Rick Reuschel
From Sports Library
Rickey Eugene Reuschel (pronounced RUSH-el) (born May 16 1949 in Quincy, Illinois) was a major league baseball pitcher from the early 1970s into the late 1980s. His nickname was "Big Daddy."
He came to the Cubs at a time when they were declining, in the post-Durocher era, and provided a strong arm for the Cubs increasingly mediocre staff. His best year was in 1977, when the Cubs made a brief run at the flag and Reuschel won 20 games.
His younger brother Paul also pitched for the Cubs for a few years while Rick was pitching, but was not nearly as effective as Rick and his career was that much shorter. Both of them were farm boys from Quincy, Illinois, with strong physiques and plain-spoken ways.
Both were known for being big. Rick, in particular, was listed as 6-foot-4 and 225, which makes him a few pounds heavier than his franchise-mate from two generations earlier, Hippo Vaughn. Rick could run surprisingly well for his size. He was frequently used as a pinch runner on days he was not pitching. He was also a fair though awkward-looking hitter, batting well over .200 several times, which is considered excellent for a pitcher.
Rick was sent to the New York Yankees in 1981. That year, Reuschel made his first World Series appearances. The 1981 World Series marked the last chapter of the Dodgers-Yankees trilogy of that era, this one won by the Dodgers. Reuschel was ineffective in that Series, and it was assumed he was about done.
He returned to the Cubs and was on the roster in 1984 when they won the NL East and made the playoffs, but, somewhat controversially, he was not named to the playoff roster.
His career was revived after he was traded to the San Francisco Giants, pitching well for the Bayside team for several years before finally hanging the spikes up. In 1989, Reuschel won 17 games for the Giants as he helped lead them to the World Series (their first since 1962). In the NLCS, he was the Game 2 starter for the Giants, facing the Cubs' Mike Bielecki. Reuschel did not make it out of the first inning as the Cubs won the only game of the series. Interestingly enough, Reuschel, the winningest Cubs pitcher in the 1970s, lost a game before the loss went to Rick Sutcliffe, the franchise leader for wins in the 1980s, and a day after the loss was charged to Greg Maddux, who was the franchise leader for wins in the 1990s (despite leaving the team in 1992) until Steve Trachsel surpassed his decade total late in 1998. Reuschel took the win in Game 5, eliminating the Cubs.
In 1989 World Series, Reuschel was the losing pitcher in Game 2 (his only appearance in the Series) with an 11.25 ERA, five earned runs, and five hits given up against the Oakland Athletics.
Reuschel won the Hutch Award in 1985, and is also a winner of The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award. In a 19-year career, he had a record of 214-191 in 557 games (529 starts). Reuschel had 102 career complete games and 26 of those were shutouts. He allowed 1330 earned run and struck out 2015 in 3548 and 1/3 innings pitched.
He is also one of the Top 100 winning pitchers of all time.
| 1984 National League East Champion Chicago Cubs Starting Lineup: 1. Bobby Dernier CF | 2. Ryne Sandberg 2B | 3. Gary Matthews LF | 4. Leon Durham 1B | 5. Keith Moreland RF | 6. Ron Cey 3B | 7. Jody Davis C | 8. Larry Bowa SS Starting Pitchers: Rick Sutcliffe | Steve Trout | Dennis Eckersley | Scott Sanderson | Dick Ruthven | Rick Reuschel |
External links
- Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
| Preceded by Joaquín Andújar |
NL Comeback Player of the Year 1985 |
Succeeded by Ray Knight |
| Preceded by Joaquín Andújar |
National League Gold Glove Award (P) 1985 |
Succeeded by Fernando Valenzuela |
| Preceded by Fernando Valenzuela |
National League Gold Glove Award (P) 1987 |
Succeeded by Orel Hershiser |
