Ted Abernathy: The Power of Rule 5

On November 28, 1966, the Reds drafted reliever Ted Abernathy from the Atlanta Braves. Abernathy proceeds to have probably the best season of any reliever in Reds history in 1967. It’s really hard to overstate just how good Abernathy was with the Reds in 1967. He made 70 appearances, all in relief, pitching 106 innings, finishing 61 of those 70 games. He was 6-3 with a 1.27 ERA and 28 saves. In those 106 innings, the submarining Abernathy allowed only 63 hits (5.3 hits per nine innings), had a WHIP of .978 and struck out 88 batters (7.4 per nine innings). He followed up that outstanding season by going 10-7 with a 2.60 ERA in 1968, again leading the league in appearances with 78 and pitching 135 innings, all in relief. He finished 53 games with 13 saves, and allowed 7.4 hits/nine innings. However, his K rate dropped to 4.3/nine innings and the Reds traded him to the Chicago Cubs for reserve catcher Bill Plummer , of-1b Clarence Jones and pitcher Aaron Myette. Jones an...