Rick Reed: 2000 N.L. Champion Mets Pitcher (1997-2001)
The six-foot right hander was drafted out of Marshall University, way down in the 26th round of the 1986 draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Reed went 12-4 through all levels of the minors in 1988, getting a brief call up to the Pirates staff.
MLB Debut: He made his MLB debut on August 8th, 1988 against the NL Eastern Champion Mets in Pittsburgh facing Bobby Ojeda. In that game, he stunned the mighty Mets hitters, pitching eight shutout innings. He allowed just three hits, to earn his first career win, a 1-0 victory.
Over the next three years, Reed pitched between the Pirates & AAA, winning the American Association Pitcher of the Year in 1991 going 14-4 with a 2.15 ERA.
In 1992 he signed with the Kansas City Royals seeing action in 19 games going 3-7 with a 3.68 ERA striking out 49 batters in 100 innings. The next year he was granted free agency in August & signed with the Texas Rangers. In May of 1994 he was placed on waivers & picked up by the Cincinnati Reds.
MLB Players Strike: During the 1994 MLB Players strike, Reed took a job as a replacement player crossing the picket line. After the strike in 1995, he wasn’t the most popular guy in the clubhouse in Cincinnati. He didn’t pitch well and was released after just four games.
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Mets Career: He signed with the New York Mets in November 1995 and spent 1996 at AAA Norfolk going 8-10 with a 3.16 ERA.
When arriving with the Mets, he talked with manager Bobby Valentine about pitching in Japan, through some of Valentine's contacts. Valentine used him in Spring Training & he impressed the team, earning himself a spot in the bottom of the 1997 rotation.
Reed made his Mets debut at Candlestick Park in the fifth game of the 1997 season. He pitched seven shutout innings but got no decision as the Mets lost to the Giants 2-0.
From July 4th to August 4th, he was 5-0, keeping his ERA under the three mark. He went eight innings in wins over the Reds on July 19th, where he struck out seven & against the Dodgers in L.A. on July 24th. In his next win, he didn't strike out a single batter but still earned a 5-2 win in San Francisco.
After an August 4th win at St. Louis, he lost four straight games From August 10th through the end of the month, although he allowed just two earned runs in two of those losses.
In September he closed out the year pitching into the ninth inning, beating the eventual World Champion Florida Marlins 2-1. Throughout the season pitched into the 8th inning or beyond eight different times.
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Reed would finish the year at 13-9 (second on the staff to Bobby Jones in wins) with a 2.89 ERA (6th best in the NL). He pitched 208 innings with 113 strike outs and only 31 walks. His walks per nine innings ration was second best in the league at 1.339. He also led the team with 33 starts.
1998 Season: He started the year at a 1-2 with a 4.21 ERA . In his second game of the season he was clobbered for seven runs on ten hits in just 3.2 innings at Wrigley Field in a 8-7 loss. But je got himself on track, as he went undefeated in May going 5-0, pitching seven innings or better each time, allowing just four earned runs in 36 innings.
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1998 All Star: By the All Star break he was 9-5 with one of league’s best ERA’s at 2.72. Reed was named to the NL All Star staff, although he did not pitch in the game played at Colorado's Coors Field.
In his first start after the break, he gave up twelve hits but still beat the Expo's 10-5 for his tenth win.
He finished the year winning a career high 16 games (16-11) with a 3.48 ERA, striking out a career high 153 batters in 212 innings pitched. He walked just 29 batters posting the second-best walks per nine innings ratio in the league (1.229) for the second straight year.
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After an April 11th start where he left the game after three innings, he was shut down for the rest of the month until May 3rd. He returned with a victory at Shea over the Astros.
He made just two starts as he missed most of August with an injury, going 1-1 the entire month.
In September, he wasn't too effective taking three no decisons, although on September 21st, he allowed just one run to the Braves in Atlanta as the Mets took a 2-1 loss to John Smoltz, Mike Remlinger & John Rocker in extra innings.
His biggest game, came on the next to last day of the regular season, he pitched a three-hit shutout against the Pittsburgh Pirates to secure the Mets a tie for the Wild Card spot with Reds.
His next start came at Turner Field, where he threw a seven inning, four hit shutout against Greg Maddox & the Atlanta Braves. In that game he also drove in a run with a 5th inning sac fly. The Mets won the game 4-0.
That year at the plate he was second in the league with 14 sac hits, as he batted .204 driving in two runs.
2000 NLCS: In the NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals, he took the only loss the Mets suffered in the series, coming in Game #3. He gave up five Cardinal runs getting knocked out in the 4th inning in the loss at Busch Stadium.
The Mets won the game 4-2, behind Todd Zeile's two run double 7 Benny Agbayani's RBI double in the 8th. t was the only win they had in the series. Reed didn’t earn the decision.
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After the Pennant: In 2001, he started out his season with big three hit complete game, one run
Reed went 12-4 through all levels of the minors in 1988, getting a brief call up to the Pirates staff.
MLB Debut: He made his MLB debut on August 8th, 1988 against the NL Eastern Champion Mets in Pittsburgh facing Bobby Ojeda. In that game, he stunned the mighty Mets hitters, pitching eight shutout innings. He allowed just three hits, to earn his first career win, a 1-0 victory.
Over the next three years, Reed pitched between the Pirates & AAA, winning the American Association Pitcher of the Year in 1991 going 14-4 with a 2.15 ERA.In 1992 he signed with the Kansas City Royals seeing action in 19 games going 3-7 with a 3.68 ERA striking out 49 batters in 100 innings. The next year he was granted free agency in August & signed with the Texas Rangers. In May of 1994 he was placed on waivers & picked up by the Cincinnati Reds.
MLB Players Strike: During the 1994 MLB Players strike, Reed took a job as a replacement player crossing the picket line. After the strike in 1995, he wasn’t the most popular guy in the clubhouse in Cincinnati. He didn’t pitch well and was released after just four games.
Mets Career: He signed with the New York Mets in November 1995 and spent 1996 at AAA Norfolk going 8-10 with a 3.16 ERA. When arriving with the Mets, he talked with manager Bobby Valentine about pitching in Japan, through some of Valentine's contacts. Valentine used him in Spring Training & he impressed the team, earning himself a spot in the bottom of the 1997 rotation.
Reed made his Mets debut at Candlestick Park in the fifth game of the 1997 season. He pitched seven shutout innings but got no decision as the Mets lost to the Giants 2-0.
After losing his first decision he won three straight starts at the end of April, only allowing three earned runs over 24 innings pitched. On June 23rd, he beat John Smoltz 3-2 as both pitchers went the distance in the matchup at Shea Stadium.
From July 4th to August 4th, he was 5-0, keeping his ERA under the three mark. He went eight innings in wins over the Reds on July 19th, where he struck out seven & against the Dodgers in L.A. on July 24th. In his next win, he didn't strike out a single batter but still earned a 5-2 win in San Francisco.After an August 4th win at St. Louis, he lost four straight games From August 10th through the end of the month, although he allowed just two earned runs in two of those losses.
In September he closed out the year pitching into the ninth inning, beating the eventual World Champion Florida Marlins 2-1. Throughout the season pitched into the 8th inning or beyond eight different times.
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1998 Season: He started the year at a 1-2 with a 4.21 ERA . In his second game of the season he was clobbered for seven runs on ten hits in just 3.2 innings at Wrigley Field in a 8-7 loss. But je got himself on track, as he went undefeated in May going 5-0, pitching seven innings or better each time, allowing just four earned runs in 36 innings.
On May 29th, he shut out the Phillies in Philadelphia into the 8th inning in a 11-0 Mets romp over the Phils. On June 8th, he pitched a three-hit shutout against the expansion Tampa Bay Devil Rays in their first trip to Shea Stadium in an interleague game. He struck out a season high ten batters in the contest.
He would pitch into the 9th inning in his next two starts, both against the Marlins where he went 1-1. On June 24th he posted his 9th victory as he beat the Baltimore Orioles at Shea Stadium. He allowed just one run in seven innings.
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1998 All Star: By the All Star break he was 9-5 with one of league’s best ERA’s at 2.72. Reed was named to the NL All Star staff, although he did not pitch in the game played at Colorado's Coors Field. In his first start after the break, he gave up twelve hits but still beat the Expo's 10-5 for his tenth win.
On July 21st he shut out the Pirates at Shea Stadium, for eight innings as he struck out nine batters in the 4-0 win. On August 1st, he beat the Carlos Perez & the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 at Shea Stadium, allowing just one run on six hits over eight innings of work. The Mets won the game on Edgardo Alfonzo's walk off hit.
In the month he was 5-1 winning four straight games. He struck out 32 batters in 40 innings issuing just three walks.
His September wasn't as good as he lost three of four decisions.
He finished the year winning a career high 16 games (16-11) with a 3.48 ERA, striking out a career high 153 batters in 212 innings pitched. He walked just 29 batters posting the second-best walks per nine innings ratio in the league (1.229) for the second straight year. His weakness was HRs, as he allowed 30 on the year, seventh in the NL.
At the plate he had 12 sacrifice hits (6th most in the NL).
1999 Mets Wild Card Season: Bobby Valentine liked what he had seen by giving Reed a chance he past two seasons & looked at him as one of his top pitchers behind Al Leiter. He gave Reed the second start of the year, it came in Florida against the Marlins. Reed allowed just one run over six innings pitched, striking out six & walking two in the Mets 12-3 romp.
After an April 11th start where he left the game after three innings, he was shut down for the rest of the month until May 3rd. He returned with a victory at Shea over the Astros.After taking a subway series loss at the start of June, Reed was 3-3 with a 5.33 ERA & struggling.
But from there he went on a seven-game win streak, not taking another loss until two months later. He beat the Reds, Cardinals & Braves all on the road, for three straight personal wins. The Mets were scoring runs for him as well, by the end of July he had won nine games but his ERA was up at 4.92.
He made just two starts as he missed most of August with an injury, going 1-1 the entire month.
In September, he wasn't too effective taking three no decisons, although on September 21st, he allowed just one run to the Braves in Atlanta as the Mets took a 2-1 loss to John Smoltz, Mike Remlinger & John Rocker in extra innings.
His biggest game, came on the next to last day of the regular season, he pitched a three-hit shutout against the Pittsburgh Pirates to secure the Mets a tie for the Wild Card spot with Reds.On the season he was 11-5, & although he was fourth on the team in wins, he was first in winning percentage (.688%). He struck out 104 batters with 47 walks in 126 innings in 26 games pitched, while posting a 4.58 ERA.
1999 Post Season: NLDS: In the 1999 post season he got the win in Game #3 of the NLDS at Shea Stadium, beating the Arizona Diamond backs. Reed pitched six innings allowing two runs on four hits. The win put New York ahead two games to one in the Series.
1999 NLCS: In the NLCS with the Mets facing elimination down three games to none, he went head-to-head with Atlanta’s John Smoltz in Game #4.
Reed pitched seven innings, shutting out the Braves until the 8th inning, when Brian Jordan & Ryan Klesco hit back-to-back HRs off him. He left the game down 2-1but John Olerud's two run single off John Rocker in the bottom of the 8th inning brought in the winning runs. Reed was saved & earned no decision. The Braves beat the Mets in six games.
2000 NL Pennant Season: In 2000 he once again got the start in the second game of the season; this game was played in Japan against the Chicago Cubs. Reed didn’t allow an earned run in eight innings of work but earned no decision in the Mets 5-1 win, as Benny Agbayani hit a grand slam in the top of the 11th inning off Danny Young to win the game.
He began the year, pitching at least seven innings in his first six starts. In April he allowed just one earned run in his first four games to get to 2-0 with an 0.91 ERA beating the Los Angeles Dodgers & Milwaukee Brewers. On April 29th he allowed six runs at Coors Field but still earned a win to get to 3-0, as the Mets scored 13 runs.
On May 16th, he had a season high ten strike out game against the Colorado Rockies at Shea Stadium although he earned no decision in the Mets 4-3 loss. Reed was 4-2 at the All Star break, with a 4.75 ERA.
1999 NLCS: In the NLCS with the Mets facing elimination down three games to none, he went head-to-head with Atlanta’s John Smoltz in Game #4.
Reed pitched seven innings, shutting out the Braves until the 8th inning, when Brian Jordan & Ryan Klesco hit back-to-back HRs off him. He left the game down 2-1but John Olerud's two run single off John Rocker in the bottom of the 8th inning brought in the winning runs. Reed was saved & earned no decision. The Braves beat the Mets in six games.
2000 NL Pennant Season: In 2000 he once again got the start in the second game of the season; this game was played in Japan against the Chicago Cubs. Reed didn’t allow an earned run in eight innings of work but earned no decision in the Mets 5-1 win, as Benny Agbayani hit a grand slam in the top of the 11th inning off Danny Young to win the game.He began the year, pitching at least seven innings in his first six starts. In April he allowed just one earned run in his first four games to get to 2-0 with an 0.91 ERA beating the Los Angeles Dodgers & Milwaukee Brewers. On April 29th he allowed six runs at Coors Field but still earned a win to get to 3-0, as the Mets scored 13 runs.
On May 16th, he had a season high ten strike out game against the Colorado Rockies at Shea Stadium although he earned no decision in the Mets 4-3 loss. Reed was 4-2 at the All Star break, with a 4.75 ERA.
After missing a couple of weeks of action in early July he returned to pitch in Toronto but allowed five runs earning no decision in a 7-5 Mets win.
His next start came at Turner Field, where he threw a seven inning, four hit shutout against Greg Maddox & the Atlanta Braves. In that game he also drove in a run with a 5th inning sac fly. The Mets won the game 4-0. He had a good August going 4-2 as the Mets scored runs for him. On August 4th in Arizona, he held the d-backs to one run into the 8th inning of a 6-1 win. On August 30th he shut out the Astros & Chris Holt for seven innings in a 1-0 thriller.
On September 5th, he took a no decision, allowing just two runs as the Mets lost a 3-2 game to the Reds in Cincinnati. Next the Brewers roughed him up for five runs as he took his fifth loss on the year; it was to be his last in the regular season.
On September 25th, he added his 11th victory, as he allowed just one run in eight innings while striking out seven Braves at Shea Stadium in a 6-2 Mets win. The Mets were four games behind the Braves with five to play but had secured the wild card spot.
Reed closed out the Mets pennant year at 11-5 with a .688 win % (sixth best in the NL) & a 4.11 ERA. In 30 games he struck out 121 batters, walked 34 in 184 innings pitched. His walks per nine innings ratio was third best in the league at 1.663. He allowed 28 HRs & 84 earned runs.
That year at the plate he was second in the league with 14 sac hits, as he batted .204 driving in two runs. 2000 Post Season-NLDS: Reed got no decision pitching in Game #3 of the NLDS against the San Francisco Giants. He allowed four singles in the 4th inning, accounting for two runs on seven hits pitching in six innings of work. The Mets did win the game on Benny Agbayani's 13th inning walk off HR. centerfieldmaz was in attendance that afternoon game.
2000 NLCS: In the NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals, he took the only loss the Mets suffered in the series, coming in Game #3. He gave up five Cardinal runs getting knocked out in the 4th inning in the loss at Busch Stadium.2000 World Series: In the 2000 Subway World Series, he pitched well in Game #3 at Shea Stadium, striking out eight batters, allowing just two runs through six innings. He scattered a run in the 3rd on David Justice's double & in the 4th on Paul O'Neill's triple.
The Mets won the game 4-2, behind Todd Zeile's two run double 7 Benny Agbayani's RBI double in the 8th. t was the only win they had in the series. Reed didn’t earn the decision.
Trivia: At the same time Reed was pitching, there was an MLB umpire also named Rick Reed.
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victory at Atlanta in the third game of the season. The Mets took two of three in the series. After a losing decision, he won four straight games.
On May 4th, he pitched eight innings, allowing two runs in a 4-2 win over the Diamond backs. After the four-game win streak, he took a loss in Colorado & then won three more straight decisions. On May 25th, he struck out a season high nine batters in a 4-3 win against the Marlins at Shea, earning no decisions.
On June 5th, he threw another complete game, a four-hit shutout getting to 6-2. He then won a game in Baltimore & got no decision in a Mets winning effort in the subway series.
2001 All Star: Reed was 7-4 with a 3.10 ERA at the All-Star break, and the National League's manager, the Mets own, Bobby Valentine picked Reed, for his second All Star Game. Once again he did not pitch in the All-Star game, which the AL won 4-1 at Safeco Field, Seattle.
After the break he earned his last Mets victory, a seven-inning performance against the Toronto Blue Jays. On July 26th, he made his last Mets start, taking a 3-2 loss to former Met, Robert Person & the Phillies. At the July trade deadline, Rick Reed was traded to the Minnesota Twins for outfielder Matt Lawton.
Reed was devastated by the trade, wanting to end his career in New York. In a 2010 interview, he talked about leaving the Mets after being traded: "baseball kind of died for us, my wife & I".
All Time Mets Leaders: Reed is 13th on the Mets All Time wins list with 59. Tied for Fifteenth is starts (138) sixteenth in strike outs (590) & seventeenth in innings (882).
Post Mets Career: He went 4-6 the rest of the way, in his adjustment to the American League. In 2002 he made a remarkable comeback, as he put together another 15-win season going 15-7 with a 3.78 one of the best ERAs of his career.
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He got to another post season that year but took a loss to the Oakland A’s in the ALDS & then
another to the eventual World Champion Anaheim Angels in the ALCS.
In 2003 he followed up with his worst season going 6-12 with a 5.07 ERA pitching in 27 games. After the season he retired at age 38. Reed ended his 15-year career going 93-76 with a 4.03 ERA.
He walked only 285 batters in 1545 innings pitched. He struck out 970 batters, had seven shut outs & 14 complete games pitching 1545 innings in 273 games.
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Retirement: In 2005 he became pitching coach at his old college, Marshall University for the Thundering Herd. After that he retired, choosing to spend time with his wife & two daughters as a full-time dad.
He returned to the Mets in 2010 on a Mets alumni night at Citi Field. He said "New York always had something going on, if you do well here, they love you."
In 2019 he donated $1 million to Marshall University's new baseball stadium.
On May 4th, he pitched eight innings, allowing two runs in a 4-2 win over the Diamond backs. After the four-game win streak, he took a loss in Colorado & then won three more straight decisions. On May 25th, he struck out a season high nine batters in a 4-3 win against the Marlins at Shea, earning no decisions.
On June 5th, he threw another complete game, a four-hit shutout getting to 6-2. He then won a game in Baltimore & got no decision in a Mets winning effort in the subway series.
2001 All Star: Reed was 7-4 with a 3.10 ERA at the All-Star break, and the National League's manager, the Mets own, Bobby Valentine picked Reed, for his second All Star Game. Once again he did not pitch in the All-Star game, which the AL won 4-1 at Safeco Field, Seattle.
After the break he earned his last Mets victory, a seven-inning performance against the Toronto Blue Jays. On July 26th, he made his last Mets start, taking a 3-2 loss to former Met, Robert Person & the Phillies. At the July trade deadline, Rick Reed was traded to the Minnesota Twins for outfielder Matt Lawton. Reed was devastated by the trade, wanting to end his career in New York. In a 2010 interview, he talked about leaving the Mets after being traded: "baseball kind of died for us, my wife & I".
All Time Mets Leaders: Reed is 13th on the Mets All Time wins list with 59. Tied for Fifteenth is starts (138) sixteenth in strike outs (590) & seventeenth in innings (882).
Post Mets Career: He went 4-6 the rest of the way, in his adjustment to the American League. In 2002 he made a remarkable comeback, as he put together another 15-win season going 15-7 with a 3.78 one of the best ERAs of his career.
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another to the eventual World Champion Anaheim Angels in the ALCS.
In 2003 he followed up with his worst season going 6-12 with a 5.07 ERA pitching in 27 games. After the season he retired at age 38. Reed ended his 15-year career going 93-76 with a 4.03 ERA.
He walked only 285 batters in 1545 innings pitched. He struck out 970 batters, had seven shut outs & 14 complete games pitching 1545 innings in 273 games.
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He returned to the Mets in 2010 on a Mets alumni night at Citi Field. He said "New York always had something going on, if you do well here, they love you."
In 2019 he donated $1 million to Marshall University's new baseball stadium.
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