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Where Are They Now? : RICK REICHARDT

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Times Staff Writer David W. Myers catches up with former Dodgers and Angels

Reichardt became the highest-paid “bonus baby” in baseball history when the Angels beat out 17 other teams and signed him for a reported $200,000 in 1964. It looked like the club’s gamble would pay off when the outfielder started 1966 with 16 homers and a .288 average, but his season ended after only 89 games when an illness led to the removal of a kidney in August.

Reichardt came back to hit 17 home runs the next season and a career-high 21 in 1968, but he was traded in 1970 and retired in 1974 without living up to the expectations of many baseball scouts.

Now 51, he sells insurance and is part owner of a restaurant in Gainesville, Fla.

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