Former Phillie of the Day - Ron Reed

I'm still seething about yesterday's loss to the Nationals, thanks in large part to a blown save by closer Hector Neris. And it got me to thinking–who blew the most saves in Phillies history?

I searched as best I could and I came up with today's Former Phillie of the Day–Ron Reed. He was an outstanding high school athlete in LaPorte, Indiana, who decided to forgo a pro baseball career to play college basketball at Notre Dame.

Reed, a 6-6 forward, averaged 19 points and 14.3 rebounds a game for the Irish in his career, from 1962 to 1965. He was drafted by the Detroit Pistons and played two NBA seasons, averaging 8.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. When basketball season ended, he grabbed his glove and pitched for the Milwaukee Braves. He played both sports for 2 years before deciding to turn to baseball full-time.

Reed was traded by the Cardinals to the Phillies in December 1975 for outfielder Mike Anderson. Reed, a starting pitcher, was moved to the bullpen in Philadelphia. He pitched in Philadelphia from 1976 until 1983, where he went 57-38 with 90 saves in 121 opportunities. So by my math, that's 31 blown saves. Yuck. But he did pitch 2 scoreless innings in the 1980 World Series.

He was voted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990. He's also a member of the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame. So there's that.