Franchise bests/worsts: Cincinnati Reds
What were some of the best and worst things in the history of the Reds' franchise? Let's take a look.
Over the course of the next month, we'll venture through the history of each of the 30 Major League Baseball franchises, discussing some of the best and worst moments, players, teams, etc. It's more a fun snapshot for discussion purposes than a be-all, end-all declaration. We continue today with the Cincinnati Reds.
Long known as the first professional team in baseball history, the current incarnation of the Reds (The Cincinnati Red Stockings) began recorded history in 1882. They dropped the Stockings and became the Cincinnati Reds in 1890. Due to the communism scare, they switched to being called the Redlegs from 1954-59, but have been the Reds since 1960. They have 15 playoff appearances, 10 pennants and five World Series championships.
Let's check 'em out.
Best team: 1975
The Reds have had some great ones, and that's not just including their five World Series championship ballclubs. The 1975 team, though, is one of the best in baseball history and wasn't too difficult a choice here. This was the "prime" of the Big Red Machine -- at least in so much as a team can be in a prime -- with the Reds finishing the regular season 108-54 and outscoring opponents 840-586 (+254 run differential).
That ballclub ranked first in the NL in runs and third in ERA. The starting lineup featured three Hall of Famers (and Pete Rose) along with very good players like Dave Concepcion, George Foster and Ken Griffey.
They swept the Pirates in three games in the NLCS, outscoring them 19-7. It did take them seven games to dispatch of the Red Sox in the World Series, but keep in mind that they survived the epic Boston comeback in Game 6 -- which concluded with Carlton Fisk's famed foul-pole homer. In Game 7, the Reds even trailed 3-0 through five innings and still came back to win it all with a Joe Morgan single putting them ahead in the top of the ninth. Taking that game showed the strength and confidence of this all-time great team.
Best dynasty: Big Red Machine
Wait, did I cater a category just for this particular team? Of course. We're gonna do that a lot in this series. What's the fun in rigidity?
From 1970-79, the Reds won the NL West six times, the NL pennant four times and the World Series twice. The dynasty part would probably be 1972-76, a five-year period in which they went to the Fall Classic three times, winning it twice.
Best manager: Sparky Anderson
George Lee "Sparky" Anderson was only with the Reds for nine seasons before departing for Detroit, but he won five division titles, four NL pennants and two World Series with a record of 863-586 (.596). Among modern-day Reds managers with more than 10 games managed, that's the best winning percentage by a pretty wide margin. Sure, he had loads of talent on his roster, but every piece of the puzzle was important in the golden era of the franchise.
Worst team: 1934
Those Reds went 52-99 with a run differential of negative-211. They were last in the NL in runs scored and their pitching staff allowed the most runs. That's a bad combination, no? The offense also ranked last in hits, doubles, average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage (so obviously OPS, too) and total bases. The pitching staff allowed the most hits in the league while the defense had three players with at least 25 errors, including 48 from third baseman Mark Koenig.
Best bullpen stable: The Nasty Boys
The Reds only championship since the Big Red Machine came in 1990, when they led the division wire to wire and shocked the mighty A's with a four-game sweep in the World Series. That ballclub had some starpower on offense (Eric Davis and future Hall of Famer Barry Larkin) and the rotation (Jose Rijo and Tom Browning), but a lot of the focus was rightfully on the bullpen triumvirate Randy Myers, Rob Dibble and Norm Charlton, together known as "The Nasty Boys."
Charlton had to swing to the rotation for 16 starts, but in relief he had a 3.02 ERA with 57 strikeouts in 50 2/3 innings. Dibble had a 1.74 ERA with 136 strikeouts in 98 innings. He saved 11 games and had 17 holds and even went on to share the NLCS MVP with Myers. Myers had 31 saves with a 2.08 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 86 2/3 innings.
In that postseason, The Nasty Boys combined for 27 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings while allowing just one earned run (Charlton in Game 1 of the NLCS), good for a 0.37 ERA.
Best forearms: Ted Kluszewski
Worst eyewear: Chris Sabo's goggles
I'm sure some would consider this a "best," but c'mon, those things were awful.
Worst stadium: Riverfront Stadium/Cinergy Field
It wasn't really the fault of the Reds, because the time period in which this thing was built it was the fad to go the cookie-cutter/astroturf/multi-sport route with stadiums. That doesn't mean we can't look back historically and say, wow, those stadiums were awful for baseball.
Worst screwjob: The 1981 season
Thanks to a midseason strike, the season was divided up into two "half seasons" and there was a divisional round of the playoffs in which the winners of the first and second half of the division squared off before getting to the LCS round. The Reds were left out of the playoffs due to finishing second in both the first and second halves of the season.
All told, though, the Reds actually had the best record in the majors at 66-42, 2.5 games better than the A's for the second-best record. And they missed the playoffs altogether. That's laughable.
Best year for trades: 1971
Some excellent work by GM Bob Howsam in 1971 helped to lay the groundwork for the prime years of the Big Red Machine.
On May 21, Frank Duffy and Vern Geishert were sent to the Giants for a 22-year-old outfielder named George Foster. Foster would go to the All-Star Game five times for the Reds, winning the MVP in 1977, finishing second in MVP voting in 1976, leading the NL twice in homers and leading the NL three times in RBI. Duffy ended up a career .232 hitter with minimal impact while Geishert never played again.
On Nov. 29, Howsam struck again, landing Joe Morgan in an eight-player deal that also brought Cesar Geronimo to the Reds. Morgan is now in the Hall of Fame and was one of the best second basemen in MLB history, winning two MVPs. In his eight years with the Reds, he was an All-Star every season while hitting .288/.415/.470 and averaging 28 doubles, 19 homers, 76 RBI, 102 runs and 51 steals a season. The Reds did give up power hitter Lee May, but Morgan's value far exceeded May's moving forward and he was obviously a much better fit for the ballclub.
Worst trade: Frank Robinson
One of the greatest right fielders in baseball history was traded in the middle of his prime to Baltimore for Milt Pappas, Jack Baldschun and Dick Simpson. Pappas had marginal productivity in two-plus years on the hill for Cincy while Baldschun was pretty bad and Simpson hit just .246/.335/.391 in 161 plate appearances. Robinson won the AL MVP his first year in Baltimore and made six trips to the All-Star Game after the trade.
Worst gift: The 1919 World Series
Sure, it would have been awesome to win the World Series, but it came at least partially thanks to some prominent members of the White Sox throwing it for money (the Black Sox scandal). Of course you hoist the flag for a World Series championship there and it counts, but you also know it was because several members of the other team not only "let" the Reds win, but at least a few actively helped the Reds win. That's bittersweet at the very least and, thus, a pretty bad gift.
Best uniforms: Current home threads
I really do like these the best. Simple and sharp (photo via USATSI).
Worst uniforms: Sleeveless tops with black undershirts
From 2000-2003, the Reds donned that look and the black just doesn't really fit for me.
Best regular-season moment, offense: Pete Rose becomes the hit king
Rose retired with 4,256 career hits and that record seems pretty untouchable at this point. Then again, so did Ty Cobb's hits record.
Best regular-season moment, pitching: Tom Browning's perfect game
In the long history of the franchise, there's only been one perfect game. Tom Browning pulled it off on Sept. 16, 1988.
Best father-son moment: Junior's 500th homer comes on Father's Day
In front of his father, Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 500th career home run on Father's Day. That's pretty cool.
Best back-to-back feat: Johnny Vander Meer
There's only one man in baseball history to throw a no-hitter in back-to-back starts and Reds hurler Johnny Vander Meer pulled it off in 1938, allowing zero hits in 18 innings combined on June 11 and June 15. He actually walked eight batters in the latter outing, but still didn't give up a run in a 6-0 win.
Worst moment: Pete Rose getting banned from baseball
We don't really need to delve more into this. No matter who you blame or how anyone wants to justify this, the entire situation was brutal for baseball, the Reds and the legions of Rose fans. And he's still a constant discussion point any time the Hall of Fame is brought up.
Best fight: 1986 brawl causes Mets player shortage
I've covered this before, so for more information and the video footage, click on through.
Worst fight (from Reds' perspective): Paul Wilson gets trucked by Kyle Farnsworth
Um, dude, you better be a bit stronger to pull that off against Farnsworth.
Best player: Johnny Bench
This is something I'm not even going to debate because that would be a whole post upon itself entirely. Rose is in the mix, as is Morgan and several others. Bench is possibly the all-around greatest catcher in MLB history, though, and I lean toward him here due to the diffculty of being such a great defender at a premium position in addition to his power. I'm always open to disagreement, but I'm more open here than usual.
What else, Reds fans? As always, there aren't wrong answers. Get in on the fun in the comments sections with your favorite -- or least favorite -- memories. It's the offseason, so it's time to enjoy looking back at the baseball past before we hit spring training and look to the present and very near future.
Up Next: Friday, it's time for the Pittsburgh Pirates' turn.
