Three-time World Series champion pitcher Don Gullett died Wednesday at 73, the Reds announced.
No cause of death for the former Yankees and Cincinnati hurler was given.
In the aftermath of the lefty’s passing, Cincinnati put out a statement that remembered his contributions to the club.
“Don dedicated 24 years to this franchise as a player, coach and Minor league instructor,” Reds CEO Bob Castellini said in a statement. “An anchor on the pitching staff of one of the greatest baseball teams in history, his contributions to our rich tradition, our city and his community will never be forgotten.”
A first-round pick out of McKell High School (Kentucky) by the Reds in 1969, Gullett made his big league debut a year later and held a 2.43 ERA in his first 77 2/3 innings as a 19-year-old.The southpaw followed that up with an impressive sophomore campaign in which he led the National League with a .727 winning percentage as he went 16-6 with a 2.65 ERA.
He twice received Cy Young Award votes, finishing as high as fifth in 1975 when the Reds won the first of their two back-to-back World Series titles.
Gullett signed with the Yankees as a free agent prior to the 1977 season, and that year, he led the American League in winning percentage (.778) when he went 14-4 before the Yankees won the World Series, the third straight winner he was part of.
And while he pitched for the Yankees the following season, a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder kept him off the World Series roster when the Bronx Bombers won their second trophy in a row.
The shoulder injury wound up ending his major league career at 27 years old.
