The 100 Greatest Colorado Rockies: 48 Jeff Reed

We continue our look at the top 100 Colorado Rockies of all time in this article. Here, we look at No. 48 on our list, Jeff Reed.

Early Career

The name Jeff Reed may not jump off the page but it was a fitting for a catcher who mostly played a supporting role is whole career. Much of that changed when he came to Denver in 1996 where he became a standout defensive catcher and started more games than he did most of his career.

Reed was drafted by the Twins 12th overall in the 1980 draft. he debuted in 1984 but never started more than 68 games where he struggled to hit above .200. He was traded to Montreal in 1987.

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Reed first started to separate himself when he played for the Cincinnati Reds. He caught Tom Browning‘s perfect game in 1988 and won the World Series with the club in 1990. He became significant in Rockies history before he played in Denver by making the last out of the season for the San Francisco Giants. That last out gave the Rockies a win and more importantly the 1995 Wild Card.

Rockies Career

Reed saw an opportunity and joined the Rockies late in his career in 1996. He never played better and more games than he did with Colorado. In his first season with the club he played 116 games after playing 66 games with the Giants the year before.

His career batting average was .250 but in his first three years in Colorado he hit .284, .297 and .290 respectively.  His OPS with the Rockies was .807 and he had a 4.2 WAR with the club.

Reed started the 1999 season in Denver playing 46 games but he didn’t replicate the success he had in seasons past hitting .255 with a -.4 WAR. He was traded to the Cubs where he would play his last game in 2000.

Last year Reed served as the hitting coach for the Elizabethton, Tennessee Twins, the rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. 

Next: Colorado Rockies Roster Moves: Reynolds to Roster, Bettis to 60-Day DL

Jeff Reed may be remembered as a back up catcher to some, but with the Colorado Rockies he was anything but. Chris Iannetta is arguably the only one sitting above him on this list.

Check out the previous player on this list, No. 49 Juan Pierre here.