The Hunt Down Name: Rick Reed Claim to Fame, Minnesota: acquired by the Twins from the New York Mets in exchange for Matt Lawton at the 2001 trade deadline. Was so distraught by his move to cold Omaha that he demanded a trade in the offseason before rescinding it. Lest you think he warmed to Minnesota, he apparently spent his time here being miserable over his plight. Allow me to retort: the Twins finished above .500 all three seasons Reed was here and made the playoffs in 2002 and 2003. Meanwhile, the Mets, under the tutelage of great baseball mind Steve Phillips, went 82-80, 75-86, and 66-95. You can see why he would be upset. (Hat tip on NYDN link: Aaron Gleeman.) Claim to Fame, Everywhere Else: won Game 3 of the 2000 World Series for the Mets, and was an All-Star for the franchise in 1998 and 2001. Prior to his stint in Flushing, Reed kicked around the league, pitching for Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Texas and Cincinnati. It was at that latter stop that Reed gained some unwanted notoriety as a replacement player during the 1995 strike. Where He Is Now: per the Daily News article above, Reed is a stay-at-home dad in his hometown of Huntington, West Virginia. Is He On Twitter: no. However, The Official Rick Reed Website is here. It's not been updated in a very, very, very long time. Glorious Randomness: Ron Mahay's been around so long that he was a replacement player, too. Other names of note: the late Cory Lidle, Kevin Millar, former Twin Damian Miller, and Cottage Grove native Kerry Ligtenberg.
