THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 4, 1996 TAG: 9604040483
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
When the Cincinnati Reds asked Rick Reed if he was willing to cross the picket line last spring as a replacement player, Reed gauged his position on baseball's lifeline and realized he was closer to its end than to its beginning.
``I didn't know how much longer I had to pitch,'' said Reed, 31, who will be the Norfolk Tides' opening day pitcher against the Toledo Mud Hens at Harbor Park at 7:15 tonight. ``I was offered some money and I had to jump on it.
``I had to jump on it.''
So Reed accepted, and in the eyes of many players, became a scab. Although baseball's strike ended before replacement players participated in regular-season games, the fading scar is still visible.
Reed saw evidence of such while attending the New York Mets' spring training camp as a non-roster invitee. When Donald Fehr, head of the players union, showed up to address the Mets about the union's continuing battle with ownership, Reed was asked to leave the meeting.
``I wish the union would understand why some people did it,'' said Reed, who has accumulated two years and 62 days of major league service in 10 years. ``I don't see why the younger players did it. But players who've been up and down in their careers, this was their opportunity to make some money.''
When the regular players returned, and baseball returned to a semblance of normalcy, Reed landed in Triple-A Indianapolis, where he went 11-4 in 21 starts with a 3.33 earned run average.
Later, he ended up where he almost began the season, in a Cincinnati Reds uniform. Called up in mid-July to replace injured Jose Rijo, Reed made three starts and pitched 17 innings in four appearances, although he didn't earn a decision. He did, however, no-hit the Chicago Cubs for 6 1/3 innings in his first start for the Reds before being pulled after seven innings in a 4-3 victory.
The Reds were the fourth major league team on Reed's resume. He'd also spent parts of the previous seven seasons either in Pittsburgh, Kansas City or Texas. But he's never spent an entire season with a big league club.
When Reed arrived in Cincinnati, he wasn't sure what to expect. Not all former replacement players were welcomed by their teammates. But Reed found a pleasant enough surprise.
``Those guys with the Reds treated me like a human being,'' Reed said. ``It wasn't like `Hey you, kiss my ass. I don't want to have nothing to do with you.'
``I wasn't the most popular guy in the clubhouse. But guys talked to me.''
Reed said the attitude with the Mets this spring was similar. And he added that some players confided that, had they been in Reed's shoes . . .
``There's a lot of guys who won't say this, but deep down they'd have done the same thing if they were offered that money,'' Reed said. ``They won't all admit it, but I've had some guys tell me that if they were in the same situation they would have done it too.''
Reed received a letter from the players union over the winter informing him there would be a hearing before a board to reinstate him in the union. The letter from the union asked him why he'd crossed the picket line. He offered a written reply. A hearing date has not been assigned.
Given the ailing Mets pitching staff - Bill Pulsipher, Pete Harnisch, Paul Byrd and Juan Acevedo are battling injuries - Reed would be a logical short-term callup.
``If that doesn't happen, I still have a job in Norfolk, I'm still working and I'm still pitching,'' Reed said.
And he figures he's far from being the most famous replacement player in professional sports.
``How many people realize that Joe Montana was a replacement player?'' Reed said. ``Not too many.
``Look at him now. Who hates Joe Montana? Well, I do, but that's just because I'm a Cowboys fan.''
NOTES: The Tides are sponsoring a ``Most Spirited Fan'' contest, judged on creativity and appropriateness tonight and are encouraging fans to dress in blue and white. The winner will receive tickets to a future game and dinner for two at Hits at the Park. . . . Game-time temperatures are expected to be around 70 degrees under partly cloudy skies. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
BILL TIERNAN/The Virginian-Pilot
Rick Reed, a replacement player for the Cincinnati Reds last spring,
will be the starting pitcher for the Tides in their opener against
Toledo tonight at Harbor Park.
KEYWORDS: PROFILE BIOGRAPHY BASEBALL PITCHER by CNB