Jerry Reuss, King of the Toys
Or did KB stand for 'King Brewer'?
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1990 Kay-Bee Jerry Reuss (#26) - Card of the Day
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Jerry Reuss never quite made it to “king” status during his long major league career, though he was certainly in the royal court a few times.
In 1975, for example, he was easily the best pitcher on a Pirates team that won the old National League East before bowing out in a sweep at hands of the Reds in the National League Championship Series.
That summer, Reuss went 18-11 with a 2.54 ERA and made his first All-Star Game. He actually drew the start for the senior circuit, which at least made him something like interim king.
It was a short-lived perch for the left-hander, though, as Cincinnati lit him up for four runs in 2.2 innings in the NLCS for a 13.50 ERA. And then voters threw a shutout against him when it came time to pick the National League Cy Young Award winner (which turned out to be Tom Seaver).
Five years later, Reuss had been through some lean years and an April 1979 trade that sent him to the Dodgers in exchange for Rick Rhoden. But that summer of 1980, he was back at the top of his game, posting an 18-6 record with a 2.51 ERA. That earned him another All-Star berth — he didn’t start the game but did pick up the victory.
His big year also garnered big consideration in N.L. Cy Young voting, and Reuss finished (a distant) second to Steve Carlton.
That would mark the end of the official accolades for Reuss, but he continued to rack up big league wins, and big league years. From 1981 through the end of his career in 1990, he pitched for the Dodgers, Reds, Angels, White Sox, Brewers, and Pirates. Along the way, he went 87-77 with a 3.63 ERA to rack up a 22-year record of 220-191 with a 3.64 ERA.
Those years encompassed the first decade of Donruss baseball cards and also the first nine renditions of the company’s iconic Diamond Kings subset. But, as you might have surmised, Reuss never made the DK cut.
So, was the crafty lefty destined to hang up his spikes without ever being crowned a king of the diamond?
Not quite.
Because, in 1990, Topps and Kay-Bee toy stores teamed up to produce a 33-card boxed set of “Kings of Baseball” that focused on older, veteran players. Players just like Jerry Reuss, who appears on card #26 wearing a pretty unfamiliar uniform.
That’s because the White Sox traded Reuss to the Brewers on July 31, 1989, in exchange for right-hander Brian Draham. Reuss made seven starts for Milwaukee down the stretch, long enough for Topps to snap him in his Brew Crew uniform.
By the time Reuss finally debuted as a cardboard king, though, he had embarked on the final dizzying leg of his big league journey. Released by Milwaukee in November, he was signed and released by the White Sox and Astros by the middle of May 1990 without ever appearing in the majors.
He finally signed with the Pirates in July and made four big league appearances for the Bucs before hanging up his spikes after the season.
Today, Jerry Reuss, one time King of Baseball, turns 76 years old.
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Gehrig Benched??
Also born on June 19 was the great Lou Gehrig, way back in 1903. A couple of decades after his untimely death in 1941, Topps gave collectors a jolt of the Iron Horse with a clickbait “Gehrig Benched” card in their 1961 set.
Read more about that one right here.
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