues earlier than being fast-tracked to the large leagues in 1970, when he was 19.

In the National League Championship Series in 1970, the Reds swept a robust Pittsburgh Pirates crew in three video games, with Gullett, in aid, tallying saves in Games 2 and three. Despite his youth, he was not awed by the expertise.

“I wasn’t nervous a bit going in there,” he mentioned throughout the collection. “Talking to all these reporters is a lot tougher than facing Willie Stargell or Roberto Clemente.”

The Reds misplaced the World Series in 5 video games to to the Baltimore Orioles that yr and fell to the Oakland A’s (one other dynasty of the Seventies) two years later. Still, the very best years have been but to return, each for the crew and for its star left-hander.

After his taking part in days have been over, Gullett retired to a farm close to his hometown, the place, together with his spouse, Cathy, he grew tobacco and different crops.

Information about his survivors was not instantly out there.

Interviewed in 1989 by The Los Angeles Times, Gullett mentioned that it took time to recover from his untimely exit from baseball.

“I looked at myself and I was only 31, 32 years old,” he mentioned. “It kind of bothered me mentally. It was mentally tough to watch games.”

Even in remorse, nonetheless, he maintained his trademark humility.

“It was just unfortunate in my career,” he added. “If I had stayed healthy, there is the chance I could have been very successful.”