After graduation in 1973 from
Wahconah Regional High School in
Dalton,
Massachusetts, Reardon was drafted by the
Montreal Expos in the 23rd round of the
1973 amateur draft, but did not sign. Reardon played
college baseball for the
University of Massachusetts Amherst. While at UMass, he played
collegiate summer baseball for three years (1974–1976) with the
Cotuit Kettleers of the
Cape Cod Baseball League, and in 2000 was named a member of the inaugural class of the
Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame. After college, Reardon went undrafted and signed a
minor league contract with the
New York Mets in 1977, and was assigned to the
Lynchburg Mets in the Single-A
Carolina League. Although undrafted, Reardon quickly made his way through the Mets' farm system, compiling a 30–9 record with a 2.68 ERA and 6 saves in 74 games combined between Lynchburg,
Jackson in 1978, and
Tidewater in 1979. Reardon made his Major League debut with the Mets on August 25, 1979, and would stay in the majors for the rest of his career. He pitched for the Mets until midway through the 1981 season, working mostly as a middle reliever, when he was traded to the Montreal Expos along with outfielder
Dan Norman for
Ellis Valentine. Lacking a reliable closer on the big league staff, the Expos immediately turned Reardon loose in the ninth inning, and he responded by saving 146 games from 1982 to 1986. When with the Expos, Reardon suffered streaks of inconsistency, occasionally blowing two or three save opportunities in a row. During one bad streak in 1983, Montreal players' wives were invited to appear on the field, and the Expos' fans at
Olympic Stadium booed his wife. During his time in Montreal, Reardon was named to the All-Star team twice (1985–1986), and led the majors in saves during the 1985 season, earning the
Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award. in 1987 Prior to the start of the 1987 season, Reardon was again traded—this time to the Minnesota Twins along with catcher
Tom Nieto—for pitchers
Neal Heaton,
Yorkis Pérez, and Alfredo Cardwood and catcher
Jeff Reed. Although his performance dropped compared to his previous five seasons, the trade would immediately pay dividends for the team as he would help the Twins win the
1987 World Series. The next season, he reverted to form, was named to his third All-Star team, and became the first pitcher in Major League Baseball history to have 40-save seasons in both the American and National Leagues. After another good season in 1989, Reardon became a free agent and signed with the Boston Red Sox on December 6. In honor of Reardon's signing, his birthplace of
Dalton, Massachusetts, named its athletic field after him. After saving
only 21 games for the Red Sox in 1990, Reardon was named to his fourth and final All-Star team in 1991 after another 40-save season. He broke Rollie Fingers' all-time saves record in 1992 with his 342nd save. Later that season, he was traded to the Atlanta Braves for starting pitcher
Nate Minchey and minor league outfielder Sean Ross. With the Braves, he pitched in his second World Series and was responsible for two of Atlanta's four losses versus
Toronto, blowing a save in Game 2 and giving up the winning hit in Game 3. Following the 1992 season, Reardon signed as a free agent with the Cincinnati Reds. However, his days of closing were over; he worked as the setup man to
Rob Dibble. Reardon finished the 1993 season with his highest ERA (4.09) since 1987 and his fewest saves (8) since 1981. Granted free agency, Reardon signed with the New York Yankees on February 15, 1994. Although he went north with the team, Reardon retired on May 4, 1994, after compiling an 8.38 ERA while allowing 17 hits over innings in 11 games. After his 16-year career, Reardon stood second on the all-time saves list (to Lee Smith), finishing with more saves (367) than walks (358) and was the only reliever to have more than 20 saves every year from 1982 to 1988. ==Post career==