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All-Century Roster: Reds
By Gary Brooks
SportsLine Baseball Editor
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By 1900, Cincinnati had already experienced more than two decades of
professional baseball since Harry Wright put together the Red Stockings in
1869.
 | | | Pete Rose surpasses Ty Cobb's all-time hits record.(Allsport) | |
The century dawned with guys like Noodles Hahn, Bubbles Hargrove and
Eppa Rixey making the Reds competitive. A World Series appearance didn't
come until 1919 when the Reds beat the White Sox in seven games behind the
play of Edd Roush and Heinie Groh.
A long down time followed before Powel Crosley Jr. bought the team in
1934, introduced night baseball in 1935 and by 1939 steered the Reds back
into the World Series. The Yankees swept the Series but in 1940,
Cincinnati, led by the outstanding pitching of Bucky Walters and Paul
Derringer, was back and beat the Tigers.
Another extended period of contender chasing lasted until 1961 when
Frank Robinson was the NL MVP and Vada Pinson won the batting title. The
Reds pitching wasn't at its best then though and the Yankees won the World
Series in five games.
With the end of the '60s, the ingredients that would turn the Reds into
one of sport's great dynasties began to come together. In 1970, catcher
Johnny Bench won the first of six MVP awards that would go to the Reds in an
eight-year period. The Reds averaged 95 wins for the decade, won six
division titles and after World Series failures in 1970 and '72, finally
reached the pinnacle with back-to-back Series victories in 1975 and 1976.
In 1990, a young collection of Reds led by Barry Larkin, Chris Sabo and
pitcher Jose Rijo, were a surprise to reach the playoffs then a bigger
shock when they swept the Oakland Athletics in the World Series.
As the century ended, another young group of emerging stars had formed a
solid core of a team that had designs of turning the first decade of the
2000s into something like the '70s.
Lineup
| Johnny Bench, C, 1967-83 |
| Bench made an impact as soon as he arrived in Cincinnati. He was named
Rookie of the Year in 1968 and went on to revolutionize the catching
position garnering respect as the greatest catcher ever. His one-handed
style made him tough to run on and Bench was a master of controlling
pitches in the dirt, fielding well enough to earn 10 Gold Gloves. He could
impact any game at the plate as well, having hit 389 homers (327 as a
catcher for the NL record). Bench was the NL MVP in 1970 and '72, when he
led the league in homers each season, and the World Series MVP in 1976.
He's the team's career leader in homers and RBI (1,376) and in the top five
in most other categories. |
| Ted Kluszewski, 1B, 1947-57 |
| Kluszewski was a strong hitter for average who was the best left-handed
power hitter the Reds had in the century and also an outstanding gloveman
leading the league's first basemen in fielding for five consecutive seasons
from 1951-55. Kluszewski hit .300 seven times topping out at .326 in 1954
when he also led the NL in homers (49) and RBI (141). From 1953-56 he
averaged 116 RBI, earning All-Star recognition each season. His 251 homers
are fourth most in team history. |
| Joe Morgan, 2B, 1972-79 |
| Morgan was an All-Star in all eight of his Reds seasons and the National
League MVP in 1975 and '76. He came to the Reds as a solid hitter who
worked the count for a lot of walks but soon developed moderate power and
became as much of a run producer as a lineup catalyst. In 1975 he led the
league with a .471 on-base percentage, hit .327 with 94 RBI, 17 homers and
stole 67 bases. He doubled up on MVP trophies by increasing his power in
'76 with 27 homers and 111 RBI, becoming just the fifth second baseman ever
to drive in 100 runs. From 1972-79, Morgan averaged 60 steals and 84 RBI.
His 406 steals are the most in Reds history. And he was great in the field
also, winning five Gold Gloves. |
| Barry Larkin, SS, 1986-99 |
| It's been 30 years since the Reds had a shortstop who wasn't considered
among the league's elite as Dave Concepcion passed the torch to Barry
Larkin. Concepcion was a rock in the Reds' greatest era but Larkin gets the
starting spot here with a bit better all-around game and his 1995 MVP
award. He became the first NL shortstop named MVP since Maury Wills in
1962. Larkin's 1,884 hits are fifth in team history and his 345 steals
second. He's won three Gold Gloves and been an All-Star 10 times. |
| Tony Perez, 3B, 1964-76, 84-86 |
| Though Perez's association with the Reds is mostly as a first baseman, his
best season and four of his seven All-Star appearances for Cincinnati were
at the hot corner. From 1967-71 Perez was Cincinnati's full-time third
baseman. Perez never led the league in any category but drove in 100 runs
or more six times for the Reds. His 1,192 RBI are second to Bench in team
history. His 287 home runs are third most. Perez was a key figure in the
1975 World Series victory, hitting three home runs, including a Game 7
drive off of Bill Lee's lob. |
| Frank Robinson, OF, 1956-65 |
| Before he became a Triple Crown-winning Oriole, part of Baltimore's great
run from 1966-71, Robinson was the Reds' best player for 10 years. He was
the NL Rookie of the Year in 1956 when he set a then rookie record with 38
home runs. By 1961 he'd become the best player in the National League,
winning MVP honors as the Reds won the NL pennant. He led the NL in
slugging percentage from 1960-62 and drove in a career best 136 runs in
1962. His 324 home runs and 1,009 RBI are each among the top five in team
history. |
| Pete Rose, OF, 1963-78, 84-86 |
| For all his misgivings, there's no questioning the importance of Rose's
performance in Reds history. Rose was an icon of four World Series teams
and his hustle symbolized the Reds as a whole throughout the 1970s. Rose
was the NL Rookie of the Year in 1963, a 12-time All-Star, the 1973 NL MVP,
1975 World Series MVP and a two-time Gold Glove winner. He had a 44-game
hitting streak in 1978, the longest by an NL player in the century and had
seven 200-hit seasons. Rose played the most games and had the most hits,
doubles, runs, extra-base hits and total bases in team history. In his
second stint, the Cincinnati-raised Rose caught and passed Ty Cobb's career
hits record finishing with a likely untouchable 4,256. |
| George Foster, OF, 1971-81 |
| It took Foster awhile to break in but when he reached his prime, he became
one of the best run producers in the National League. After debuting with
the Giants in 1969, the Reds acquired him in 1971 and gradually he became a
bigger piece of their quality teams. In 1975 he hit .300 with 78 RBI
showing promise that two years later would be highlighted by the National
League MVP. Foster led the NL in RBI in 1976, '77 and '78. His 1977 season
was among the best in team history with a league-leading 52 homers, 149 RBI
and 124 runs, while hitting .320. From 1966 through 1997, Foster was the
only National League batter to reach 50 homers. He was a five-time All-Star
before being traded to the Mets and his 244 home runs are fifth best in
team history. |
Pitchers
| Bucky Walters, SP, 1938-48 |
| Walters was a quality-hitting third baseman who hit as high as .376 in the
Pacific Coast League, earning a shot with the Boston Red Sox. It wasn't
until 1936 that he became a full-time pitcher with the Phillies, losing 21
games. But upon being acquired by the Reds, Walters developed into an ace.
He led the NL in wins three times, was a six-time All-Star and was the
National League MVP in 1939 when he went 27-11 with a league-best 2.29 ERA.
His 160 wins are third most in team history and his 2.93 ERA is fifth best. |
| Eppa Rixey, SP, 1921-33 |
| Rixey had a pair of 20-loss seasons for the Phillies but became a
consistent winner for Cincinnati, winning 20 or more in three of his first
five seasons. In 1922, he led the NL with 25 wins. His 179 wins are the
most in Cincinnati history. When he retired, his 266 total wins were the
most ever by a left-hander. |
| Tom Seaver, SP, 1977-82 |
| Throw out his final season in Cincinnati and Seaver was 37 games over .500
(70-33) as a Red in just four and a half seasons. He went 14-3 after being
acquired midway through 1977, won 16 games in '78 and '79, leading the
league in winning percentage in '79 at 16-6, then led the NL with 14 wins
in the strike-shortened 1981 season when he lost just twice and again led
the NL in winning percentage. For an awful 1982 team, Seaver went 8-13
before moving back to the Mets. |
| Jim Maloney, SP, 1960-70 |
| Maloney threw as hard as anyone in his generation and used his fastball to
pitch two no-hitters and win at least 15 games each season from 1963-68. He
went 23-7 in 1963 and 20-9 in 1965. In the '65 season, Maloney took a
no-hitter into the 11th inning against the Mets, striking out 18 in a 1-0
loss. Two months later he completed a 10-inning no-hitter against the Cubs.
In 1969 he no-hit the Astros. Injuries wrapped Maloney's career up early
but his 134 wins are fifth most in team history. |
| Ewell Blackwell, SP, 1942, '46-52 |
| The 6-foot-6 right-hander got his nickname (The Whip) from his sidearm
delivery that led to his being the first pitcher ever to be selected for
six consecutive All-Star games. Blackwell's 1947 season was the best in the
league. He had a 16-game winning streak on his way to leading the league
with 22 wins and 193 strikeouts. He also no-hit the Braves in 1947. |
| John Franco, RP, 1984-89 |
| Franco gets the nod because he's the only closer with at least 30 saves in
more than one season but in reality, the Reds are better suited through
time to go with a closer by committee than any other team. Before Franco,
Wayne Granger, Clay Carroll and Rawly Eastwick were successful for the
outstanding teams of the 1970s. After Franco came Rob Dibble, Randy Myers,
Jeff Brantley and Jeff Shaw. Franco's 148 saves are the club record.
Brantley's 44 are the single-season best. |
| Bench |
| Edd Roush, Heinie Groh, Ernie Lombardi, Dave Concepcion, Vada
Pinson, Eric Davis, Dan Driessen, Dave Parker, Ken Griffey Sr., Ron Oester,
Sam Crawford, Hal Chase, Chris Sabo, Frank McCormick, Cy Seymour, Bob
Bescher, Hal Morris, Dick Hoblitzell, Bret Boone, Kevin Mitchell, Leo
Cardenas, Gus Bell, Jake Beckley, Jim Bottomley |
| Best season |
| The 1975 Reds are one of just 10 teams to win 108 games,
having run away to a 20-game edge in the NL West in 1975. There wasn't a
weak spot in the lineup that featured speed in Joe Morgan, power in Johnny
Bench, Tony Perez and George Foster, spark and all-around play in Pete Rose
and great defense up the middle with Dave Concepcion and Cesar Geronimo.
The pitching staff didn't have an ace but had six 10-game winners and three
15-game winners and a strong bullpen with Rawly Eastwick, Will McEnaney and
Pedro Borbon. |
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| Worst season |
| Only one season in 124 years has seen triple digits in the
loss column for the Reds. In 1982, only Bench and Concepcion were left from
the World Series of 1976 and both were past their prime. No Red drove in
even 60 runs and Mario Soto, at 14-13, was the only winning pitcher. |
| Best individual season, player |
| Frank Robinson won his MVP in 1961 but his
best season statistically was 1962. He became the only Red ever with the
combination of 100 or more runs, 200 hits, 35 or more homers and 120 or
more RBI. His 134 runs and 380 total bases set still-standing team
records. His 208 hits are sixth most. Robinson batted .342. Only Rose's
.348 in 1969 has topped it since. Robinson's 136 RBI were a career best and
his 39 homers second best. He also stole 18 bases. |
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| Best individual season, pitcher |
| Dolf Luque was essentially a .500 pitcher
for a dozen years with the Reds but in 1923 he had a phenomenal season.
Luque went 27-8 leading the league in wins, winning percentage, shutouts
(6) and ERA (1.93). |
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