Books and articles about Don Gullett

Hailed by Sparky Anderson as a sure Hall of Famer and the next Sandy Koufax, this Kentucky farm boy was a vital part of the Big Red Machine in the early 1970s. The 19-year-old rookie flamethrower struck out six Mets in a row on August 23, 1970 (2nd game), tying a relief record, and Willie Stargell said Gullett "throws nothing but wall-to-wall heat." Moved into the rotation in 1971, Gullett went 16-6 (2.64) and led the NL in winning percentage (.727). He usually had a high winning percentage; from 1973 through 1976 he was 61-26. He was named to TSN's postseason all-star team in 1974.

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RELATED LINKS » 1972: A Wild Pitch Sinks the Pirates by John Kuenster Book Excerpts » "Sparky Anderson boasted that no matter what the outcome of the game, his starting pitcher Don Gullett was going to the Hall of Fame": Jim Prime Greatest Teams » 1975 Reds Around the Web » Cincinnati's problems begin at top of organization from startribune.com » Don Gullett from baseball-reference.com Jump directly to Library content from any website!

Gullett signed with the Yankees as a free agent for 1977 and went 14-4 to help New York to a World Championship, but it would be his last good season. Persistent shoulder problems, perhaps caused by his pitching motion, led to rotator cuff damage that ended his career. (KC)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » April 16, 1970: Reds' ace Jim Maloney suffers a severed Achilles tendon in his left leg while running the bases against the Dodgers in the 3rd inning. He is replaced by 19-year-old rookie Don Gullett, who earns his first ML victory, 12–2, with five innings of shutout ball. Lee May collects four hits including a grand slam. Maloney, 29, will never win another game in the majors. » May 1, 1970: At Cincinnati, the Reds lead the Pirates, 6–4, with two outs in the 9th and Willie Stargell comes to the plate. Sparky Anderson then moves pitcher Wayne Granger to LF, not wanting to remove him if Stargell reaches base, and brings in Don Gullett to face the Bucs slugger. Stargell, who accounted for all the Bucs runs with a grand slam, strikes out, and the Reds win, 6–4. » May 17, 1970: At Crosley Field, Hank Aaron collects his 3,000th hit, a first-inning infield single, and his 570th home run, off Wayne Granger, but the Reds beat Atlanta, 7–6 in 15 innings. Pete Rose's 9th inning homer knots the game at 3–3, and the Reds score another three in the 10th to tie the game at six apiece. The Reds score in the 10th on a double by Tony Perez and homers by Johnny Bench (who starts the game in CF) and Lee May. Don Gullett pitches the last two innings and drives in the winner with a single. Perez is 5-for-7 in the contest. Aaron is collared in game 1, a 5–1 Reds victory. The DH draws 33,217, the largest crowd at Crosley Field since 1947. » August 23, 1970: How do you spell relief? Don Gullett strikes out six straight batters and pitches four innings with no runners reaching base in beating the host Mets, 7–5. Gullett strikes out eight in the last four innings. The Reds win on Jimmy Stewart's 3-run pinch homer off Tom Seaver. » May 28, 1971: At Riverfront Stadium, Don Gullett (10 IP) and Clay Carroll combine to beat the Astros, 1–0, in 13 innings. Lee May hits a single to drive in the game-winner. » August 13, 1971: Reds pitchers Don Gullett and Wayne Granger combine on a one-hitter, beating the visiting Cubs, 8–2. The lone Cub safety is a 2-out double by Cleon Jones in the 8th inning. Granger pitches a hitless 9th. » August 6, 1972: Hank Aaron hits his 660th and 661st home runs for the Braves, the most ever hit by one player for the same franchise. Ruth had 659 with the Yankees, 49 with the Red Sox and six with the Braves. Hank's 2nd circuit blast comes in the 10th inning off Don Gullett to beat the Reds, 4–3. Phil Niekro evens his record at 10–10. Phil will go 6–0 against the Reds this year. » August 25, 1972: Phillie Ken Reynolds ties a dubious National League record with his 12th straight losing decision from the start of the season after dropping a 6–1 decision to the Reds. Reynolds is knocked out in the 4th and loses to Don Gullett. » September 15, 1972: In a record setting effort, the Reds and Padres combine for 28 strikeouts for a nine inning game, the Padres winning 1–0, on Cito Gaston's 4th inning homer. Winning P Fred Norman strikes out 15, while Don Gullett fans 11 Pads. Pedro Borbon notches the other 2. » October 1, 1972: Reds pitchers Don Gullett and Clay Carroll combine on a 2-hitter as the Reds beat the Dodgers, 1–0. The first hit is a single by Bill Russell off Gullett in the 8th. » April 5, 1973: In the cold, windy ML Opener in Cincinnati, the Giants beat the Reds, 4–1. Juan Marichal is the winner over Don Gullett. Despite the weather, 51,579 are on hand. » July 28, 1973: Tony Perez makes his 4th hit of the game a good one, homering in the 10th to beat the Padres, 2–1. Don Gullett, in relief of Tom Hall, is the winner over Randy Jones. » August 7, 1973: In Cincinnati, Don Gullett pitches a 2-hitter to beat the Cubs, 1–0. The only run is a home run by Joe Morgan. » August 17, 1973: Willie Mays hits the 660th—and last—HR of his ML career off Don Gullett of Cincinnati, but the Reds win, 2–1 in 10 innings at Shea. Hal King's pinch homer, his 3rd pinch dinger of the year, in the 10th wins it. » July 31, 1974: At Houston, the Reds Don Gullett twirls a 2-hit, 4–0, shutout over the Astros. Roger Metzger has both Astro hits. » April 13, 1975: In San Diego, the Reds roll over the Padres 10–0 behind Don Gullett's 2-hitter. » May 31, 1975: Don Gullett allows four hits as the Reds beat the Cards, 6–0. » June 16, 1975: Coasting to a 9–2 win with two outs in the 9th inning, Reds P Don Gullett is struck on the pitching hand by a line drive off the bat of Atlanta's Larvell Blanks. The liner breaks his thumb and Gullett will be out of action for two months. » October 4, 1975: The Reds Don Gullett hurls a complete game, and contributes a home run, a single, and three RBI to lead his team to an 8–3 win over Pittsburgh in the opening game of the NL Championship Series. Boston, behind Luis Tiant's 3-hitter, beats Oakland 7–1 in the AL opener. » October 16, 1975: Tony Perez breaks out of an 0-for-15 Series slump with two home runs and four RBI, as the Reds win the 5th game 6–2. Don Gullett goes eight 2/3 innings for the win. » October 22, 1975: At Boston, the Sox take a 3–0 lead in the 3rd off Don Gullett, but the Reds rally to tie it in the 7th. Perez hits a 2-run shot in the 6th off Bill Lee, golfing one of the Spaceman's bloopers over the Green Monster. Jim Willoughby is relieved by Jim Burton and Joe Morgan's single wins the deciding game 4–3. The Reds come from behind in all four of their victories. Rose is named the World Series MVP. » November 4, 1976: The first mass-market free-agent reentry draft is held at New York's Plaza Hotel. Among those available are Reggie Jackson, Joe Rudi, Don Gullett, Gene Tenace, Rollie Fingers, Don Baylor, Bobby Grich, and Willie McCovey. McCovey and Nate Colbert are the only two players not selected, but McCovey will catch on with the Giants in spring training and have a banner year at his old position. » November 18, 1976: The Yankees sign free agent pitcher Don Gullett for $2 million. The oft-injured Gullett will go 14–4 in 1977, but spend most of the next three seasons on the injured list. » May 14, 1977: Don Gullett outduels Nolan Ryan to give New York a 4–1 victory over California. » July 8, 1977: The Yankees, led by home runs off the bats of Thurman Munson and Graig Nettles, beat the Orioles, 7–5. Don Gullett wins his 7th of the year. » July 12, 1977: Willie Randolph hits the game-winning homer and Don Gullett pitches the Yankees to a 5–2 win over the Brewers. The win stops the Yanks loss streak at three games. » July 30, 1977: Yankee pitcher Don Gullett picks up his 10th win of the year, a 9–3 victory over the A's. But it will prove to be his final win of the year when he injures his shoulder in the 7th inning and leaves the game. » October 14, 1989: Dave Stewart shuts out the Giants 5–0 on five hits in Game One of the World Series. He is the first pitcher to start consecutive World Series openers since the Reds Don Gullett in 1975 and '76.