All-Time Reds Team
The Reds are one of the original 8 teams and have a rich tradition of success. The Red Stockings, as they were once called, have had a multitude of hitting talent over the years and several key names did not make our list. You won't find Adam Dunn, either Griffey, or George Foster on the list. Pitching isn't particularly strong in Reds history, the only real weak position. Here's the team.
C - Johnny Bench
1B - Ted Kluszewski
2B - Joe Morgan
SS - Barry Larkin
3B - Tony Perez
OF - Frank Robinson
OF - Vada Pinson
OF - Pete Rose
SP - Don Gullet
SP - Bucky Walters
CL - John Franco
Perez played over 700 games at 3B, so he qualified there as far as we're concerned. Rose played everywhere, so he could have slid into a few spots. The race between Larkin and Dave Concepcion was closer than I thought. They were similar types of players, but Larkin was just a bit better and has an MVP award. Some arguments can be made in the outfield, but Vada Pinson seemed to be the most complete player after Robinson and Rose. Bucky Walters has an MVP award, and Don Gullet pitched very well for the Big Red Machine of the 1970s. All in all, a pretty complete team. What changes would you make?
C - Johnny Bench
1B - Ted Kluszewski
2B - Joe Morgan
SS - Barry Larkin
3B - Tony Perez
OF - Frank Robinson
OF - Vada Pinson
OF - Pete Rose
SP - Don Gullet
SP - Bucky Walters
CL - John Franco
Perez played over 700 games at 3B, so he qualified there as far as we're concerned. Rose played everywhere, so he could have slid into a few spots. The race between Larkin and Dave Concepcion was closer than I thought. They were similar types of players, but Larkin was just a bit better and has an MVP award. Some arguments can be made in the outfield, but Vada Pinson seemed to be the most complete player after Robinson and Rose. Bucky Walters has an MVP award, and Don Gullet pitched very well for the Big Red Machine of the 1970s. All in all, a pretty complete team. What changes would you make?
I'd have to put Jim Maloney on the team over Walters. He has 2 no hitters to his credit. He was a stud in the 60's, 2 time 20 game winner also.
ReplyDeleteMove Perez to first, Pete to third, and put one of the Griffey's or Adam Dunn in the outfield and take out pinion and put in George foster.
ReplyDeleteLeft off Joey votto.
Votto WILL supplant Big Klu but you're talking about three good seasons... not there yet.
ReplyDeleteGriffey did his damage with the Mariners.
As for Dunn... no way he is in over Pinson; Vada was a much better baseball player.
Pitching has never been great in Cincy, didn't really think about it how mediocre at best it has been until reading this blog. Just wondering if any consideration was given to Mario Soto or maybe even Jose Rijo at pitcher?
ReplyDeleteI am sure we considered both Rijo and Soto and an argument could definitely be made for both of them. Of the three, Gullett had the most wins, Soto played in the most games as a Red and Rijo had the best adjusted ERA. We went with Gullett because he represented the best ERA of Reds baseball and was essential to the success of the Big Red Machine.
ReplyDeleteTruth be told, it's hard not falling into the trap of putting all Big Red Machine players on this team. Your tendency is to gravitate towards the players that played in the franchise golden eras...
Check back in because we're in the process of re-posting/re-formatting these teams. When we started, we didn't really know what we wanted to do, with regards to roster spots (how many SP, how many OF and what to do with DH). We're trying to make sure that all of these teams have the same format so that readers can compare easier. We also understand that we need to make sure that we regularly revisit these teams because things change; Votto wasn't on our list when we first posted it but at some point he'll make this team and we need to keep them up to date.
Thanks for posting.
Absolutely agree with moving Votto in soon. Klu was a great player (loved the cutoff sleeves too), but Votto has the potential to be an all-time great--not only on the Reds!
DeleteThanks for the quick response, glad I found the blog!
Probably replace Perez (overrated) with Rose.. and plop Foster in the outfield. But that's a minor upgrade. I'd think long and hard about ditching Gullet for Eppa Rixey. Might not though.
ReplyDeleteWe're reviewing this team right now... picking four pitchers for this team is really hard. The names we're considering - Maloney, Nolan, Rijo, Soto, Derringer, Walters, Luque, Vander Meer and Gullett. That's a cluster-funk of not quite great.
ReplyDelete