Sunday, February 14, 1999
Gullett: Been there, done that
BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The stereotypical gulf that separates managers or coaches from accomplished ballplayers doesn't apply to Don Gullett.
Most managers and coaches are plucked from the ranks of the mediocre — former players who needed to master the game's subtleties to survive professionally.
But Gullett was a hugely successful pitcher, a lefthander seemingly bound for the Hall of Fame before a variety of injuries stopped him — hepatitis, a hernia, a broken thumb, neck problems and finally his shoulder. He suffered that injury in 1977 while pitching in Baltimore for the New York Yankees, slipping as he tried to field Rick Dempsey's bunt, then landing on his throwing elbow and jamming the shoulder. The following season would be his last.
Gullett was among the first stars to cash in on free agency, signing a six-year, $2 million contract with the Yankees after spending 1970-76 with Cincinnati. But money left the Lynn, Ky., native far from fulfilled.
“I got out a little earlier than I wanted to,” said Gullett, who now lives in South Shore, Ky. “I was kind of bitter at the beginning (of his retirement), not at baseball or anyone in particular, but at (being a) victim of circumstance, getting out of the game at age 27. Most guys are fighting to get to the big-league level at age 27.”
Returning to baseball lingered in the back of Gullett's mind until 1987 or '88, when he encountered former Yankees teammate Lou Piniella, then the team's manager, at an Old-Timers Game in New York. “He said, "I think you have a lot to offer the game,'” Gullett said.
When Piniella became the Reds' manager in 1990, the road was paved for Gullett to become a minor-league pitching coach. Gullett joined the major-league staff when Tony Perez was fired as manager on May 24, 1993.
Gullett's playing career enhances his coaching credibility. Though members of Generation X probably have no idea that he was once among baseball's most dominant performers, pitchers of a slightly older vintage respect his accomplishments.
“He didn't have to prove anything to me,” said Philadelphia reliever Jeff Brantley, a Red from 1994-97. “As a kid, I used to pretend I was Don Gullett. I would face all these big-name guys while throwing a tennis ball against the wall in my garage.”
“The guy was 59 games above .500,” Reds starter Pete Harnisch said. “If you don't have any respect for what he's done in his life and in this game, you have to look at yourself.”
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