Biography:

James Jeffrey Reardon born on October 1, 1955 in Dalton, Massachusetts. Jeff was signed by the New York Mets on January 4, 1977. Reardon would spend two years honing his pitching (and growing and trimming his beard) in the minor leagues. In 1979, Jeff would begin to see playing time in the Majors. Jeff was still a bit green when he played for the Mets, and was traded to the Montreal Expos alongside Dan Norman for Ellis Valentine.

It was playing for the Expos that Reardon would begin to come into his own as a closer. Starting in 1982, The Terminator would save atleast 20 games a season for the next 11 seasons. In 1985, Jeff led the majors with 41 saves. The Expos would thrive thanks to the closing by Reardon, however in 1987, another team needed him worse. On February 3, 1987 the Expos traded Reardon and Tom Nieto to the Minnesota Twins for pitcher Neal Heaton and catcher Jeff Reed.

In 1987, the Twins would see a great improvement from their 86 season. While not the driving force, Reardon definitely helped the team go all the way and win the World Series that year. Also, on September 17, 1988 Jeff Reardon records his 40th save of the season in Minnesota's 3-1 win over the Chicago White Sox, making him the first player with 40+ saves in each league.

Even though the team received such great success in the 1987 season, the Twins would not repeat in 88, and after the 1989 season Reardon (and his beard) signed with the Boston Red Sox. As a BoSock, Reardon would continue to pitch well, as he had for the entirety of his career, but it would not be enough to push the Red Sox into the big dance or even the ALCS. On August 30, 1992 Jeff Reardon would be packing his bags as the Red Sox traded him to the Atlanta Braves for prospects Nate Minchey and Sean Ross. Jeff would only pitch for the Braves for a season before going to the Cinncinatti Reds. Jeff Reardon would play his final season as a New York Yankee, making a sparse 11 appearences on the mound.

On April 20, 1995 Jeff Reardon announced retirement from baseball at the age of 39. He currently is living with his wife Phebe Jones and their two (of three) children, Jay and Kristi. Their son Shane died in a drug overdose in 2001, sending Jeff spiraling into depression, which culminated in 2005 when he robbed a jewelry store at a mall in Minneapolis. The reasons for doing this remain unclear, but he turned himself in immediately after the robbery. As of early 2006, his sentencing is still pending.

Statistics:

Number: 41
Position: Pitcher
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 195
Bats: Right
Throws: Right

Season Team W   L   G   GS  CG SHO SV   IP     H   ER   HR  BB   SO   ERA
 1979  NYM  1   2  18   0   0   0  2   20.7   12    4   2    9   10  1.74
 1980  NYM  8   7  61   0   0   0  6  110.3   96   32  10   47  101  2.61
 1981  NYM  1   0  18   0   0   0  2   28.7   27   11   2   12   28  3.45
 1981  MON  2   0  25   0   0   0  6   41.7   21    6   3    9   21  1.30
 1982  MON  7   4  75   0   0   0 26  109.0   87   25   6   36   86  2.06 
 1983  MON  7   9  66   0   0   0 21   92.0   87   31   7   44   78  3.03 
 1984  MON  7   7  68   0   0   0 23   87.0   70   28   5   37   79  2.90 
 1985  MON  2   8  63   0   0   0 41   87.7   68   31   7   26   67  3.18 
 1986  MON  7   9  62   0   0   0 35   89.0   83   39  12   26   67  3.94 
 1987  MIN  8   8  63   0   0   0 31   80.3   70   40  14   28   83  4.48 
 1988  MIN  2   4  63   0   0   0 42   73.0   68   20   6   15   56  2.47  
 1989  MIN  5   4  65   0   0   0 31   73.0   68   33   8   12   46  4.07  
 1990  BOS  5   3  47   0   0   0 21   51.3   39   18   5   19   33  3.16  
 1991  BOS  1   4  57   0   0   0 40   59.3   54   20   9   16   44  3.03  
 1992  BOS  2   2  46   0   0   0 27   42.3   53   20   6    7   32  4.25  
 1992  ATL  3   0  14   0   0   0  3   15.7   14    2   0    2    7  1.15  
 1993  CIN  4   6  58   0   0   0  8   61.7   66   28   4   10   35  4.09  
 1994  NYY  1   0  11   0   0   0  2    9.7   17    9   3    3    4  8.38  

Season totals: W   L   G   GS  CG SHO  SV   IP      H   ER   HR  BB   SO   ERA
              73  77 880    0   0   0 367  1123.1 1000 397  109 358  877  3.16

sources
http://www.baseball-reference.com/r/reardje01.shtml
http://www.pubdim.net/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/R/Reardon_Jeff.stm
http://www.hickoksports.com/history/reliefaward.shtml
redsoxbaseball.tripod.com/players/reardon.html