Sunday, July 12, 2015

The Cincinnati Reds: My Top Ten!

Well, like Letterman, I've got to have a top ten of my favourite moments in Cincinnati history. The Reds have had a colourful history, in more ways then one.

10) Gotta start with a first. How about an evening with the Reds, under the lights. Indeed, Cincinnati became the first MLB to play a game at night May 24th, 1935. It proves to be a success for the Reds as they beat Philadelphia, 2-1.

9) 1964 Pennant Race

The Reds came up empty in this one. But the excitement of the last two weeks of the 1964 season will never be forgotten. The Philadelphia Phillies were up 6 1/2 games with only twelve games to play on September 20th of that season. Cincinnati was actually 8 1/2 back with only 18 games to go when they won three straight to get to 6 1/2 back. After a loss, the Reds went out and swept three from Philly to get to 3 1/2 back. That started the Phillies on a downward spiral that saw them lost ten straight games.

Cincinnati kept the ball rolling and stretched their winning streak to an amazing nine games. But up one game with only five to go, it was Pittsburgh taking two of three to drop the Reds to half a game back. Philadelpha got a measure of revenge by winning 4-3 and 10-0 right their at Crosley Field. With the Cardinals (6 1/2 games back with 13 to play themselves) beat the New York Mets on the last game of the season, they'd staged a remarkable turnaround. Sadly, it was the Reds and Phillies who finished 92-70, just one game back!

An oddity out of all this was the fact that Cincinnati ended up with six pitchers starting 22 or more games. It's the closest you will ever see to a six-man pitching rotation. For now.

8) See Baseball On The Screen! Your Screen At Home!

The Reds played the Dodgers on the first ever televised major league baseball game on August 26th, 1939. Actually, you got a doubleheader, which the Reds split with Brooklyn. The Reds made sure to win the opener, making them the first team to win the ballgame right in your living room!

7) Colurful Old Television

The oldest surviving colour television clip involves the Reds. Actually, it's very quick. Blink and you might just miss it. From a game April 16, 1963. Look carefully and see a young Pete Rose. But it's really all about Duke Snider of the Mets and his 2000th hit. Still, the Reds are on this historic footage. Too bad it's so short!

6) Upsetting the A's in 1990.

No one thought the Reds, managed by the colourful Lou Pinella, had a chance against Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire. But it was the Reds with a Jose of their own. Jose Rijo pitched 'em to a sweep. No way, Jose? Yes way! To date, it's Cincinnati's last Fall Classic appearance.

5) Jim Maloney's no-hitter against Chicago, August 10, 1965. The last three innings have been preserved and in colour. Oddly enough, Maloney stole a page out of Johnny Vander Meer's pitching. He walked ten batters, setting a record for most walks in a no-hit game. He also got a Hall-Of-Famer to ground into a double play to end it. Ernie Banks.

4) 1940 World Series Champions.

This one was sad, with catcher Willard Hershberger taking his life during the season. But the Reds got together and beat Detroit in seven games to win it all. Ironically, it was Hershberger's replacement behind the dish (Ernie Lombardi was injured) that hit .353 behind the plate in the Fall Classic. Johhny Wilson.

3) Game six, 1975. Okay, the Reds lost this game. But no one will ever forget it. The Big Red Machine and the Boston Red Sox put on quite a show! Carlton Fisk's dramatic home run in the 12th off the foul pole ended it.

That summed it up perfectly.


Oh, by the way, here's game seven for all you Cincy lovers. You will like this ending more then you liked game six.

2) Rose 4,192.

You bet I was gonna put this in. But all joking aside, Pete Rose had actually already overtaken Ty some time earlier when it was discovered that The Georgia Peach had in reality only got 4,189 hits. Nonetheless, it was a great moment that moved Rose to tears.

1) Johnny Vander Meer, twice. To this day, this seems to me like the record that is least likely to be broken: Back-to-back no-hitters!

Vander Meer went out and stopped the Boston Braves cold on June 11, 1938. While he ended up with 3 walks, Johnny faced just 28 batters all game long. Just one below the minimum. For good measure, Vander Meer picked up a hit himself. But how about what he did at Ebbets' Field in his next start? Yeah, he walked eight, but once again, he put a "0" in the "H" column for the win. Vander Meer got out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the ninth, preserving the shutout and his second straight no-hitter. Again, Vander Meer had a hit. This time though, he also scored a run. In his next start, ironically against Boston again, Vandy kept it going for 3 1/3 innings before finally surrendering a run.


References


Anderson, Dave. Pennant Races: Baseball At Its Best. New York: Doubleday, 1994. Print.

Baseball's Greatest Moments. Prod. Major League Baseball. Perf. Warner Fusselle. Major League Baseball, 1991. VHS. Narrated by Warner Fusselle.

Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.

Golenbock, Peter. Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary, 2000. Print.

Golenbock, Peter. Red Sox Nation: An Unexpurgated History of the Boston Red Sox. Chicago, IL: Triumph Books, 2005. Print.

Halberstam, David. October 1964. New York: Villard, 1994. Print.

Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Lincolnwood, Ill: Publications International, 1993. Print.

“The Official Site Of Major League Baseball.” MLB.com, Major League Baseball. Web. 12 Jul. 2015. https://www.mlb.com/.

Retrosheet. Web. 12 Jul. 2015. <www.retrosheet.org>.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 12 Jul. 2015.

Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web 12 Jul. 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org>.

Youtube. Web. 12 Jul. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/>.

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