Jerry Reed (baseball)

Not to be confused with the American actor and country music singer, Jerry Reed.

Jerry Reed
Pitcher
Born: October 8, 1955 (1955-10-08) (age 56) Bryson City, North Carolina
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 11, 1981 for the Philadelphia Phillies
Last MLB appearance
August 8, 1990 for the Boston Red Sox
Career statistics
Win-Loss Record	20-19
Strikeouts	248
ERA	3.94
Teams
Philadelphia Phillies (1981-82) Cleveland Indians (1982-83, 1985) Seattle Mariners (1986-90) Boston Red Sox (1990)

Jerry Maxwell Reed (born October 8, 1955 in Bryson City, North Carolina), is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched for all or part of nine seasons between 1981-1990.

Pre-MLB career

Reed was originally drafted out of high school by the Minnesota Twins. He was chosen in the 11th round of the 1973 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign, instead opting to attend Western Carolina University. After four years at WCU, Reed was again drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 22nd round of the 1977 draft. He played the next four seasons in their farm system before earning a September call-up in 1981.

Phillies

Reed pitched just 4 1/3 innings in 4 games in the majors in '81. He pitched another 7 games for the Phillies in 1982, then was traded to the Cleveland Indians with two other prospects (Wil Culmer and Roy Smith) in exchange for John Denny to boost the Phillies' September stretch run, which fell three games short of the division-winning St. Louis Cardinals.

Indians

Reed pitched a handful of games during the rest of September for the Indians, then returned to the minors for the entire 1984 season. In 1985, he spent most of the year in the major leagues for the first time, pitching in 33 games (including 5 starts). Despite pitching well, with an ERA of 4.11 in 72 1/3 innings, he was released during spring training in 1986.

Mariners

Reed caught on with the Seattle Mariners, starting the season back in the minors, but he would eventually get called back to the majors, going 4-0 in 11 games, and he would then spend the next three full seasons pitching out of the Mariners' bullpen. 1987 was his best season, when Reed had a 3.42 ERA in 39 games, with 7 saves. Reed was released early on in the 1990 season. Reed is currently in the top 5 all-time era leaders with the Mariners.

Career winding down

The Boston Red Sox were the next team to pick up Reed, but his ERA had sunk to 4.80, and he was released in August. After the season, he made his way to the Senior Professional Baseball Association, where he pitched in 4 games for the St. Petersburg Pelicans before the league folded, and Reed's professional baseball career ended along with it.

Reed wound up pitching in 238 major league games, all but 12 in relief, with a record of 20-19 and 18 saves.

Sources

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference

Persondata
Name	Reed, Jerry
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	October 8, 1955
Place of birth	Bryson City, North Carolina
Date of death
Place of death