Rob Spatz shared this 1973 Rich Reese card with me. In Rob’s words, it is very “J4-esque”. That said, Reese did manage to get this card with 140 plate appearances so this wasn’t an oh for 10 deal.
It was Reese’s last year in the majors and he split it between the Twins and the Tigers. For the year, he hit a paltry .144, a far cry from his career high of .322 in 1969. He also hit just six extra base hits, three of them homeruns. It’s worth noting that of Reese’s 81 games, he came in as a substitute in 56 of them.
| Split | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 Totals | 81 | 140 | 125 | 17 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 23 | .144 | .225 | .248 |
Ok, let’s get this out of the way. Rich Reese is a 1B-5 and there is nothing terrible about that. The 1B-5 has always been one of the more rare and coveted fielding ratings. Reese did not let his glove get rusty in latter years.
As for his bat, well, a 44-9 is not what your firstbaseman should be boasting. Neither is a 51-41.
Ugly numbers: 44-9, 31-37, 51-41
An interesting note about Reese: he was a longtime fixture in Minnesota but actually started out the 1973 season with the Tigers. He was traded mid-season back to his old team.
thanks, Rob!
“As for his bat, well, a 44-9 is not what your firstbaseman should be boasting.”
Not unless he has four 11’s. :)