Jerry Reuss, last Pirates pitcher to start All-Star Game, recalls unique experience in 1975

As Paul Skenes prepares to become the first Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher to start an All-Star Game in nearly half a century, the last man to do so for the club, Jerry Reuss, recalled an outing that feels both close at hand and a lifetime ago.

Monday marks 49 years since Reuss started for the National League in the 1975 All-Star Game at County Stadium in Milwaukee.

He threw three innings, allowing three hits and no runs while striking out a pair in the 6-3 NL victory.

“How do I tell somebody what 49 years feels like? In some ways, I can still remember it like it was yesterday, and in other ways, it’s a distant memory,” Reuss told TribLive by phone Sunday.

Reuss, who enjoyed a 22-year big-league career from 1969-90, played in Pittsburgh for five years between 1974-78 and again briefly in 1990.

The 1975 campaign would be his finest in a Pirates uniform and his first career All-Star selection. Leading into the All-Star Game, Reuss was 10-6 with a 2.23 ERA.

Reuss’ final pre-All-Star Game start was an eight-inning performance against the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 10 that gave him his 10th win of the season.

Looking back, Reuss believes his skipper might have quietly done him a favor to boost his chances of being named the NL’s starter.

“After the ballgame against the Dodgers, I told Danny Murtaugh the next series, ‘Look, I’m going to have four days off here. If you need me to pitch in relief while we’re down here in (San Diego), I’d be up for that,’ ” Reuss said.

“He said, ‘If I need you, I’ll let you know.’ Little did I know that Danny knew the workings of how All-Star pitchers are selected, as far as who’s the starter. There’s a great deal of weight based upon the amount of rest. I had a lot of rest, and then I got the nod as the starting pitcher.”

With Skenes set to face some of the AL’s top hitters such as Gunnar Henderson, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, Reuss had his hands full with a long list of baseball legends over his three innings in 1975.

Bobby Bonds led off for the American League, followed by Rod Carew, Thurman Munson and Reggie Jackson, with Reuss striking out Jackson to end the first inning.

The bottom of the second inning brought Hank Aaron, appearing in his final All-Star Game, to the plate, with Reuss retiring him on a lineout.

Reuss allowed singles to Carew and Munson in the third but got Joe Rudi to ground out, ending the inning.

“Back then, it wasn’t like it is today where there’s interleague play,” Reuss said. “The only time I saw some of these players is when they played for a National League team, in spring training or when I watched them in an All-Star Game or in postseason play.

“I didn’t know a whole lot about them. Nor did they seem to know a whole lot about me. It was a different perspective than what a pitcher or player would have today.”

Aiding in Reuss’ scoreless outing that day was battery-mate Johnny Bench, a two-time MVP making his eighth All-Star appearance in 1975 en route to a World Series win with the Cincinnati Reds to cap the year.

While he was approaching half a decade’s worth of MLB experience himself, Reuss followed Bench’s lead.

“I could tell right away that there was a command that he had of the situation, both of the game and event itself, by just the way he handled himself,” Reuss said. “He had a presence about him that I rarely saw. Throwing to Bench, I just went with whatever he put down because I figured, with the postseason play that the Reds had, he had a little better idea of how to pitch to the guys.”

Reuss, who finished as NL Cy Young runner-up while with the Dodgers in 1980, an All-Star season in which he threw a no-hitter, admittedly keeps less of a daily tab on baseball these days.

But from his residence in Las Vegas, Reuss has built up a familiarity with Skenes’ reputation, even if he hasn’t seen him pitch live.

When Skenes takes the hill for the NL on Tuesday night at Globe Life Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Reuss will take the opportunity to get a first-hand look at the 22-year-old rookie sensation.

“I’ve seen a highlight or two, but all that does is give you a little bit of a moment of what he’s been able to do,” Reuss said. “But in 11 games, he has a perfect 6-0 record, his earned-run average is minuscule, he’s struck out more than his innings pitched and he throws over 100 miles per hour.

“This is someone who has stepped onto the big-league platform and is driving in NASCAR when everybody else is on the highway in sedans.”