Reggie Cleveland

“He’s the best I have.”1 So said Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst when asked about Reggie Cleveland being traded to the Red Sox in December 1973. High praise, especially considering the Cardinals staff still included Bob Gibson. Boston GM Dick O’Connell called Cleveland “one of the best pitchers around.”2 In the winter of 1973, it was all upside for the 25-year-old Canadian, who had three solid major-league seasons under his belt. Reggie Cleveland was poised to become a 20-game winner, if not the ace of a pitching staff, certainly a very valuable starter. Would he live up to the high praise and the equally high expectations?

On May 23, 1948, Reginald Leslie Cleveland was born in the small town of Swift Current, Saskatchewan. Swift Current, in the southwestern part of the province is situated 90 miles north of the Montana border, and 140 miles west of the provincial capital, Regina, hard by the Swift Current Creek. It was a town of 6,000 or so when the future Canadian Baseball Hall of Famer was born to Gladys (Porter) and Bob Cleveland. It was the Porter side of the family that was athletic. Gladys played softball among other sports. Cleveland’s grandfather, Leslie Porter, was scouted by professional baseball clubs but never signed because he could not be spared from the family farm.3 Reggie Cleveland’s father, Bob, was a ticket taker for the Canadian Pacific Railway but would soon rejoin the Royal Canadian Air Force (he had been a member during World War II) and move the family to the even smaller, more remote town of Cold Lake, Alberta, near the Primrose Lake Air Weapons Range. Wherever the assignment took him, Bob Cleveland would make sure there was organized baseball for his athletic son. Reggie played in small towns all over Alberta and Saskatchewan, usually with much older boys or men. In addition to baseball, Reggie was a javelin champion who also lettered in curling and hockey for Beaver River High School, the Canadian Forces high school in Cold Lake.

It was in baseball, however, that Cleveland was to make his career. After throwing a no-hitter for the Moose Jaw Phillies, he was discovered by Sam Shapiro, a diminutive carnival man and erstwhile “B-game” spring-training umpire. While traveling with the carnival in 1965, Shapiro came upon the young right-hander pitching in a semipro game and sent a telegram to his friend Red Schoendienst, manager of the St. Louis Cardinals. Bill Sayles, Cardinals scout and former Red Sox pitcher, was dispatched to see Cleveland pitch, only to find he had worked a day earlier to help keep his team from being eliminated in a tournament. His next start was postponed by rain so Sayles asked Cleveland for a personal pitching demonstration. Sayles was impressed enough to offer Cleveland a contract with a $500 bonus. Cleveland was not impressed. Sayles raised the bonus to $1,000. Cleveland persisted and asked for more money but Sayles demurred. Later, the 17-year-old Cleveland reconsidered, called Sayles, and signed the contract.4 Reggie Cleveland was a professional ballplayer.

In 1966 Cleveland started his career with the St. Petersburg Cardinals of the Class-A Florida State League, managed by one George Anderson (who was known as Sparky).5 Also in 1966, Cleveland appeared in five games for the Eugene (Oregon) Emeralds in the Class-A Northwest League. It was back to St. Petersburg for two games to start the 1967 campaign. After recovering from an ankle injury, Cleveland was sent to the Northwest League again but this time to the Lewiston (Idaho) Broncs, where he led the league with 19 games started and tied for the league lead in complete games with 11. The Lewiston team was managed by former big-league pitcher Ray Hathaway. It is Hathaway, who would later become the Cardinals’ pitching coach, along with Billy Muffett, whom Cleveland credited with teaching him to pitch.6

Cleveland was back in St. Petersburg once more for the 1968 campaign, this time compiling a 15-10 record over 27 starts and an ERA of 2.77, striking out 135 in 185 innings. After growing up in the frigid Canadian prairie, St. Petersburg must have seemed like paradise. In 1968 he married St. Petersburg resident Kathleen Kubicki. The couple, who took up residence in sunny St. Pete, would collaborate on three children – Michelle, Michael, and Todd. The next year was Cleveland’s breakout year in the minors. He was 15-6 in 1969 for the Arkansas Travelers (Double-A Texas League) with an ERA of 3.39 in 23 starts. He tied for the league lead in complete games with 13. Cleveland moved up to the Tulsa Oilers in the Triple-A American Association for six games before making his major-league debut.

On October 1, 1969, in the next-to-last game in the 1969 schedule, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound right-hander made his debut for St. Louis with a start against the Philadelphia Phillies in Busch Stadium. While Cleveland did not pitch well (four innings, seven hits, four earned runs) the Cardinals won, 6-5. Cleveland started the 1970 season in the minors but after posting a 12-8 record in Tulsa, he was called up in August. He got into 16 games, including one start, for the Redbirds and was 0-4 over that stretch. Despite his record, there was one appearance, in Pittsburgh on September 9, that showed he could succeed in the majors. Cleveland had been working with Schoendienst and Muffett on his mechanics. He was not using his lower body effectively but was reluctant to make changes. Schoendienst and Muffett persisted, however, and through the use of movies, demonstrated his flawed delivery.

Cleveland told The Sporting News‘s Neal Russo, “I certainly found out what I was doing wrong. I wasn’t driving properly. When I corrected those things, I started to throw hard again and my control was a lot better. I had been doing things wrong like that all year and didn’t realize it.”7 In the September 9 game, the right-handed batting Cleveland got his first major-league hit (off Dave Giusti), and pitched 3? shutout innings, allowing three hits while striking out four and walking no one. Cleveland was impressive enough to stay with the big club for the rest of the season, and, as it would turn out, in the majors for good.

In his first start in 1971, on April 11, Cleveland pitched poorly and lost to San Francisco’s Juan Marichal. He bounced back in his next start but was on the short end of a 2-1 loss to Al Downing and the Los Angeles Dodgers. “I was beginning to think I’d never win a game,” said the Cardinals rookie, whose major-league record to that point was 0-6.8 Then, on April 20, Cleveland showed he belonged in the Cardinals rotation with Bob Gibson, Steve Carlton, and Jerry Reuss. He got his first major-league win, against Marichal at Candlestick Park.

The Giants were in the midst of a nine-game winning streak when the Cardinals came to town. On paper it looked like a mismatch: Marichal with his 206 major-league victories versus 22-year-old Reggie Cleveland still looking for his first. But the game is not played on paper. Cleveland beat Marichal and the Giants, 2-1, giving up just the one run in 7? innings. He struck out Dick Dietz twice with a total of five men on base. He also got George Foster once and struck out pinch-hitter Willie McCovey, too. Cleveland went on to win 11 more times in 1971 and was named National League Rookie Pitcher of the Year by The Sporting News.

The next year, Cleveland started like a Cy Young candidate. By the time he threw a complete game to beat the Atlanta Braves, 2-0, on July 13 (Cleveland had one RBI and Bernie Carbo the other), he was 11-4 with a 2.99 ERA. But he went 3-11 the rest of the way to finish 14-15 with a 3.94 ERA for the 75-81, fourth-place Cardinals. Not bad for a second-year man, but disappointing after the stellar start.

The 1972 season could be viewed as a microcosm of Cleveland’s career. He seemed to be in a constant cycle, with flashes of greatness followed by mediocrity or worse. He was frequently battling his waistline. His teammates gave him the nicknames “Double Cheeseburger” and “Snacks.” Management and the press could not understand how he could gain weight during the season. While listed as 200 pounds, Cleveland would often carry 230 pounds or more to the mound. He was also, as he would later admit, battling the “major-league lifestyle.” He kept his problem well hidden, however. As Cleveland would tell Dan Turner, he was “such a good drunk.”9

The following season proved to be Cleveland’s best year, at least statistically. He helped the 1973 Cardinals improve to a second-place finish at 81-81 with a 14-10 record, a 3.01 ERA, and three shutouts. He struck out 122, while walking just 61 in 224 innings (his third consecutive year of pitching 220 innings or more). His 14 wins were second only to Rick Wise‘s 16 on the Cardinals’ pitching staff. Repeating the pattern of the year before, Cleveland started hot. By the time he shut out the Expos and former teammate Mike Torrez 2-0 in Montreal on August 1, he had compiled a 12-5 record with a 2.94 ERA. After that Cleveland was 2-5. To be fair, Cardinals ace Bob Gibson had a lower ERA (2.77) but managed to lose 10 games as well in 1973. Cleveland was a rising star on the Cardinals staff and other teams were noticing.

On December 7, 1973, Cleveland was traded to the Boston Red Sox with pitcher Diego Segui and infielder Terry Hughes for pitchers Lynn McGlothen, John Curtis, and Mike Garman. Red Sox general manager Dick O’Connell was trying to acquire the 35-year-old Gaylord Perry from the Indians but could not get the deal done, and instead turned to the Cardinals. Truly, Reggie Cleveland, with his fastball, slider, and curve, was the marquee player of the trade. O’Connell completed what amounted to a 10-player deal with St. Louis, getting Rick Wise in a separate deal weeks earlier. After the trade for Cleveland, the Red Sox, who expected him to be a 20-game winner, thought they had “the best staff in baseball.”10

Cleveland had pitched very well for St. Louis and fully expected to be in the starting rotation for the Red Sox in 1974. It was not to be, at least not at first. He came into camp overweight and with a bum left knee suffered in winter ball playing for Las Aguilas in Venezuela. Not surprisingly, he had a subpar spring and did not earn a spot in the starting rotation. Cleveland was the long man out of the bullpen and a spot starter coming out of spring training. His poor spring and injury (later learned to be a torn meniscus) carried over to the regular season.11

Cleveland’s first start for the Red Sox may have been an omen of things to come. On April 15 he suffered a tough-luck 1-0 loss to Detroit. He struck out five, walked none, and allowed only three hits to the Tigers. Unfortunately for Cleveland, one of the hits was a Norm Cash home run in the fifth inning that snuck around the right-field foul pole. The Red Sox batters, for their part, could not muster any offense against Boston native Joe Coleman who gave up only three singles. The Cleveland-Coleman pitching match-up occurred once again, on July 26. In that game Cleveland pitched 10? innings and allowed only three hits and no earned runs, but still lost. An error by Boston third baseman Rico Petrocelli in the bottom of the 11th inning opened the door to a Jim Northrup game-winning single two batters later. Again, the Red Sox batters could do nothing with Joe Coleman, who pitched 11 innings of four-hit ball. Cleveland had a rather lackluster 1974 at 12-14 and it was not all the fault of poor offensive support. By early June his ERA was 6.30 though he finished with a 4.31 ERA as the Red Sox placed third behind the Orioles and the Yankees.

Cleveland was in the starting rotation along with Luis Tiant, Bill Lee, and Rick Wise to begin Boston’s 1975 season. His first start (and win) of the year, on April 12, was a memorable one. Cleveland pitched 12 innings and allowed only two runs to the Orioles in a game the Red Sox won in the 13th. The good times would not last, however. After losing to the California Angels on May 25, Cleveland with his 3-3 record and 4.76 ERA was back in the bullpen. Except for a start in the second game of a doubleheader on July 6, he was out of the rotation until July 20.

On June 29 the Red Sox beat the Yankees 3-2 to take back sole possession of first place in the American League East. Late that night Cleveland was driving, along with his best friend from high school through Boston’s Sumner Tunnel, hit a puddle, and rolled his car. Cleveland received 15 stitches around his right ear and eight in his mouth after being pulled unconscious from the wreckage.12 In those simpler days before 24-hour sports channels, this DUI incident went virtually unreported (there was a small story in Toronto’s Globe and Mail).13 Incredibly, Cleveland spent no time on the disabled list and pitched two days later (July 1).

While it would not have felt like it at the time, the July 6 loss to the Indians was the turning point in Reggie Cleveland’s season. After that loss, he went 9-3 the rest of the year, lowering his ERA from 5.31 to 4.43. Even in defeat, he pitched well. For example, one of his three losses in the second half came on August 8. Cleveland took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, when with two outs Reggie Jackson hit a home run. A Billy Williams single and a Gene Tenace homer made it 3-2 A’s. Oakland pitcher Ken Holtzman made it stand up as Cleveland was handed a tough loss in this 99-minute game.

His start against the Yankees in Shea Stadium (Yankee Stadium was being renovated) on July 26 was one of the Red Sox’ most important victories of the year. Cleveland pitched 8? innings and allowed only two runs on five hits as Boston beat New York, 4-2. This win set the stage for Boston’s shutout sweep of the Yankees the next day, when Bill Lee beat Catfish Hunter 1-0 in game one and Roger Moret beat Tippy Martinez 6-0 in the nightcap, dropping the Yankees firmly into third place, 10 games behind the first-place Boston nine. The Red Sox had some momentum.

In the last month of the season, the Sox were in a tough struggle with Baltimore for the AL East Division crown. When Bill Lee was ineffective due to elbow soreness in September, Cleveland stepped in and made a huge difference. He was 4-0 in the month with a 2.21 ERA in 36? innings (four starts and one five-shutout-innings relief appearance). He topped off his regular season with a shutout of the Indians on September 26, lowering the Sox magic number to two. In that game, Cleveland faced only four batters over the minimum. He finished the season at 13-9 with a 4.43 ERA. It was the tale of two seasons again but this time Cleveland finished strong after a mediocre start. The Red Sox finished first in the American League East and Cleveland was an important part of their success. The Sox were five games over .500 (16-11) in September and Cleveland was four games over by himself. He had earned at least one start in the postseason.

Cleveland became the first Canadian-born pitcher to start a postseason game when he started the second game of the ALCS against Oakland on October 5, 1975. Cleveland did not get a decision (allowing seven hits and three runs in five innings), but the Red Sox won the game, 6-3. Boston won the next game as well, completing a sweep and dethroning the three-time reigning world champions.

In the World Series, Cleveland made a little more history. He first saw action in the third game, on October 14 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. He came in to relieve Jim Burton in the bottom of the fifth with two outs, Ken Griffey on second, and the Reds ahead, 5-1. Cleveland struck out Tony Perez to end the threat. The Red Sox scored a run in the top of the sixth and needed Cleveland to keep the Reds from doing further damage in the bottom of the frame. He did exactly what was required, pitching a scoreless sixth by striking out Bench and then getting outs from George Foster and Dave Concepcion. It was an effective outing for Cleveland, who was removed for a pinch-hitter in the top of the seventh. The Red Sox tied it in the ninth only to lose in the 10th.

In Game Five, Cleveland became the first Canadian-born pitcher to start a World Series game. He pitched well, shutting out the Reds through 3? innings before surrendering a home run to Tony Perez. The sixth inning was Cleveland’s undoing. After walking Joe Morgan, he induced the perfect double-play ball from Johnny Bench (Morgan was still on first because Cleveland had thrown over to first 16 times during Bench’s at-bat), but second baseman Denny Doyle did not see the grounder. Right fielder Evans fielded the ball and overthrew third, leaving runners at second and third with nobody out. Tony Perez was up next, and drove a 1-and-2 pitch to deep left for his second homer of the night. The Reds won the game, 6-2.

Cleveland made one more appearance in the World Series. On October 22, in the ninth inning of the seventh game, he was brought in to face Johnny Bench with Pete Rose on third and Joe Morgan on second after Jim Burton had given up a run to put the Reds on top, 4-3. Cleveland walked Bench to load the bases. Next up was Game Five hero and new nemesis Tony Perez. This time, Cleveland got Perez to fly out to end the threat and was in line for the win if the Sox could score two runs in the bottom of the ninth. But the Reds held on to win the game, 4-3, and the Series.

The 1976 Red Sox looked to repeat as American League champions but could only manage third, more than 15 games behind first-place New York. Cleveland, mostly a reliever now, finished 10-9 but with an ERA of 3.07, nearly a half-run better than the league average. He pitched 170 innings and gave up only three home runs all year (all at Fenway Park).14

In 1977 the Red Sox won 97 games but finished in a tie for second with Baltimore. Cleveland’s won-loss record improved to 11-8 but his ERA ballooned to 4.26. He pitched 190? innings in 36 games with 27 starts and nine complete games. It was to be the last year Cleveland would have more starts than relief appearances. He did have a couple of historic appearances. On September 9, in the second game of a doubleheader against Detroit at Fenway Park, future Tiger institutions Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell made their major-league debuts and predictably both got their first major-league hit on the same day and both came against Cleveland (Boston won the game anyway, 8-6). Later in September, on the 25th, Cleveland “scattered” 18 hits as he pitched a complete game and earned a 12-5 victory over the Tigers in Detroit.

The 1977 Red Sox had three young starters – Bob Stanley, Don Aase, and Mike Paxton – who needed work to mature. Reggie Cleveland volunteered to go to the bullpen to allow the Red Sox the flexibility of getting more starts for the three young guns.15 It was a selfless thing to do. It was neither the first nor the last time that Cleveland, whom Don Zimmer called “a real pro,” put the team first.16

At the start of the 1978 season, Boston had 11 pitchers and Zimmer wanted 10. Twenty-seven-year-old rookie Jim Wright was out of contract options and Cleveland was the odd man out. His contract was sold to the Texas Rangers on April 18 for $125,000.17 Cleveland, for his part, was relieved. He told reporters, “Not knowing what was going to happen was driving me nuts. Now I know I have a chance to start. I’m very happy to go to Texas. It’s a good ballclub which can score runs and it’s a good place to play.”18

Cleveland was used exclusively in relief for the Rangers, appearing in 53 games. He got off to a slow start because he had not been used much by Boston. The turning point of his season came on April 28 against his former team. Cleveland pitched four solid innings, giving up only one unearned run, striking out three, and walking none. He earned his first victory when Richie Zisk hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 11th. Cleveland earned saves in his next three appearances, gaining self-confidence and the confidence of his manager. Cleveland ended the 1978 season just 5-8 but with an impressive 3.08 ERA and 12 saves. He was the best reliever on the team and earned the Rolaids Award signifying that accomplishment.

Although Cleveland was successful in Texas, his stay would be short. The cash-strapped Brad Corbett traded him after the season to Milwaukee for pitcher Ed Farmer, minor-league infielder Gary Holle, and $200,000.19 Brewers GM Harry Dalton, who once thought Cleveland “too fat to pitch in the major leagues,” had wanted him since at least the beginning of 1978.20 Dalton and the Brewers were high on Cleveland as a starter, at one point insisting he would pitch 200 innings for the team. But it was not to be. Cleveland, who had moved his family to Texas and bought into a farm there, was not thrilled to be traded. He let a bad attitude and his waistline both get out of hand. He had his worst year in the majors in 1979, 1-5 with a 6.71 ERA while pitching only 55 innings. Cleveland also had more walks than strikeouts for the first time in his career.

He came to spring training in 1980 with a new attitude and a new physique. A few of his teammates failed to recognize the new, svelte Reggie at the Brewers’ Sun City, Arizona, spring training facility.21 Cleveland reported a week early and 25 pounds lighter, telling manager George Bamberger, “You guys are going to be proud of me at the end of the season.”22 He pitched well in relief but still wanted to start. (Cleveland liked short relief. He once told The Sporting News‘s Tom Flaherty, “The idea is you go in with the game on the line. You either do it or you don’t. I like that situation.”)23 When his chance to start came June 16 in the second game of a doubleheader against Detroit, he made the most of it. Cleveland had a one-hitter through 7? innings before giving up home runs to Steve Kemp and Richie Hebner. Milwaukee won the game 5-3 with Cleveland getting the victory.

In his next start, Cleveland shut out Oakland on six hits and then followed with a 5-2 complete-game victory over California. On July 25 Cleveland won the 100th game of his career by beating Jim Palmer and the Baltimore Orioles with a four-hit shutout.24 He was flashing brilliant once again and, unexpectedly, leading the Brewers’ staff. He finished the year at 11-9 with an impressive 3.73 ERA. He pitched in 45 games with 13 starts, five complete games and two shutouts. Again he was recognized by Rolaids as the best reliever on his team.25

The next season, 1981, was a troubled one for baseball in general and for Reggie Cleveland in particular. For baseball, there was a two-month strike in the middle of the season. Players received only about seven days’ notice of the resumption of the season. Cleveland overtrained to get ready quickly and developed tendinitis in his right shoulder.26 In addition, the “major-league lifestyle” and family problems (Cleveland’s family was still in Texas) were starting to catch up with him. He was pitching poorly and the worse he pitched, the more he drank.

Eventually the 33-year-old Cleveland went to manager Buck Rodgers and said, “You’ve got a team in the playoffs [the Brewers were the second-half winners of the split season schedule], and you don’t have any confidence in me and I don’t have any confidence in me. Get somebody you’re going to be able to use because I got to get out of here or I’m going to end up in the tank.”27 Cleveland played in his final game on September 23, 1981, fittingly against the Red Sox. He pitched one-third of an inning, striking out 1975 World Series nemesis Tony Perez.

Reggie Cleveland’s 13-year major-league career spanned three decades with the birth of free agency right in the middle. He finished with 105 victories against 106 defeats, appearing in 428 games, striking out 930.28 He won at least 10 games in seven straight years (1971-77). At the time of his retirement, his 105 victories (Cleveland won another 53 games in the minors) were second only to Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins‘ 284 victories among Canadian-born pitchers. (He has been passed as of 2014 by Kirk McCaskill and Ryan Dempster.)

After his playing career, Cleveland moved to Calgary, Alberta, with his second wife, Charlene, and their two children. Son John became a three-time Olympic swimmer for Canada (1988, ’92, and ’96) and son Todd, played shortstop for the University of North Florida.29 Always affable, Reggie Cleveland put his personality to work selling cars for Shaganappi Chev-Olds in Calgary and, later, selling real estate. From 1991 to 1995, Cleveland worked for the Toronto Blue Jays as a pitching coach at their various minor-league affiliates, from the instructional league in Florida, to St. Catharine’s in the New York-Penn League, to Hagerstown (Maryland) in the South Atlantic League.30 Cleveland became a US citizen in 1980. He lived in the Dallas, Texas, area, and sold luxury cars for Park Place Lexus. As of 2014, he resided in Anna, Texas. He was inducted into the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame and the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986.

A version of this biography appeared in “’75: The Red Sox Team That Saved Baseball” (Rounder Books, 2005; SABR, 2015), edited by Bill Nowlin and Cecilia Tan.

Sources

Books

Adelman, Tom, The Long Ball (Boston: Back Bay Books, 2003).

Ambassador World Atlas (Maplewood, New Jersey: Hammond, Inc., 1988).

Honig, Don, The Boys of October (Chicago: Contemporary Books, 2003).

MacLean, Norman, executive editor, 1982 Who’s Who in Baseball (New York: Baseball Magazine Co., Inc., 1982).

Marcin, Joe, Chris Roewe, Larry Wigge, and Larry Vickrey, editors. Official Baseball Guide – 1976 (St. Louis: The Sporting News, 1976).

Shearon, Jim, Canada’s Baseball Legends (Kanata, Ontario: Malin Head Press, 1994).

Shury, Dave, editor, Saskatchewan Historical Baseball Review (Battleford, Saskatchewan: The Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Association, 1984, 1986, and 1990).

Turner, Dan, Heroes, Bums and Ordinary Men (Toronto: Doubleday Canada Limited, 1988).

Newspapers

Boston Globe 

New York Times 

The Sporting News

Websites

baseball-reference.com

baseballlibrary.com

minorleaguebasball.com

nationmaster.com

retrosheet.org

sabr.org

sports123.com

travs.com

Other

Interview with Reggie Cleveland on August 4, 1990, by Dan Dinardo for the SABR Oral History Project. The interview was transcribed by Joseph Hetrick.

Telephone interview with Reggie Cleveland on August 5, 2005, by the author.

Notes