Former major league left-hander Don Gullett, who was with the Cincinnati Reds for seven of his nine seasons and helped win three World Series titles for two clubs, died Wednesday. He was 73.
No cause of death was reported.
Gullett, a first-round draft pick by the Reds in 1969, made his major league debut in April 1970 and went on to appear in four World Series with Cincinnati, winning the title in 1975 and 1976.
A Kentucky native, Gullett went on to play two seasons with the New York Yankees, helping his new club to the title in 1977.
In 10 career World Series appearances, Gullett was 2-2 with a 3.61 ERA. He started Game 7 of the 1975 World Series for the Reds against the Boston Red Sox and gave up three runs in four innings of a no-decision. The Reds won the title with a 4-3 victory.
Gullett appeared in one World Series game for the Yankees in 1977. He pitched in just eight games during the 1978 regular season, his last in baseball, missing the postseason and World Series run. He was on the Yankees’ World Series roster, however.
Gullett served as Reds pitching coach from 1993-2005.
“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.”
In 266 career regular-season appearances (186 starts), Gullett was 109-50 with a 3.11 ERA and 921 strikeouts over 1,390 innings pitched. In a peculiar brush with history, Gullett gave up the 660th career home runs to both Willie Mays and Hank Aaron.
The Reds’ Pete Rose once said of his teammate: “Don Gullett’s the only guy who can throw a baseball through a car wash and not get the ball wet.”
