Don Gullett Pitches for Own Farm Team

Time has been the healer for Don Gullett.

More than 11 years have passed since he pitched in the big leagues, making his last start before the 1978 All-Star game. He was one of the best pitchers of the 1970s, with a fastball that approached 100 miles per hour.

But he lasted only two innings that fateful outing, suffering a devastating rotator cuff injury.

Two years later, following surgery and countless consultations with specialists, Gullett’s career ended with his release by the New York Yankees.

Now he would like to return to baseball.

“I wouldn’t mind getting into some type of instruction in the major leagues or minor leagues,” Gullett said outside a barn on his farm in Greenup County in northeastern Kentucky. “Scouting would be a good field to be in. I’d like to get back in some capacity.

“It’s difficult to get baseball out of your system all together.”

But he sure tried.

“It bothered me the first 3-4 years I was away,” he said. “I looked at myself and I was only 31-32 years old. It kind of bothered me mentally. It was mentally tough to watch games. Under normal circumstances, I would have been out of the game only 3-4 years now.

“I don’t think anybody ever adjusts to it. You always got that feeling to be involved in baseball on a regular basis. After a while you realize it’s time to give it up and pursue something else.”

Gullett recorded some impressive numbers during his 10-year career with the Cincinnati Reds and Yankees. He was 104-50 with a 3.11 ERA while playing in four World Series.

His career appeared headed into the Hall of Fame.

“You never know what might have happened,” he said without a trace of bitterness. “There always a chance of injury. It was just unfortunate in my career. If I had stayed healthy, there is the chance I could have been very successful.

“I think I was a better pitcher right before I hurt my arm than I was earlier.”

Injuries haven’t eluded Gullett since his days in New York.

While playing softball he dislocated a shoulder sliding into second base and another time threw his shoulder out while trying to throw out a runner.

Nearly four years ago he experienced his biggest physical setback - a heart attack.

“It affected me a couple of years in what I could do,” he said.”I was afraid to get out there and do things I had done before. I was scared.”

But he gained an appreciation for the things he had in life.

“You look at what you’ve got and stay around and enjoy it,” said Gullett, who will married 20 years in January to his high school sweetheart, Cathy. They have an 18-year-old son, Don Jr., and two daughters, Tracey, 15, and Angela, 10.

Gullett, who will be 39 in January, is 25 pounds over his playing weight of 190. His physique is more like Mickey Lolich than the young fireballing lefty of Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine.

He still participates in old-timers’ games at the various ballparks and has made a couple of appearances at baseball card shows.

“The old-timers’ games are always a good feeling,” said Gullett, who wears a Cincinnati uniform at the gatherings. “It’s nice to go into the old ballparks. It’s like a big reunion.

Gullett was also drafted by in the senior league, although he hasn’t been contacted by anyone.

“I think that might be a fun thing to do,” he said. “I think that would be the case with the other guys. If they were serious about it, I think they would seek employment in the major leagues.”

Every summer he usually makes the 120-mile trip from his home to Cincinnati to see a game.

He roots for both the Reds and Yankees.

“There’s a lot of tradition in both cities,” he said. “It’s kind of easy to do with them being in different leagues.”

Gullett isn’t the standard gentleman farmer. He’s out in the field cutting hay with a tractor or tending to the tobacco crop or tinkering with some machinery. He gets dirty.

“You’ve got to know a little about everything to be a farmer,” he said with a grin. “You’ve got to know plumbing, mechanics and a lot of other things.”

Gullett lives in a two-story Tudor-style home about a mile where he grew up. “If I hadn’t gone into baseball, I’d probably still be doing what I am now,” he said.

“I hunt and fish as much as I can,” he added. “I like working outdoors too. It’s difficult to sit around inside.”

Occasionally he’ll get in touch with former Yankee teammate Catfish Hunter for a hunting trip in North Carolina.

He plans to sell the farm because its “more work and no pay” and to spend more time traveling.

“I’m semi-retired now,” he said with a smile.”My wife andI still have a chance to travel like we’ve always wanted to.”

And he still carries the times of his life in the big leagues.

“One of the things I remember is the home run I hit in the ’76 playoffs against Pittsburgh,” he said. ‘But just getting into the game of baseball was a big thrill for me and getting to pitch against guys like Hank Aaron or Willie Mays. There are a lot of great memories.”