Top 50 Cincinnati Reds
This version of the Cincinnati Reds (there was one from 1876 to 1880 in the National League who were expelled for refusing to stop selling beer) can be traced to the American Association in 1892. They would win the pennant that year and would stick around there until they joined the National League in 1890.The Reds are a five-time World Series Champion (1919, 1940, 1975, 1976 & 1990) though they are mostly known for their success from the 1970s. Their 1919 win was known for the Chicago White Sox throwing the series, their 1990 win is more thought of Oakland choking and their 1940 title is hardly discussed at all.
Those 1970 wins are however likely never to be forgotten. “The Big Red Machine” boasted Hall of Famers, Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, and Johnny Bench, and a plethora of other great players who populate our list.
Cincinnati may not be a large market but will always be a baseball market.
Note: Baseball lists are based on an amalgamation of tenure, traditional statistics, advanced statistics, playoff performance, and post-season accolades. This is a list up to the end of the 2023 Season.
In the late 1930s and early ’40s, Frank McCormick would emerge as one of the most productive players in MLB. An All-Star every season from 1938 to 1944, McCormick would help propel the Reds to a World Series win in 1940, a season in which he led the National League in Hits for the third year in a row and would win the coveted MVP Award.
Known for his physical strength, Ted Kluszweski famously had to cut the sleeves off of his uniform because they constricted his arms when he swung. In 1953, “Big Klu” would enter a four year stretch where he blasted at least 35 Home Runs and collected 100 Runs Batted In, the best of which was his 1954 season where the slugger would win the Home Run and RBI Titles with 49 and 141 respectively and was the runner up for the National League MVP. As a Red he would collect 251 Home Runs with a .302 Batting Average.He would later be…
Playing his entire career with the Cincinnati Reds, Mario Soto brought a sweet fastball complimented with a devastating change up that helped him rack up a lot of wins in the 80’s. Soto would probably have accumulated more wins had he had more offensive support but the three time All Star was still named the National League Cy Young runner up in 1983.
With an unorthodox sidearm delivery and imposing 6’ 6” frame it is no wonder that many National League batters feared Ewell Blackwell. The lanky hurler was named to an All-Star every season from 1946 to 1951 and would lead the League in FIP three times. His best season was in 1947 where he was the runner up for the MVP Award and would lead the NL in Wins, Strikeouts and SO/BB.Blackwell went 79-77 with 819 Strikeouts as a Red, and was named to the Reds Hall of Fame in 1960.
The ace of the staff for the Reds throughout the 1960’s, Jim Maloney does not get the love that he should as his accomplishments occurred the decade before the Big Red Machine came into fruition.
In 1938, Johnny Vander Meer accomplished a feat that may never be duplicated. He threw two consecutive no-hitters. Imagine that happening today? Neither can we.
A star in Cincinnati during the late 1880s and early 1890s, Tony Mullane is one of the pitchers with the most Wins who is not in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Eric Davis was poised to be one of the great power hitters of his time, but injuries took their toll on the Outfielder. Davis would have a significant run in the late 1980s where he would become one of the game's premier power hitters putting together four straight 25 Home Run seasons with a pair of Silver Sluggers.
Ernie Lombardi moved at the speed of a glacier. While that complete lack of speed should have made him a liability, Lombardi was one of the most skilled contact hitting Catchers ever as he secured ten .300 seasons, seven of which was as a Red, and one of which would win him the National League Batting Title, which occurred in 1938 (he would win another in Boston in ’42).
In 1939 and 1940, Lonny Frey would have his best seasons and not coincidentally the Reds would make the World Series in both of those years. One of the best infielders in Reds history, Frey was named an All-Star three times and for five years in a row (1939-43) he finished in the top five in Defensive bWAR, including a first-place finish in 1940.
Arguably one of the greatest hitting Pitchers of his or possibly any era, Red Lucas was a solid presence on the mound winning 109 Games for Cincinnati. His best season was in 1929 where he would lead the NL in WHIP, H/9 and finished 6th overall in MVP voting. As for his hitting, he was a career .300 hitter with 293 Hits for the Reds. The Reds chose Lucas for their Hall of Fame in 1965.
Frank Dwyer played professional baseball for five teams in five years before he joined the Reds but it was in Cincinnati where he ceased to be a nomadic player and would hurl for the Reds for seven and a half seasons.
Had this been based on the iconography of the Reds, Joe Nuxhall would be top five, but we base our rankings primarily on what is accomplished on the field, which was still pretty good.
For the standards of the 1880’s, “Long” John Reilly was a power hitter. Three times he had over 10 Homers in a season (again, this was very good for this time period) two of which (1884 & 1888) were good enough to lead the league. Reilly was also a two time Slugging Champion and historically speaking is the first player to hit for the cycle three times. Reilly also had very good speed swiping 245 bases over his career.Reilly was inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame in 2012.
The Cleveland Indians knew that Brandon Phillips had an abundance of skills but they gave up on ever seeing that executed at a Major League level. He was thus traded across the state to Cincinnati, where much to the chagrin of the Tribe, he became the player that he was pegged to be.
With the exception of six Games at the end of his career with the California Angels, Gary Nolan was with Cincinnati for his entire career assisting them to consecutive World Series titles in the 70’s.
We are going need a history lesson to start off this one. Will White was a member of the original Cincinnati Reds in the National League and played there for three seasons before Cincinnati was expelled from the NL as their owner refused to stop selling beer. White would sign with the Detroit Wolverines for a year but returned to Cincinnati when they got a team in the American Association in 1881 (Cincinnati Red Stockings). That team evolved into the Reds and the original Reds are not part of the canon that is recognized by Major League Baseball, therefore his…
Johnny Cueto may have had an up and down career during his time as a Cincinnati Red but when he was up he was an elite pitcher who would finish fourth in Cy Young voting in 2012 and was the runner-up in 2014. That year, Cueto finished at the top in the NL in Innings Pitched, Strikeouts and H/9. Cueto’s record with Cincinnati was 92 and 63 with 1,115 Strikeouts.
Come on now, You didn’t think we were finished talking about the “Big Red Machine” from the mid 70’s did you?