ONEMOREINNING     

IT WAS HOT, ANNOYINGLY HUMID, AND THE SUN WAS SO STRONG THAT EVEN WITH A CAP AND AN UNBRELLA OVER YOUR HEAD YOUR BODY WAS COVERED WITH SWEAT WITHIN MINUTES.THERE WERE NO MORE THAN 300 IN THE STANDS, THE GAME WAS IN THE SEVENTH INNING, AND THE VERMONT MARINERS HAD MEN ON FIRST AND THIRD WITH JUST ONE OUT.

COMING IN FOR THE PITTSFIELD METS WAS A LUMBERING FIGURE WHO MADE HIS WAY SLOWLY TO THE MOUND. YOU COULD SEE HE HAD A PAUNCH AND AFTER A FEW WARM UP TOSSES IT LOOKED LIKE THERE WAS NOTHING THERE. THERE WASN’T!

With a 3-1 count he gave up a line drive homerun to left field, walked the next batter, got the second out on a great play by the SS, watched a double go into the furthest part of Wahconnah park, gave up two more singles, walked another batter, and was mercifully taken out of the game after another homerun cleared the bases.

As he went back to the dugout the fans loudly booed him, some threw things from the stands, and the word was that this was probably his last game in A A baseball.

Just a few years back Jeff Reardon was one of the best relievers in the game. For awhile he had the record for the most saves in the game, breaking Rollie Fingers record and setting a new one at 342 saves.

The last few years were difficult for Jeff Reardon. His fast ball showed the effects Of  injuries that had put him on the disabled list several times. Hitter’s waited for his so-so curve ball and teed off on it. He was traded to several teams including a poor stint with the Yankees. He was sent to the minors, came back to the Majors for a year and then back to the minors again.

At this point things began to unravel:

   Shane Reardon was the second of Jeff Reardon’s three kids. His death at the age of 21 from drug use devastated Jeff who opted to stay home with his family rather than accept jobs in the game as a coach. From high school on Shane became very difficult to handle. He began to hang out with a group of kids who were always drifting in and out of trouble.  He finally went to a treatment center to try to get straightened out.

   It didn’t work. After he came out he was arrested several times for drug possession. At the age of twenty his parents found him dead in his apartment when they stopped by to visit.

   His wife and children went for counseling. Jeff tried it for awhile, found it didn’t work for him and as the years went by became more & more reclusive, He took to staying in his room, shades down, staring out into space, hour after hour.

   December 26 2005, Jeff Reardon walked into Hamilton Jewelers in Palm Beach Gardens, handed the clerk a note saying he had a gun and that the clerk should put some hundred dollar bills and jewelry into a bag which he handed her. He walked out of the store and was immediately arrested. At his trial he claimed that he didn’t know what he was doing, his actions were influenced by all the anti-depressants he was taking . He was found not guilty by reasons of insanity and went to a correctional facility for a short while.

   It was difficult for him to get work and when he did, it usually didn’t last He tried to do some coaching in the Minors  but couldn’t cope with the stress of  team problems.

   He checked into a mental health facility, talked to only his wife (will not correspond with his children) and as of today he is still there.

   HARD TIMES FOR JEFF REARDON