Jerry Reuss first made it to the Majors in 1969 with St. Louis, but it was a decade later, after stops in Houston and Pittsburgh, before the southpaw wore Dodger Blue.
Reuss joined the Dodgers in a pre-season 1979 trade for Rick Rhoden, and while he missed out on Pittsburgh's "We Are Family" World Series win that year, he did not have to wait much longer. After a pedestrian Dodgers debut campaign (7-14, 3.54 ERA), Reuss had his best year in Baseball, winning 18 Games against 6 Losses with a 2.51 ERA. The year after, Reuss again kept his ERA under three, and he helped Los Angeles capture the World Series. An All-Star this season, Reuss was second to Philadelphia's Steve Carlton or the Cy Young.
Reuss was up and down over the next five years, with two more years with a sub-3.00 ERA, though he would occasionally be demoted to the bullpen due to streaky ineffectiveness. After only one Game in 1987, Reuss was released by the Dodgers and went into journeyman status, but Reuss' time with Los Angeles posting a record of 88-69 with a 3.11 ERA.
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