Ex-World Series star is fighting the California wildfires

Liz Roscher
·Staff writer
Anthony Reyes, formerly a Cardinals pitcher, is now a firefighter on the front lines of the California wildfires. (AP Photo)
Anthony Reyes, formerly a Cardinals pitcher, is now a firefighter on the front lines of the California wildfires. (AP Photo)

Baseball players don’t always go into broadcasting or managing after their MLB career is finished. Former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Anthony Reyes took a different path, deciding to pick up a hose and become a firefighter in Los Angeles County. And as an L.A. County firefighter, he’s now reportedly on the front lines of the California wildfires, working with many others to try and contain them.

Reyes spent five years pitching in the majors, from 2005 to 2009. He spent most of that with the Cardinals, and was a big part of their World Series victory over the Detroit Tigers in 2006. He turned in a brilliant performance in Game 1, pitching eight innings of two-run ball and giving up just four hits and one walk. You might know the guy Reyes was facing that night, a dude named Justin Verlander who just recently got his own World Series ring.

After he retired, Reyes followed in his father’s footsteps and became a firefighter. Cardinals Magazine tweeted a photo of him with his family in March 2017, when he graduated and officially became a fighter of fire.

While being a firefighter is a very dangerous job, the wildfires in Southern California are a whole new ballgame. The fires are intense and uncontrolled, and the firefighters are dealing with massive wind gusts that are making their task even harder. We hope that Anthony, and all the firefighters trying to tame the blaze, stay safe.

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Liz Roscher is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at lizroscher@yahoo.com or follow her on twitter! Follow @lizroscher