By virtue of his own talent and the talented teams he played on, Don Gullett was anointed as a future Hall of Famer by those around him in the early stages of his career. He racked up over 90 wins by the time
he turned 25 and found himself compared to Sandy Koufax. Starting with the Reds and finishing his career with the Yankees, the southpaw played for two of the three best teams of the 1970s, and had the good fortune to play for six World Series teams in the decade — the 1970, ‘72, ‘75 and ‘76 Reds and the 1977 and ‘78 Yankees. Injuries cut his promising career short by the age of 27, but he still retired as one of a handful of players to appear on the roster of four consecutive World Series winning teams. He won 109 games with a 3.11 ERA and 921 strikeouts across nine seasons, his .686 winning percentage the second-highest behind Whitey Ford of any left-handed pitcher with at least 100 wins in MLB history.
Name: Donald Edward “Don” Gullett
Born: January 6, 1951 (Lynn, KY)
Died: February 14, 2024 (Columbus, OH)
Yankees Tenure: 1977-1978
Gullett was an outstanding multi-sport athlete in his home state of Kentucky growing up. He rushed for 11 touchdowns in a single high school football game, scored 47 points in a basketball game, and threw a perfect game striking out 20 of the 21 batters he faced. But baseball was always his first love, and he was selected 14th overall by the Reds in the 1969 amateur draft. He spent just one season in the minor leagues, impressing enough as a non-roster invitee in 1970 spring training to earn a spot on the big league roster as only a 19 year old. He was handed his debut on April 10th and made 44 appearances (42 in relief), pitching to a 2.43 ERA. Gullett’s legend grew that postseason, securing the save in Games 2 and 3 of the NLCS against the Pirates before allowing just one run across 6.2 innings in the World Series as the Reds fell to the Orioles in five games.
Gullett struggled in 1972 after suffering from a bout of hepatitis. In 1973, he gave up Willie Mays’ 660th and final home run. 1975 brought a return to the World Series for the Reds, but also the beginning of a terribly unfortunate string of injuries which would ultimately cut Gullett’s career short. He suffered a fractured thumb on his pitching hand after getting struck by a line drive come-backer, but recovered in time for the playoffs. In Game 1 of the NLCS against the Pirates, Gullett pitched a complete game but also singled and smacked a home run as he drove in three of his team’s eight runs. He struggled in three World Series appearances but the Reds held on to win in seven thrilling games over the Red Sox. Neck and shoulder injuries cost him significant time in 1976, but he returned to form in the postseason. He pitched eight innings of one-run ball in the NLCS opener and 7.1 innings of one-run ball in World Series Game 1 as the Reds went on to sweep the Yankees in four. He was cruising in that Game 1 start, but injured his leg on a pitch to Mickey Rivers in the eighth inning, an off-season X-ray revealing that he had actually suffered a dislocated tendon in his right ankle.
That winter brought the end of the reserve clause, and Gullett became part of the inaugural class of free agents as veteran players were allowed to sign with another team upon the expiry of their contracts for the first time in history. Despite receiving interest from up to a dozen clubs, Gullett ultimately signed a six-year, $1.9 million contract with the Yankees just days before Reggie Jackson made his famous move to the Bronx.
Gullet made his Yankees debut on April 10, 1977, against the Brewers. He came up one hitter short of pitching a complete game, but the pair of solo home runs surrendered to Sixto Lezcano proved the difference in the 2-1 loss. However, disaster struck just over two weeks later. It was a sodden day at Baltimore Memorial Stadium, first pitch delayed by an hour and ten minutes. The game never should have started, but the umpires insisted and the opening innings were played through an unabating downfall. Gullett had already surrendered five runs on five hits and seven walks through 3.2 innings. During his delivery of a fourth-inning pitch to Lee May, Gullett slipped and fell on the mound, landing on his elbow. He attempted to stay in the game, but fell again when trying to field a bunt and then finally got lifted when he surrendered the game-tying single to Ken Singleton. It was revealed after the game that Gullett had suffered a sprained ankle and a sprained neck, the latter injury requiring a neck brace for several weeks. He missed several turns through the rotation, further thinning a rotation that was already without the injured Catfish Hunter.
Fortunately, he made a full recovery by mid-May, tossing a complete game with ten strikeouts against the A’s in his first start off the DL, and completed a successful first season in pinstripes, going 14-4 in 22 starts with 3.58 ERA and 116 strikeouts across 158.1 innings. He drew the start in Game 1 of the ALCS against the Royals, but lasted just two innings after surrendering four runs in a 7-2 loss. Billy Martin was skeptical he would pitch again that postseason as he dealt with a sore shoulder, but the Yankees came back to win the series, 3-2, giving Gullett a shot at redemption. He was again handed the ball in the World Series opener against the Dodgers and made it one out into the ninth with a 3-2 lead, but the Dodgers tied the game and ended his outing before the Yankees ground out a 4-3 victory in the 12th inning. Gullett pitched again in the potentially clinching Game 5, but served up a three-run Steve Yeager home run in the fourth before being pulled in the fifth and getting charged with the loss. That allowed Jackson to supply his immortal moment in Game 6 to give the Yankees their first World Series win in 15 years.
Gullett spent the first two months of the 1978 season on the disabled list as he dealt with the recurring pain in his left shoulder. He made his season debut on June 3rd and won four of his first six starts, pitching a pair of complete games. The final start of his major league career came on July 9th against the Brewers, Gullett failing to make it out of the first inning after giving up four runs on three hits and four walks. The left shoulder which had never healed from his days in Cincinnati finally caught up to him, and it was finally diagnosed as a double rotator cuff tear that required surgery on September 29th, preventing Gullett from appearing in the postseason where the Yankees defended their World Series crown.
Gullett would never pitch again despite being just 27 years old. He was granted his release by the Yankees on October 30, 1980, and returned home to Kentucky where he worked full-time on his family tobacco farm. 13 years after retiring from MLB, Gullett returned to the game as the major league pitching coach for the Reds, a position he would hold until 2005. He was inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame in 2002 and passed away in 2024 from heart issues and natural causes at the age of 73.
References:
Don Gullett. Baseball-Reference
Chass, Murray. “Yanks Down Orioles for 6th in Row.” The New York Times. April 26, 1977.
Montgomery, Paul L. “White, Rivers and Nettles Homer.” The New York Times. May 8, 1977.
Faber, Charles F. “Don Gullett.” SABR.
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