Pioneering agent Reich dies of pancreatic cancer at 82

Thomas M. Reich, a pioneering baseball agent with an ebullient, oversized personality who helped players gain multimillion dollar salaries in the early years of free agency, died Friday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 82.

Reich had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December 2019.

Reich went to the University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne’s law school, then became a lawyer in Pittsburgh. He started as an agent in 1970 representing pitcher Dock Ellis, who had a $13,000 salary at a time players still were fighting to gain free agency.

Early clients included Dave Parker, John Candelaria and Manny Sanguillen of the Pirates. Among his first stars was Joe Morgan, who became a Hall of Famer and remained a lifelong friend.

“The racism factor back then was awful for the players,” Reich told the Sports Business Journal in 2004. “There were a lot of incidents in Pittsburgh and other places that were not melodramatic. They were real. The Hispanic players were starting to become a factor back then. Of course, now the infusion of numbers and talent is extraordinary. But there were a lot of issues back then. I was a fiery guy.”

In February 1982, he negotiated the first contract with a $2 million average salary, George Foster’s $10.2 million, five-year deal with the New York Mets. Among his other clients were Jack Clark, Sammy Sosa, Mo Vaughn and John Wetteland.

• Former Georgia and Miami football coach Mark Richt was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

Richt, who guided the Bulldogs for 15 seasons and closed out his coaching career at alma mater Miami, made the announcement on Twitter.

Richt, 61, said he intends to continue in his role as an analyst on the ACC Network.