Dragons Player in the Majors # 1: Brian Reith
Brian Reith was drafted by the New York Yankees out of Concordia High School in Fort Wayne in 1996. In June of 2000, he was traded by the Yankees to the Reds in a six-player deal that sent major league starting pitcher Denny Neagle to New York. The key player coming back to Cincinnati in the trade was minor league third baseman Drew Henson, a top prospect who also played quarterback at the University of Michigan. Henson never reached the majors with the Reds, and was eventually traded back to the Yankees for Wily Mo Pena before Henson went on to a career in the National Football League.
Brian Reith joined the Dragons immediately after the trade and made his first start at Fifth Third Field on June 17, 2000, against his hometown team, the Fort Wayne Wizards. Reith was exceptional that day for the Dragons, allowing just one run in eight innings to earn the win. In his next start, also at Fifth Third Field, he was even better, when he struck out 11 Lansing Lugnuts and walked none in eight innings, again giving up only one run. Reith, remembered as a friendly, likeable guy, would make three more starts for the Dragons and then finish the season with five more starts for the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts.
The next season, 2001, Reith started the year back with Chattanooga. He then made one start for Triple-A Louisville, and then got the call to join Bob Boone and the Reds. On May 16, 2001, just nine months and 10 days after he had pitched his last game for the Dragons, Reith was the Reds starting pitcher against Curt Schilling and the Diamondbacks. An Arizona lineup that featured all-stars Mark Grace, Matt Williams, Luis Gonzalez, Steve Finley, and former Red Reggie Sanders provided the opposition for Reith that day. Going to the seventh inning, Reith had yet to allow a run and led Schilling and the Diamondbacks 1-0. Williams and Gonzalez both connected on solo homers against Reith in the seventh, and he lost the game 2-1. Nonetheless, it as a great first start for Reith.
But luck was not on the side of Brian Reith that season. He made eight starts with the Reds, including a game against the Cardinals when he again allowed just one run, but he came away without a victory. His final record that season: 0-7 with a 7.81 earned run average.
Two years later, Reith was back in the big leagues with the Reds as a reliever. He pitched in 42 games for the 2003 Reds and went 2-3 with an ERA of 4.11. The next season, he pitched in 22 more contests, going 2-2 with a 7.27 ERA. His final major league game came on June 14, 2004. All 73 his career appearances came with the Reds. He left the Reds organization after the 2004 season.
Reith kept pitching in the minor leagues for several more seasons, spending his last two years as a professional in independent ball. His last career appearance came in 2009. All told, Reith spent 13 years in pro ball including one season in the Chinese Professional Baseball League. Overall, he won 67 games while losing 72.
Brian Reith was one of several Dragons players from Fort Wayne. Others included Adam Sheefel from the 2002 Dragons, Kyle Day from 2009, and Ryan Wright from 2012. He was also the first Dragons player ever to reach the major leagues.