Rick Reuschel (pronounced RUSH-el) (born May 16, 1949 in Quincy, Illinois) was a major league baseball pitcher from the early 1970s into the late 1980s. He came to the Cubs at a time when they were declining, in the post-Durocher era, and provided a strong arm for the Cubs increasingly mediocre staff. His best year was in 1977, when the Cubs made a brief run at the flag and Reuschel won 20 games.
His younger brother Paul also pitched for the Cubs for a few years while Rick was pitching, but was not nearly as effective as Rick and his career was that much shorter. Both of them were farm boys from Quincy, Illinois, with strong physiques and plain-spoken ways.
Both were known for being big. Rick, in particular, was listed as 6-foot-4 and 225, which makes him a few pounds heavier than his franchise-mate from two generations earlier, Hippo Vaughn. Rick could run surprisingly well for his size. He was frequently used as a pinch runner on days he was not pitching. He was also a fair though awkward-looking hitter, batting well over .200 several times, which is considered excellent for a pitcher.
Rick was sent to the New York Yankees in 1981. That year, Reuschel made his first World Series appearances. The 1981 World Series marked the last chapter of the Dodgers-Yankees trilogy of that era, this one won by the Dodgers. Rick was ineffective in that Series, and it was assumed he was about done.
His career was revived after he was traded to the San Francisco Giants, pitching well for the Bayside team for several years before finally hanging the spikes up. In 1989, Reuschel won 17 games for the Giants as he helped lead them to the World Series (their first since 1962). In 1989 World Series, Reuschel was the losing pitcher in Game 2 (his only appearance in the Series) with a 11.25 ERA, five earned runs, and five hits given up against the Oakland Athletics.
Reuschel won the Hutch Award in 1985, and is also a winner of The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award. In a 19-year career, he had a record of 214-191 in 557 games (529 starts). Reuschel had 102 career complete games and 26 of those were shutouts. He allowed 1330 earned run and struck out 2015 in 3548 and 1/3 innings pitched.
He is also one of the Top 100 winning pitchers of all time.
