Don Gullett

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Donald Edward "Don" Gullett was a former Major League Baseball player and coach.

Gullett was born January 6, 1951 in Lynn, Kentucky. As a high school student in South Shore, Kentucky, Gullett was an outstanding three sports athlete - baseball, football, and basketball. As a high school pitcher, he once tossed a perfect game - including striking out 20 of the 21 hitters he faced.

The Cincinnati Reds selected Don Gullett in the first round of the 1969 amateur draft, and he made his big league debut on April 10, 1970.

Gullett played for the Reds from 1970 through the 1976 season. In November of that year, as a free agent, he signed with the New York Yankees. He enjoyed a successful 14-4 season with the Yankees in 1977, but shoulder problems in 1978 signaled the end of his career.

During a relatively brief nine year career, Gullett accumulated 109 wins and posted an impressive 3.11 Earned Run Average (ERA). Playing for only nine seasons, Gullett was a member of five World Series teams, including four consecutive World Champions ('75 and '76 Reds, and '77 and '78 Yankees).

At the plate, Don Gullett posted a respectable (for a pitcher) career batting average of .194. For example, in a 1975 National League Championship Series game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Gullett not only pitched a complete game victory, he also helped himself out by hitting a single, a home run, and collecting 3 RBI.

After sitting out the 1979 and 1980 seasons due to extensive shoulder and rotator cuff problems, Gullett was released by the Yankees in late 1980.

In 1993, he rejoined the Reds as pitching coach, a post he held until being ousted mid-season in 2005.

Preceded by Buzz Capra

National League Player of the Month July, 1974

Succeeded by Lou Brock