Minor leagues Reed spent the season in the high A
Florida State League. In , he jumped all the way to triple A, while compiling a 13–5 record and 2.57
earned run average. He received a September call-up, and made his major league debut on September 26, 1966, against the
San Francisco Giants. The fourth batter he faced,
Willie McCovey, hit a two-run
home run to give him the loss in his debut. He fared better in his second appearance.
Starting against the
Cincinnati Reds, he held them scoreless over six innings to pick up his first major league win. He spent the season with the
Richmond Braves, and went 14–10 with a 2.51 ERA. He again received a September call-up, and went 1–1 with a 2.95 ERA in three starts.
Atlanta Braves Reed joined the
Atlanta Braves out of
Spring training . After three appearances out of the
bullpen, Reed was moved into the
starting rotation on April 29. He went 6–0 with a 1.73 ERA over his first six starts. His record fell to 8–4 with a 3.21 ERA by the All-Star break, but it was still good enough to earn him selection to the
National League All-Star squad. Reed was one of six pitchers to hold the
American League team scoreless. Reed had a tremendous year in , winning a career-high eighteen games to help the Braves capture the
National League West crown in the first season of divisional play to reach the post-season for the first time since moving to
Atlanta. He got the start in game two of the
1969 National League Championship Series against
Jerry Koosman and the
New York Mets. He surrendered four
runs in just 1.2
innings to take the loss. Reed spent five more seasons in Atlanta, going 49–66 with a 3.93 ERA and 490 strikeouts. He was the winning pitcher in the game in which
Hank Aaron hit his 715th career home run, surpassing
Babe Ruth for the all-time record.
St. Louis Cardinals He was traded from the Braves to the
St. Louis Cardinals for
Ray Sadecki and
Elias Sosa on May 28, .
Bob Gibson's
Hall of Fame career was in its twilight when the Cardinals acquired Reed to replace him in the rotation. His first start with his new club came against his former franchise, and he allowed two runs (0 earned) over seven innings to pick up the victory. He went 9–8 with a 3.23 ERA his only season in St. Louis. Between the Braves and the Cards, Reed pitched 250.1 innings, faced 1067 batters, and surrendered only five home runs.
Philadelphia Phillies Reed was acquired by the
Philadelphia Phillies from the Cardinals for
Mike Anderson at the
Winter Meetings on December 9, 1975. In 1975, the Phillies finished in second place, 6.5 games behind the
Pittsburgh Pirates, in the
National League East. In 1975, Phillies
relief pitchers were 28–22 with a 3.21 ERA. The Phillies acquired Reed with the intention of using him as a right-handed complement to
Tug McGraw at the back end of the bullpen. His career in
Philadelphia got off to a rocky start. Following a poor performance against his former Cardinals teammates on May 22, , Reed's record stood at 2–1 with a 4.95 ERA, with one of his two wins being the result of having blown a save for starter
Steve Carlton on April 24. From there, he became rock solid. Through August, Reed went 6–3 with twelve
saves and a 1.97 ERA, while holding batters to a .188
batting average. For the season, he and McGraw combined for 25 saves, and a 2.48 ERA to help the Phillies win 101 games, and take their division by nine games. Unfortunately, this success did not carry into the post season. Trailing
Cincinnati's "
Big Red Machine" two games to zero in the
1976 National League Championship Series, the Phillies jumped to a 3–0 lead in game three of the series.
Manager Danny Ozark handed Reed the ball in the seventh inning with runners on first and second with no
outs. He allowed both inherited runners to score, as well as giving up two more runs to allow Cincinnati to take a 4–3 lead. The Phillies battled back to recapture a 6–4 lead, however, Reed surrendered back-to-back home runs to
George Foster and
Johnny Bench to lead off the ninth. Five batters later,
Ken Griffey Sr.'s
bases loaded single off
Tom Underwood completed the three-game sweep for the Reds. Reed emerged as one of the most dominant pieces of Danny Ozark's bullpen. Over the next two seasons, Reed went 10–9 with 32 saves and a 2.51 ERA to help the Phillies capture their division for three consecutive seasons (they were defeated in the
National League Championship Series by the
Los Angeles Dodgers both times). was the first season of Reed's career that he did not make a single start. He did, however, amass a career high seventeen saves. In , Reed led MLB with thirteen
relief wins. The Phillies returned to the post-season in . Reed was the losing pitcher in game two of the
1980 National League Championship Series against the
Houston Astros, however, he pitched shutout ball over the remainder of the post season, earning a save in game two of the
World Series. He also pitched in the inaugural
National League Division Series in 1981 with Philadelphia (vs.
Montreal); the Division Series format was adopted as a result of the
players' strike. Reed's finest season in Philadelphia was his last. In , Reed pitched 95.2 innings, and went 9–1 with eight saves. He appeared in three of the five World Series games against the
Baltimore Orioles. After the season, and shortly after his 41st birthday, Reed was traded to the
Chicago White Sox for a player to be named later. The White Sox sent fellow 41-year-old Jerry Koosman to the Phillies to complete the trade.
Chicago White Sox In his only season in
Chicago, Reed was 0–6 with a 3.08 ERA. He was released the following spring, and retired. ==Career statistics==