Thursday, 9 March 2017

Spring Training Team Profile: Cincinnati Reds

Cincinnati Reds


Established: 1882
Other Names:
Cincinnati Red Stockings (1882-1889)
Cincinnati Redlegs (1954-1958)

2016 results: 68-94, 5th in NL Central

2017 Prediction: 5th

World Series Titles: 5
Most Recent: 1990
Last World Series Appearance: 1990
Last Division Title: 2012

Ballpark: Great American Ball Park
Est: 2003

Best Season: 1975


                The Reds pretty much dominated the NL West in the 1970s. They were dubbed the Big Red Machine because of the productivity in their line-up from top to bottom. They won six division titles during the decade, four pennants and two World Series championships. The first of those, 1975, was without a doubt the best season in team history. They finished with a record of 108-54, good enough to win the division by 20 games over the Los Angeles Dodgers. After a three-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NLCS, they played the Boston Red Sox in one of the greatest World Series of all time. The Reds won in seven games. They followed that up in 1976 by winning 102 games, sweeping the Phillies in the NLCS, then sweeping the Yankees in the World Series. The Big Red Machine was led by Pete Rose, Tony Perez, Joe Morgan, Ken Griffey, George Foster, David Concepcion and Johnny Bench.

Best All-time Player: Pete Rose


                The best baseball player of all-time not in the Hall Of Fame, Rose played 19 of his 24 seasons with the Cincinnati Reds. While with the club, he collected 3358 of his baseball record 4256 hits, while also batting .307, hitting 152 home runs, adding 1036 RBIs and stealing 146 bases. He earned 13 of 17 All-Star selections while with the Reds, was the NL Rookie Of the Year in 1963, won the NL MVP Award in 1973, won two Gold Gloves and was the catalyst for the Big Red Machine that won the World Series in both 1975 and 1976. Rose was at his best in the postseason, hitting .321 in 67 career games. He was the MVP of the 1975 World Series with a .370 average. After leaving Cincinnati, he joined the Philadelphia Phillies and helped them win the World Series in 1980. He left the Phillies in 1984 for a brief stint with the Montreal Expos before re-joining the Reds. In 1985, he passed Ty Cobb for the all-time hits record.

Best Player on the Current Roster: Joey Votto


                Even though the off-season was swimming with rumours that Votto would be traded, as of this writing he is still a member of the Reds. And he’s still the best player on the club. In 2016, he had a batting average of .326, hit 29 home runs and added 97 RBIs. In his ten-year Big League career, all with Cincinnati, Votto has collected 1407 hits, has a .313 batting average, has slugged 221 homers while adding 730 RBIs. A four-time All-Star, Votto has also won a Gold Glove, a Silver Slugger Award, and was the NL MVP in 2010.

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