Reed had a 19-year career (1966-84), mostly for the Braves and Phillies. He was a starting pitcher until his trade to the Phillies before the 1976 season.
Reed was signed by the Milwaukee Braves in 1965, and was also drafted by the NBA’s Detroit Pistons in 1965. He played basketball for 2 seasons while in the minors, then made his major-league debut with the Braves in September 1966. He pitched in 2 games that month, and 3 more in September 1967.
Ron made the All-Star team in his rookie season (1968). That’s a little surprising because his record by the end of June was just 8-4, he was the 3rd-best pitcher on the Braves’ staff, and the Braves were already represented by Hank Aaron and Felipe Alou. Digging deeper, I found that he struck out 10 batters in a game on 6/25, so maybe that sealed his All-Star berth.
Reed was the Braves’ #2 starter (behind Phil Niekro) for most of the next 4 or 5 seasons.
In May 1975 he was traded to the Cardinals for pitchers Ray Sadecki and Elias Sosa. After the season he was traded to the Phillies for under-performing spare outfielder Mike Anderson. What a steal for the Phillies!
Ron was the Phillies’ setup man in the bullpen (behind Tug McGraw) for the next 7 seasons. In 1979 he won 13 games, his first double-figure win season since his days as a starter.
As McGraw’s career began to fade in 1982, Reed was the top man in the bullpen, collecting 14 saves in 57 appearances. The following season he returned to the setup role when the Phillies acquired Al Holland.
Reed pitched in 21 post-season games for the Phillies between 1976 and 1983.
In the 83-84 off-season he was traded to the White Sox for pitcher Jerry Koosman, Reed pitched 1 season with Chicago, and was released the following spring.
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