Jeff Reardon, baseball player, 1979-1994

Jeff Reardon

Born: 10/1/1955 in Pittsfield, MA, USA

MLB Debut: 1979-08-25 | Final Game: 1994-05-04

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'0" | Weight: 190 lbs

Full name: Jeffrey James Reardon

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Biography

Jeff Reardon, born in 1955, was a prominent relief pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1979 until his retirement in 1994. Renowned for his competitive spirit and effectiveness out of the bullpen, Reardon finished his career with a record of 73-77, an earned run average (ERA) of 3.16, and an impressive 877 strikeouts. His ability to close games was underscored by his remarkable total of 367 saves, which placed him among the elite closers of his era. Over the course of his career, Reardon was selected as an All-Star four times, reflecting his status as one of the premier relievers in the league during the 1980s and early 1990s. He was known for his tenacity on the mound, often coming in during high-pressure situations to secure victories for his teams. Reardon played for several franchises, including the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, and Atlanta Braves, contributing significantly to each team's success. His career not only showcased his skill as a pitcher but also highlighted the evolving role of relief pitchers in the game, as teams increasingly relied on specialized closers in the late innings.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
73 77 880 0 0 0 367 1132.3 1000 397 109 358 877 3.16 0

Career ERA 3.16 vs. league average 3.92 across their career seasons — 19.6% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1979 NYN NL 1 2 18 0 0 0 2 20.7 12 4 9 10 1.74 4.00 (+56%) -169.6
1980 NYN NL 8 7 61 0 0 0 6 110.3 96 32 47 101 2.61 3.84 (+32%) 1309.1
1981 NYN NL 1 0 18 0 0 0 2 28.7 27 11 12 28 3.45 3.58 (+4%) 482.5
1981 WSN NL 2 0 25 0 0 0 6 41.7 21 6 9 21 1.30 3.58 (+64%) -
1982 WSN NL 7 4 75 0 0 0 26 109.0 87 25 36 86 2.06 3.86 (+47%) -
1983 WSN NL 7 9 66 0 0 0 21 92.0 87 31 44 78 3.03 3.87 (+22%) -
1984 WSN NL 7 7 68 0 0 0 23 87.0 70 28 37 79 2.90 3.81 (+24%) -
1985 WSN NL 2 8 63 0 0 0 41 87.7 68 31 26 67 3.18 3.89 (+18%) -
1986 WSN NL 7 9 62 0 0 0 35 89.0 83 39 26 67 3.94 3.97 (+1%) -
1987 MIN AL 8 8 63 0 0 0 31 80.3 70 40 28 83 4.48 4.29 (-4%) 134.0
1988 MIN AL 2 4 63 0 0 0 42 73.0 68 20 15 56 2.47 3.73 (+34%) 1355.5
1989 MIN AL 5 4 65 0 0 0 31 73.0 68 33 12 46 4.07 3.71 (-10%) 308.7
1990 BOS AL 5 3 47 0 0 0 21 51.3 39 18 19 33 3.16 3.86 (+18%) -125.0
1991 BOS AL 1 4 57 0 0 0 40 59.3 54 20 16 44 3.03 3.91 (+22%) -439.6
1992 BOS AL 2 2 46 0 0 0 27 42.3 53 20 7 32 4.25 3.75 (-14%) 69.0
1992 ATL NL 3 0 14 0 0 0 3 15.7 14 2 2 7 1.15 3.75 (+69%) 503.5
1993 CIN NL 4 6 58 0 0 0 8 61.7 66 28 10 35 4.09 4.19 (+2%) 1193.4
1994 NYY AL 1 0 11 0 0 0 2 9.7 17 9 3 4 8.38 4.51 (-86%) -

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
880 57 0 5 1 0 0 2 0 1 38 0.088 0.103 0.105 0.209 0.0

Career AVG .088 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 66.2% below league average.

Career OBP .103 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 68.2% below league average.

Career SLG .105 vs. league average .390 across their career seasons — 73.0% below league average.

Career OPS 0.209 vs. league average 0.716 across their career seasons — 70.8% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1979 NYN NL 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1980 NYN NL 61 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1981 NYN NL 18 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1981 WSN NL 25 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1982 WSN NL 75 10 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 8 0.100 — — — — 0.0
1983 WSN NL 66 8 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.125 — — — — 0.0
1984 WSN NL 68 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1985 WSN NL 63 7 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 0.286 — — — — 0.0
1986 WSN NL 62 8 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0.125 — — — — 0.0
1987 MIN AL 63 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1988 MIN AL 63 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1989 MIN AL 65 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1990 BOS AL 47 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1991 BOS AL 57 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1992 BOS AL 46 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1992 ATL NL 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1993 CIN NL 58 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1994 NYY AL 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
18 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1992 NLCS ATL 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1992 WS ATL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1990 ALCS BOS 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1987 ALCS MIN 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1987 WS MIN 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1981 NEDIV MON 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000
1981 NLCS MON 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2 3 18 0 6 21.7 21 11 8 14 4.57

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1992 NLCS ATL 1 0 3 0 1 3.0 0 0 2 3 0.00
1992 WS ATL 0 1 2 0 0 1.3 2 2 1 1 13.50
1990 ALCS BOS 0 0 1 0 0 2.0 3 2 1 0 9.00
1987 ALCS MIN 1 1 4 0 2 5.3 7 3 3 5 5.06
1987 WS MIN 0 0 4 0 1 4.7 5 0 0 3 0.00
1981 NEDIV MON 0 1 3 0 2 4.3 1 1 1 2 2.08
1981 NLCS MON 0 0 1 0 0 1.0 3 3 0 0 27.00

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 880 0 44 75 11 4

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1979 NYN P 18 0 1 1 0 1
1980 NYN P 61 0 1 7 4 0
1981 NYN P 18 0 0 2 0 0
1981 MON P 25 0 1 2 0 0
1982 MON P 75 0 6 9 1 0
1983 MON P 66 0 3 4 2 0
1984 MON P 68 0 2 5 1 0
1985 MON P 63 0 9 8 0 0
1986 MON P 62 0 8 10 0 1
1987 MIN P 63 0 2 6 0 1
1988 MIN P 63 0 1 2 0 0
1989 MIN P 65 0 1 3 0 0
1990 BOS P 47 0 1 4 1 0
1991 BOS P 57 0 2 1 0 0
1992 BOS P 46 0 2 3 0 1
1992 ATL P 14 0 0 1 0 0
1993 CIN P 58 0 4 6 2 0
1994 NYA P 11 0 0 1 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 880

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1988 Player of the Week Week of 1988-05-27
1987 TSN Fireman of the Year
1986 Pitcher of the Month May
1985 Player of the Week Week of 1985-05-24
1985 Reliever of the Year Award
1985 TSN Fireman of the Year

Featured In Rankings

#19
Top 20 Closers of All Time in History of MLB Baseball
Ranked 19 of 20
→

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1994 NYA AL $250,000
1993 CIN NL $500,000
1992 BOS AL $2,633,334
1991 BOS AL $2,533,333
1990 BOS AL $1,633,333
1989 MON NL $1,400,000
1988 MIN AL $850,000
1986 MON NL $850,000
1985 MON NL $850,000
Total Career Earnings $11,500,000

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst MA 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1988 Most Valuable Player AL 15th 11.0 392 0
1987 Cy Young Award AL 8th 4.0 140 0
1987 Most Valuable Player AL 11th 37.0 392 0
1985 Cy Young Award NL 7th 1.0 120 0
1985 Most Valuable Player NL 20th 4.0 336 0
1980 Rookie of the Year NL 6th 2.0 120 0