Rich Reese Was A Slick Fielder, Famous Footnote, Trivia Answer, & Record Holder

[Al from SoDak]

Rich Reese was a modest-hitting, slick-fielding first baseman in the late 1960s and early 1970s. With Harmon Killebrew playing third base in 1969 more frequently than first base, Reese became the primary first basemen down the stretch and turned a scorching July and August into American League MVP votes for the first Western Division champions.

Richard Benjamin Reese was born September 29, 1941, in Leipsic, northwestern Ohio. He attended high school in nearby Deshler, Ohio. Reese was a star on the baseball team and credits the coach with getting him started: “He was quite an influence at a critical time in my boyhood, and I’ll never forget him.”

The Detroit Tigers signed the lanky six-foot-three, 185-pound Rich Reese as an amateur free agent before the 1962 season, but Minnesota quickly acquired him in the November 1962 Major League Draft. 

Reese spent most of four seasons in the Twins minor leagues. He was often tutored there by roving instructor Billy Martin, who believed in and pushed and mentored Reese. This would come full circle in Reese’s peak season of 1969.

Reese debuted for the Twins on September 4, 1964, in a lopsided 14-3 win against the Red Sox. He was used as a pinch runner in the eighth inning, then completed the game defensively at first base. The left-handed batting Reese had his first plate appearance the next day but struck out. His first hit would have to wait… until 1965. He finally got that first hit, a seventh-inning pinch-hit double in an 8-6 comeback victory against the Tigers. But soon, he was back in the minors. Reese saw limited major league action from 1964-67. When he was with the Twins, he got very few at-bats and was primarily used as a pinch hitter or defensive replacement. However, in 1967, Reese did hit his first Major League home run, and it came against Hall of Famer Catfish Hunter in an 8-0 win over the Kansas City Athletics. We’ll see more of Catfish Hunter later.

Finally, in 1968, Reese saw his first extensive action. From then until 1971, he played in more games at first base than any other Twin, even more than Killebrew, who split his time between first and third base. Reese was an excellent fielder, drawing comparisons to Vic Power, who was seen as a preeminent fielding first baseman in the early 60s. Those seasons, 1968 to 1971, are also when Reese saw his most plate appearances. However, he was never a great batter. During those four seasons, he hit .268/.321/.401 with a modest and dang near perfectly average OPS+ of 101. But 1969, when Reese’s minor league instructor Billy Martin was named manager, would be Reese’s best season by far. He hit .322/.362/.513 for a good OPS+ of 139. His July and August were particularly hot. From July 1 to August 31, Reese batted .354/.402/.594 with 11 home runs and 37 RBI. This led to the MVP votes mentioned above (two votes finishing in a tie for 29^th).

The Twins won the American League West Division in 1969 and 1970 and played the Orioles in the American League Championship Series both times. The Orioles swept the series both times. Reese had three hits, two walks, and two RBIs in those series.

Rich Reese is a footnote to a bizarre event in the Twins' history. On August 25, 1970, he was at bat in the bottom of the fourth inning when a bomb threat interrupted the game. The game was delayed for about forty-three minutes, and fans were evacuated to the parking lot and center field. When the all-clear was given and the game resumed, Reese completed his at-bat with a walk. The Twins lost 1-0 to the Red Sox.

Reese’s numbers fell in 1971 and 1972 (his age 30 season), and his playing time declined. After the 1972 season, the Tigers acquired Reese, who was also used sparingly. After playing 110 games with a paltry .137 batting average, he was released by the Tigers on August 17, 1973. The Twins immediately reacquired Reese, and he saw 30 plate appearances down the stretch. He had one home run and three runs batted in during that period. Rich Reese played his final MLB game on his 32^nd birthday, September 29. He went 0-4 with two walks in a 4-3 loss to the Angels. 

Rich Reese’s final career statistics are .253/.312/.384 for an OPS of .695 and an OPS+ of 95. He had 52 home runs and 245 runs batted in. 

Now for the trivia answers and MLB record. First, the trivia. Reese had two very noteworthy strikeouts. He was the final out in Catfish Hunter's perfect game on May 8, 1968. Additionally, he was Nolan Ryan's 383rd strikeout victim of 1973, the still-standing single-season record. But we will end with the positive. Reese is the co-holder of the major league record for pinch-hit grand slam home runs in a career with three, one-off Dave McNally to end McNally’s 15-game winning streak. 

After baseball, Reese worked in the alcohol industry, eventually becoming CEO of Jim Beam Brands before retiring in 2003. 

What do you remember of Rich Reese? Please share any memories in the comments below.

If you like looking back at the Twins past, check out my previous articles at Twins Daily History.

Sources include Baseball Reference, Wikipedia, and the Society for American Baseball Research.

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[tony&rodney]

Great glove and neighbor.

[Linus]

These are always fun - thanks for writing them.  I think it is interesting that a lot of these guys spent extensive time in the minors.  

[Blyleven2011]

I'd take Reese at first base today if he was young enough , he should have followed Billy Martin as that was his best season ...

Thanks for the memories  ...

[stringer bell]

Reese has played the most innings for the Twins at first base of any left handed fielder. I thought Kirilloff would eventually pass him, but.....

I remember Reese as a decent hitter and fine fielder. He was pretty strictly platooned throughout his career, although as mentioned he hit a grand slam off a good left hander (Dave McNally). 

[ashbury]

30 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

He was pretty strictly platooned throughout his career,

ROCCO!!!!!!   Whose career CAN'T you ruin???

[Scott51104]

I have written this before, but it was several years ago. In 1968, I ushered a few games at the Met. On one occasion, during warm-ups, shortstop Jackie Hernandez was making very erratic throws to Reese at first base. Eventually, one of the coaches noticed, "asked" Hernandez what he was doing, and Hernandez said that Reese wanted him to make bad throws. The coach ended this training exercise. 

[ashbury]

Silly observations aside, I really appreciate articles like this and, as a longtime SABR member and advocate, I want to also commend your use of the SABR Bio Project article on Reese without directly lifting passages from it.  Your article rightly focuses on his time in Minnesota, mentioning the bomb-threat incident that the other bio didn't have, while the longer SABR piece delves into additional facets of his career and overall life.  Good one!

[AceWrigley]

I wonder . . . if Reese didn't have that great '69 season, would the Twins have traded Graig Nettles?

[lecroy24fan]

I was a little confused as to how a player could be signed by a team as an amateur free agent but later drafted in the MLB draft as was stared in the story. I found that it wasn't the MLB Draft but rather the MLB portion of the rule 5 draft.

[twinstalker]

1970.  As far as I knew at the time, the only Twins batting order ever was

Tovar, Carew, Oliva, Killebrew, Reese, Allison, Cardenas, Mitterwald, pitcher

The Twins were a great team managed by Bill Rigney.  The lineup above was likely a combination of what I saw plus what my older brother and older friends told me, as Carew was hurt and Allison was done, both MOSTLY, in 1970.  But I always remembered that lineup in my mind.  I doubt it ever was an actual lineup due to platooning and the limited PT for Carew and Allison that year.

Reese was highly thought of and talked about in 1970, likely due to his 1969 season, which I don't have direct memory of.  But I thought of him as an important piece at the time, for what little I knew.  He didn't ever seem to do anything the next couple of years, which matches the description above.  I remember he always seemed to strike out a lot in important, often game-ending, situations.

In 1973 he was gone, and while I vacationed without a newspaper that summer, I would listen to games when I could, but the team was meh except for Carew and Blyleven.  When I got back home in August, Reese had magically appeared again in the box scores.  To a young kid who knew just enough, this was simply weird.

I always thought back then that Reese had been a part of the '65 team and basically had always played along side of Oliva, Killebrew, and Allison, and it wasn't until I moved to Minnesota as a teen that I would more easily place him in and knew his role in the team's lineup and the proper years.

Unfortunately, I have no fond memories of Rich Reese, other than he was a part of that great 1970 team that got destroyed (again) by the Orioles.  My memories are mostly of lying in bed with the radio on, hoping he could get the hit to tie the game, only to be disappointed and frustrated that he struck out to end the game.  It probably happened once, and it was probably against Nolan Ryan in 1972, but that's what I remember.

 

Tangent: By the way, in 1970 I did not understand that Billy Martin had managed the Twins the year before.  I knew they'd won the West, though.  I figured Rigney had been manager.  I mean, even as a tiny kid, I figured the Twins wouldn't get rid of their division-winning manager.  It wasn't until, I think, 1972 that Billy was the back in the playoffs with Detroit and I heard on the TV that he managed the Twins in the 1969 season.  I may have heard it somewhere before, but I didn't connect it until then who he ever was.  I seem to remember being surprised it was the same Billy Martin, who I definitely knew in 1972. 

Tangent part deux: I will mention that Detroit rh hitter Al Kaline survived the Billy Martin years despite Billy platooning him after Kaline posted a .294/.416/.462 slash in 501 PAs Billy's first year (1971) in Detroit. He had 314 PAs in 1972 and 347 PAs in 1973.  After Billy was fired, Kaline's last year in 1974 saw him get 630 PAs to barely reach 3000 hits.  I got these stats as I looked up to see how many years Martin and Kaline crossed, and it was all of Martin's three years in Detroit.  So thanks for trying to win by sabotaging Kaline's quest for 3000, Billy.  Priorities, geesh.

[Doctor Wu]

14 hours ago, lecroy24fan said:

I was a little confused as to how a player could be signed by a team as an amateur free agent but later drafted in the MLB draft as was stared in the story. I found that it wasn't the MLB Draft but rather the MLB portion of the rule 5 draft.

I was confused by that part too. Thanks for the clarification!

[Doctor Wu]

Another very interesting Twins history lesson! For me, the most amazing tidbit was this:

Reese is the co-holder of the major league record for pinch-hit grand slam home runs in a career with three

[ewen21]

I am not Minnesotan, so my first memory of Rich Reese was his 1972 baseball card.  He was wearing a warmup jacket underneath his jersey and he pointed the end of the barrel of the bat right at the camera so as to obscure his face.  Very strange pose.  The only other baseball card I can remember like that is Walt "No Neck" Williams on his 1970 card.

[big dog]

I was a kid waiting to get glasses at an optometry shop in St. Paul and a man walked in wearing red bellbottoms and a fancy coat. When it was my turn for a fitting the person helping me told me that was Rich Reese, and the Twins were trying to get him to wear glasses to see if it helped his hitting. This was probably in 1972, so I guess the answer was it didn't.

[ewen21]

6 hours ago, twinstalker said:

 

Tangent part deux: I will mention that Detroit rh hitter Al Kaline survived the Billy Martin years despite Billy platooning him after Kaline posted a .294/.416/.462 slash in 501 PAs Billy's first year (1971) in Detroit. He had 314 PAs in 1972 and 347 PAs in 1973.  After Billy was fired, Kaline's last year in 1974 saw him get 630 PAs to barely reach 3000 hits.  I got these stats as I looked up to see how many years Martin and Kaline crossed, and it was all of Martin's three years in Detroit.  So thanks for trying to win by sabotaging Kaline's quest for 3000, Billy.  Priorities, geesh.

Martin could be childish, petty and blind drunk, (sometimes all three at the same time) but his priorities were always to win first and it had nothing to do with maintaining some legacy privilege. The fact is, Al Kaline was 37 years old in 1972 and there wasn't a DH.  Martin needed to give Jim Northrup and Gates Brown at bats somehow.  Kaline had a brilliant ending to the season in 1972 and maybe Marin's "load management" was a good thing for him.  Martin had a had a great deal of respect for Kaline from what I can tell in the quotes I found.  He was no longer and everyday player,  The decrease in playing time had to do with age rather than some perceived perniciousness toward Kaline on the part of Martin.  

[TopGunn#22]

I was at the game that Reese hit the pinch hit Grand Slam off of Dave McNally.  Just a note:  McNally had his consecutive game win streak stopped at 17, not 15.  

I was a 6th grader and a friend of mine who had a Christmas Day birthday would have what his parents would call an "un-birthday" in the summer each year.   In 1969, his Dad, who was a Mayo Clinic physician, somehow managed to get seats RIGHT BEHIND the Twins dugout.  I had never had a seat like that before,  I was used to being exiled to the right field knot hole gang seats with my 2 brothers.  Seeing Oliva, Killebrew, Carew and Tovar THAT CLOSE while they played catch was a memory that will stay with me forever.

That game and the 1969 season have always been my favorite for the Twins.  Probably being an 11 year old 6th grader had a lot to do with that, but under manager Billy Martin, it was a magical year.  Killebrew won the MVP and A.L. HR crown (49) and RBI's (140).  Carew won his first A.L. batting title (.332) and stole home 7 times.  Tony Oliva, my favorite Twin, hit .309 and led the A.L. with 39 doubles while knocking in over 100 runs.  He also won a Gold Glove.  Cesar Tovar stole 45 bases.  And they had two 20 game winners, Jim Perry and Dave Boswell.

I can rattle stuff like that off without needing to look it up to this day.  As 6th graders, my friends and I at the game (there were 4 of us) were all baseball experts.  We couldn't believe Billy Martin sent Rich Reese up in the 7th inning to pinch hit against McNally with the bases loaded.  EVERYBODY knew Reese couldn't hit a lefty !!! 

My memory is that McNally threw Reese a fastball up and Reese crushed it to deep left center field.  Oriole CF Paul Blair was racing toward the left center field wall to try to make the catch, but Oriole LF Don Buford was just watching it fly over his head into the seats.  Met Stadium went crazy.  Even in 1987 or 1991 in the Metrodome, I don't remember it being louder than that summer day of August 3rd, 1969 in the open air of Metropolitan Stadium.  

These look backs at various Twins players are a tremendous feature of TD.  I may not always comment on each player but I read every one of them.  This one was special because of that hot August day in 1969 when for the first time in my life, as Bob Uecker would say, 3 friends of mine and I had seats "in the front row" to see an incredible baseball game between the 2 best teams in the American League with 7 eventual HOF players.   

[Otaknam]

Thanks for the great Twins memories from my childhood! An innocent time. 

[C_frommn]

I remember sitting in the Bleachers watching My All Time Favorite Twin Tony Oliva, But also watching the other players and Rich Reese was a wonderfull first baseman. If anybody remembers the Twins of the Late 60s early 70s they had hitting but some fielding was Questionable, Rich Reese was never Questionabl at First Base.

[ashbury]

9 hours ago, twinstalker said:

1970.  As far as I knew at the time, the only Twins batting order ever was

Tovar, Carew, Oliva, Killebrew, Reese, Allison, Cardenas, Mitterwald, pitcher

The Twins were a great team managed by Bill Rigney.  The lineup above was likely a combination of what I saw plus what my older brother and older friends told me, as Carew was hurt and Allison was done, both MOSTLY, in 1970.  But I always remembered that lineup in my mind.  I doubt it ever was an actual lineup due to platooning and the limited PT for Carew and Allison that year.

For this kind of nostalgia, baseball-reference.com provides a way to stroll down memory lane.  It offers a split of statistics by batting order, and if you go to this link and then click on each of the batting order positions, a pop-up will show you how it broke down among the players.

  https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/split.cgi?t=b&team=MIN&year=1970#all_lineu

Your memory looks accurate to me.  Tovar was lead-off all the time.  Carew batted second exclusively, until he was unavailable.  Tony O and Harmon kind of swapped places now and then, it seems, which might or might not have had anything to do with Rod's absence.  Further down the line was less set in stone, but that's to be expected, and seeing Cardenas get the majority of chances batting 7th indicates just how much stability mattered to manager Rigney.  Carew's injury really messed that up. 

[David HK]

On 1/19/2025 at 10:21 PM, TopGunn#22 said:

I was at the game that Reese hit the pinch hit Grand Slam off of Dave McNally.  Just a note:  McNally had his consecutive game win streak stopped at 17, not 15.  

I was a 6th grader and a friend of mine who had a Christmas Day birthday would have what his parents would call an "un-birthday" in the summer each year.   In 1969, his Dad, who was a Mayo Clinic physician, somehow managed to get seats RIGHT BEHIND the Twins dugout.  I had never had a seat like that before,  I was used to being exiled to the right field knot hole gang seats with my 2 brothers.  Seeing Oliva, Killebrew, Carew and Tovar THAT CLOSE while they played catch was a memory that will stay with me forever.

That game and the 1969 season have always been my favorite for the Twins.  Probably being an 11 year old 6th grader had a lot to do with that, but under manager Billy Martin, it was a magical year.  Killebrew won the MVP and A.L. HR crown (49) and RBI's (140).  Carew won his first A.L. batting title (.332) and stole home 7 times.  Tony Oliva, my favorite Twin, hit .309 and led the A.L. with 39 doubles while knocking in over 100 runs.  He also won a Gold Glove.  Cesar Tovar stole 45 bases.  And they had two 20 game winners, Jim Perry and Dave Boswell.

I can rattle stuff like that off without needing to look it up to this day.  As 6th graders, my friends and I at the game (there were 4 of us) were all baseball experts.  We couldn't believe Billy Martin sent Rich Reese up in the 7th inning to pinch hit against McNally with the bases loaded.  EVERYBODY knew Reese couldn't hit a lefty !!! 

My memory is that McNally threw Reese a fastball up and Reese crushed it to deep left center field.  Oriole CF Paul Blair was racing toward the left center field wall to try to make the catch, but Oriole LF Don Buford was just watching it fly over his head into the seats.  Met Stadium went crazy.  Even in 1987 or 1991 in the Metrodome, I don't remember it being louder than that summer day of August 3rd, 1969 in the open air of Metropolitan Stadium.  

These look backs at various Twins players are a tremendous feature of TD.  I may not always comment on each player but I read every one of them.  This one was special because of that hot August day in 1969 when for the first time in my life, as Bob Uecker would say, 3 friends of mine and I had seats "in the front row" to see an incredible baseball game between the 2 best teams in the American League with 7 eventual HOF players.   

What a great story!  Is there anything more magical than being a kid with those giant-sized heroes right before your eyes?  Omg, you were AT that game! 

As a son of ND dirt-farmers, I could only imagine from what I heard on the radio- These days, heck, I don't remember what I had for lunch yesterday, but I still remember that warm summer day on the plains, and Herb Carneal's call, Reese pinch-hitting for Kaat.  (Lefty-lefty matchup, yo!) 

"It's hit high in the air toward DEEP center field (me thinking it was gonna be a loud out).  Buford going back.......  Grand slam for Reese!"  And just like that, the hated Orioles were vanquished, and McNally's streak was over.

We'd re-enact that scene over and over out there in the yard, echoing that call each time.   Thanks, Al, for posting this, and allowing a sweet recollection over the miles and years.  ⚾

[Doctor Wu]

On 1/19/2025 at 9:04 PM, ewen21 said:

Walt "No Neck" Williams

He had one of the greatest nicknames of all time!

[ashbury]

On 3/5/2025 at 3:49 AM, Doctor Wu said:

He had one of the greatest nicknames of all time!

Yes, it's true, this man had no neck.