Highlighted Year: Craig Reynolds, 1978

Shortstop, Seattle Mariners

Age: 25

2^nd season with Mariners

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 6’1”    Weight: 175 

Prior to 1978:

A native of Houston, Texas, Reynolds was named the city’s Top High School Athlete while a senior at John H. Reagan High School. Selected in the first round of the 1971 amateur draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates, after signing he was sent to the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League where he batted .318 with 8 doubles and a .378 on-base percentage. He also committed 25 errors at shortstop. Moving to Gastonia of the Class A Western Carolinas League in 1972, he hit .240, again with a near total absence of power, but with better results defensively. Reynolds spent most of 1973 with Salem of the Class A Carolina League where he improved his batting average to .287 and displayed more clout with 18 doubles, 5 triples, 13 home runs, 86 RBIs, and a .334 OBP. With teams at Class AA and AAA in 1974, he batted a combined .299 with 12 doubles, 6 home runs, 34 RBIs, and a .359 OBP. In 1975 with the Charleston Charlies of the Class AAA International League, Reynolds hit .308 with 22 doubles, 6 home runs, 42 RBIs, and a .342 OBP. He also saw brief action with the Pirates and batted .224 in 31 games. Back with Charleston in 1976, Reynolds produced a .290 average with 21 extra-base hits, 47 RBIs, and a .337 OBP. He received a September call-up to the Pirates and was traded along with a minor league second baseman to the expansion Mariners in the offseason for reliever Grant Jackson. Moving into the lineup as the new club’s starting shortstop, Reynolds hit a better-than-anticipated .248 with 12 doubles, 4 home runs, 28 RBIs, and a .277 OBP.

1978 Season Summary

Appeared in 148 games

SS – 146, PH – 1, PR – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 604

At Bats – 548

Runs – 57

Hits – 160 [19, tied with Roy Smalley]

Doubles – 16

Triples – 7 [11, tied with six others]

Home Runs – 5

RBI – 44

Bases on Balls – 36

Int. BB – 1

Strikeouts – 41

Stolen Bases – 9

Caught Stealing – 6

Average - .292 [17, tied with Sixto Lezcano]

OBP - .336

Slugging Pct. - .374

Total Bases – 205

GDP – 4

Hit by Pitches – 3

Sac Hits – 11 [18, tied with Dave Chalk & Butch Wynegar]

Sac Flies – 6

Midseason snapshot: 3B – 4, HR - 3, RBI - 29, AVG. - .306, OBP - .344

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 4 AB) at Oakland 8/6, (in 5 AB) vs. Texas 10/1

Longest hitting streak – 16 games

HR at home – 2

HR on road – 3

Most home runs, game – 1 on five occasions

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 4 at NY Yankees 6/14 – 10 innings

Pinch-hitting/running – 0 for 1 (.000) with 1 R

Fielding

Chances - 733

Put Outs – 243

Assists – 461

Errors – 29

DP – 102

Pct. - .960

Awards & Honors:

All-Star

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The Mariners went 56-104 to finish seventh (last) in the AL Western Division, 35 games behind the division-winning Kansas City Royals. The Mariners dropped into the AL West cellar in April and never rose above fifth place the rest of the way. Disappointing play from some of the standouts of the inaugural season combined with front office instability to damage the club’s chances. Reynolds was one of a few stars for the struggling team.

Aftermath of 1978:

In the offseason Reynolds returned to his hometown as he was dealt to the Houston Astros for LHP Floyd Bannister. The Astros, emphasizing pitching and defense, contended in 1979 and Reynolds batted .265 with 20 doubles, 9 triples, 39 RBIs, 12 stolen bases, and a .292 OBP, often contributing timely hits. His defense was solid and he was once again an All-Star. Reynolds’ offense dropped off in 1980 to .226 with 9 doubles, 6 triples, 3 home runs, 28 RBIs, 2 stolen bases, and a .262 OBP while the Astros won their first ever division title. In the strike-shortened 1981 season Reynolds tied for the NL lead in triples (12, including a record-tying three in one game). Beyond that he hit .260 with 10 doubles, 4 home runs, 31 RBIs, and a .286 OBP. In 1982, Reynolds lost his starting job to Dickie Thon, an up-and-coming shortstop with more batting punch. Transitioning into a new role as a utility infielder, he appeared in 54 games and batted .254 with 6 extra-base hits, 7 RBIs, and a .321 OBP. Making 65 appearances in his backup role in 1983, Reynolds hit .214 with a .260 OBP. Thon suffered impaired vision as the result of an early-season beaning in 1984 and Reynolds was called upon to fill in at shortstop, which he did effectively, batting .260 with 15 doubles, 11 triples, 6 home runs, 60 RBIs, and a .286 OBP. With Thon back in action in 1985, Reynolds was utilized less, but performed well when needed, hitting .272 with 18 doubles, 8 triples, 4 home runs, 32 RBIs, and a .293 OBP. The Astros returned to the top of the NL West in 1986 and Reynolds, splitting time with Thon at short, batted .249 with 6 home runs, 41 RBIs, and a .274 OBP. The club lost to the New York Mets in a six-game NLCS, but Reynolds appeared in four of the games and hit .333. With Thon again hindered by vision problems in 1987, Reynolds saw considerable action at shortstop and batted .254 with 17 doubles, 4 home runs, 28 RBIs, and a .303 OBP. In 1988, with Rafael Ramirez taking over at shortstop, Reynolds returned to a utility role and hit .255 with a .290 OBP while appearing in 78 games. His playing career came to an end after one more season in 1989. For his major league career, he batted .256 with 1142 hits that included 143 doubles, 65 triples, and 42 home runs. He scored 480 runs and produced 377 RBIs, 58 stolen bases, and a .291 OBP. With the Mariners he batted .273 with 98 runs scored, 264 hits, 28 doubles, 10 triples, 9 home runs, 72 RBIs, 15 stolen bases, and a .311 OBP. Reynolds appeared in 12 postseason games with the Pirates and Astros and hit .241 with a double and no RBIs. He was a two-time All-Star. Following his playing career, he worked in wealth management in Houston prior to becoming a Baptist minister.

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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc. players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.