Rich Reese

Richard Benjamin Reese was born September 29, 1941, in Leipsic, in northwestern Ohio. He attended high school in nearby Deshler, Ohio.

The Detroit Tigers signed the lanky six-foot-three, 185-pound Reese as an amateur free agent prior to the 1962 season but he was quickly acquired by Minnesota in the November 1962 Major League Draft.

Reese spent most of four seasons in the Twins minor leagues.

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. Reese saw limited major league action from 1964-67. When he was with the Twins, he got very few at-bats and was used mostly as a pinch hitter or defensive replacement.

Finally in 1968 Reese saw his first extensive action. From then until 1971, he actually played in more games at first base than any other Twin, yes, even more than Killebrew who was splitting his time between first and third base. Reese was a very good 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. 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 very 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.

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

Reese’s numbers fell in 1971 and 1972 (his age 30 season) and his playing time started to decline. After the 1972 season, The Tigers acquired Reese where he 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 32nd 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.

After baseball, Reese went to work in the alcohol industry, working his way up to CEO of Jim Beam Brands before retiring in 2003.

On August 25, 1970, Rich was at bat in the bottom of the fourth inning when the game was interrupted for a bomb threat.

Reese was the final out in Catfish Hunter's perfect game on May 8, 1968.

Reese was Nolan Ryan's 383rd strikeout victim of 1973, the still-standing single-season record.

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