Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of the National League.

The original "Red Stockings"
The original Cincinnati Red Stockings, baseball's first openly all-professional team, were founded as an amateur club in 1863, and became fully professional in 1869. The Red Stockings won 130 straight games throughout 1869 and 1870, before being defeated by the Brooklyn Atlantics. Star players included brothers Harry and George Wright, Fred Waterman, and pitcher Asa Brainard. The 1869 Red Stockings made an eastern swing of 21 games and went undefeated. According to Walter Camp, the team received a banquet and a "champion bat...this rather remarkable testimonial was twenty-seven feet long and nine inches in diameter". The following year, the team lost only one game. They were defeated at the Brooklyn Atlantics' Capitoline Grounds. According to Camp, the Red Stockings lost 8-7 in 11 innings. The game apparently served as a precursor to today's unruly crowds because he wrote: "A crowd of ten thousand people assembled to witness this match, and so lost their heads in the excitement as to give the Western men a very unfair reception." The best players of the Cincinnati Red Stockings relocated to Boston after the 1870 season, taking the nickname along with them and becoming the Boston Red Stockings, a team later dubbed the "Beaneaters" and eventually the "Braves", who are now based in Atlanta. A new Cincinnati Red Stockings team became a charter member of the National League in 1876, five years after the first Red Stockings team. The second Red Stockings team was expelled from the league after the 1880 season, in part for violating league rules by serving beer to fans at games, and for their refusal to stop renting out their ballpark, the Bank Street Grounds, on Sundays.

The Machine Dismantled and "We Wuz Robbed!"
Personnel changes were in the offing. Popular Tony Perez was sent to Montreal after the 1976 season, breaking up the Big Red Machine's starting lineup. Starting pitcher Don Gullet left via free agency and signed with the New York Yankees. In an effort to fill that gap, a trade with the Oakland A's for starting ace Vida Blue was arranged during the '76 - '77 off-season. However, Bowie Kuhn, the Commissioner of Baseball at the time, vetoed this trade in an effort to maintain the competitive balance in baseball. On June 15 1977, the Reds entered the trading market with a vengeance. New York was heartbroken by the news that the Mets' franchise pitcher Tom Seaver was being traded to the Reds for Pat Zachry, Doug Flynn, Steve Henderson, and Dan Norman. In less successful deals, the Reds also traded Gary Nolan to the Angels for Craig Hendrickson, Rawly Eastwick to St. Louis for Doug Capilla and Mike Caldwell to Milwaukee for Dick O'Keeffe and Garry Pyka, and got Rick Auerbach from Texas. The end of the Big Red Machine era was heralded by the replacement of General Manager Bob Howsam with Dick Wagner. After the 1978 season, Cincinnati hero Pete Rose, who since 1963 had played almost every position for the team except pitcher and catcher, signed with Philadelphia as a free agent. In Rose's last season as a Red, he gave baseball a thrill as he challenged Joe Dimaggio's 56 game hitting streak, tying for the second longest streak ever at 44 games. The streak came to an end in Atlanta after striking out in his 5th at bat in the game against Gene Garber. Rose also earned his 3000th hit that season, on his way to becoming baseball's all time hits leader when he rejoined the Reds in the mid 80's. The year also witnessed the only no-hitter of Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver's career, coming against the St. Louis Cardinals on June 16, 1978.
The later years of the 1970s brought turmoil and change. After two consecutive runner-up seasons, Wagner fired manager Anderson. By 1979, players Gullett, Nolan, Pérez, and Rose, among others, had left the club. By 1979, the starters were Bench (c), Dan Driessen (1b), Morgan (2b), Concepcion (ss), Ray Knight (3b), with Griffey, Foster, and Geronimo again in the outfield. The pitching staff had experienced an almost complete turnover. The ace starter was now Tom Seaver, acquired from the New York Mets in 1977 in a multiple-player deal. Only Norman was left from 1975-76; the remaining starters were Mike La Coss, Bill Bonham, and Paul Moskau. In the bullpen, only Borbon had remained. Dave Tomlin and Mario Soto worked mid-innings with Tom Hume and Doug Bair closing.
The Reds did manage to win the 1979 NL West behind the pitching of Tom Seaver but were dispatched in the NL playoffs by Pittsburgh, after a controversial play in Game 2 in which a ball hit by Pittsburgh's Phil Garner was caught by Cincinnati outfielder Dave Collins but was ruled a trap, setting the Pirates up to take a 2-1 lead. The Pirates swept the series 3 games to 0.
The 1981 team fielded a strong lineup, with only Concepcion, Foster, and Griffey retaining their spots from the 1975-76 heyday. Johnny Bench broke his ankle and so Joe Nolan played the majority of games behind the plate. Driessen and Knight still played the corners, but Morgan and Geronimo had been replaced at second base and center field by Ron Oester and Dave Collins. Mario Soto posted a banner year starting on the mound, even surpassing the performance of future hall-of-famer Seaver. La Coss, Bruce Berenyi, and Frank Pastore rounded out the starting rotation. Hume again led the bullpen as closer, joined by Bair, Moskau, Joe Price, and Geoff Combe.
In 1981, Cincinnati had the best overall record in baseball, but they finished second in the division in both of the half-seasons that were created after a mid-season players' strike. To commemorate this, a team photo was taken, accompanied by a banner that read "Baseball's Best Record 1981". By 1982, the Reds were a shell of the original Red Machine; they lost 100 games that year. Johnny Bench retired a year later. Outraged Reds fans proclaimed, "We Wuz Robbed!"

The 1980s
After the heartbreak of 1981, General Manager Dick Wagner pursued the strategy of ridding the team of veterans including catcher Nolan, third-baseman Knight (who had replaced Pete Rose) and the entire starting outfield of Griffey, Foster, and Collins. Johnny Bench decided to give up catching entirely and was made the starting third baseman; Alex Trevino became the regular starting catcher. The outfield was staffed with Paul Householder, Cesar Cedeno, and the untried Eddie Milner. The starting rotation still featured the strong Seaver and Soto, joined by Pastore and Bruce Berenyi, but their efforts were wasted without a strong offensive lineup backing them. Tom Hume still led the bullpen, but he had no support from the dismal relieving of Ben Hayes, Brad "The Animal" Lesley, Joe Price, and Jim Kern.
The Reds fell to the absolute bottom of the Western Division for the next few years, losing Seaver after the 1982 season. A series of changes followed — Dann Bilardello behind the plate, Nick Esasky taking over after Bench's failed experiment in the hot corner, and Gary Redus taking over from Cedeno. Tom Hume had pitched himself out and there was not a body in the bullpen worth naming. Dave Concepcion was the sole remaining starter from the Big Red Machine era.
Wagner's control of the Reds ended in 1983, when Howsam, the architect of the Big Red Machine was brought back and he began his return by acquiring Cincinnati native Dave Parker from Pittsburgh. In 1984 the Reds began to move up, depending on trades and some minor leaguers. In that season Dave Parker, Dave Concepción and Tony Pérez were in Cincinnati uniforms. By the end of 1984, Pete Rose was hired to be the Reds player-manager. After raising the franchise from the grave, Howsam gave way to the administration of Bill Bergesch, who was principally known for holding on tightly to perennial future stars like Kurt Stillwell, Tracy Jones, Kal Daniels, and others, refusing to risk these "crown jewels" for pitching help.
Under Bergesch, from 1985-89 the Reds finished second four times. Among the highlights, Rose became the all-time hits leader, Tom Browning threw a perfect game, and Chris Sabo was the 1988 National League Rookie of the Year. The Reds also had a bullpen star in John Franco, who was with the team from 1984 to 1989. In 1989, Rose was banned from baseball by Commissioner Bart Giamatti, who declared Rose guilty of "conduct detrimental to baseball". Controversy also swirled around Reds owner Marge Schott, who was accused several times of ethnic and racial slurs.

After Pete Rose
In 1987, General Manager Bergesch was replaced by Murray Cook, who initiated a series of deals that would finally bring the Reds back to the championship, starting with acquisitions of Danny Jackson and Jose Rijo, finally letting go of Bergesch favorites Stillwell and Parker. In 1989, Cook was succeeded by Bob Quinn, who put the final pieces of the championship puzzle together, with acquisitions such as Hal Morris, Billy Hatcher, and Randy Myers.
In 1990, the Reds under new manager Lou Piniella shocked baseball by leading the NL West from wire-to-wire. They started off 33-12, winning their first 9 games, and maintained their lead throughout the year. Led by Chris Sabo, Barry Larkin, Eric Davis, Paul O'Neill and Billy Hatcher in the field, and by José Rijo, Tom Browning and the "Nasty Boys" of Rob Dibble, Norm Charlto and Randy Myers on the mound, the Reds took out the Pirates in the NLCS and swept the heavily favored Oakland Athletics in four straight. The sweep of the Oakland Athletics extended the Reds winning streak in the World Series to 9 consecutive games. The World Series, however, cost the team Eric Davis, who severely bruised a kidney diving for a fly ball in the first inning of Game 4.
In 1992, Quinn was replaced in the front office by Jim Bowden. On the field, manager Lou Piniella wanted outfielder Paul O'Neill to be a power-hitter to fill the void Eric Davis left when he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for Tim Belcher. However, O'Neill only hit .246 and 14 homers. In the midst of all that trouble, the Reds won 90 games in 1992. But that was enough for 2nd place behind the division-winning Atlanta Braves. Before the season ended, Piniella got into an altercation with reliever Rob Dibble. Additionally, O'Neill was traded to the New York Yankees for outfielder Roberto Kelly. Kelly would only be in a Reds uniform for a few years. As for O'Neill, he would lead an up-and-coming Yankees team to several postseason appearances. Also, the Reds would replace the famous "Big Red Machine" uniforms in favor of a pinstriped uniform with no sleeves.
For the 1993 season Piniella was replaced by fan favorite Tony Perez, but he lasted only 44 games at the helm, replaced by Davey Johnson. With Johnson steering the team, the Reds made steady progress upward. In 1994, the Reds were in the newly-created National League Central Division with the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, as well as fellow rivals Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros. By the time the strike hit, the Reds finished a half-game ahead of the Astros for first-place in the NL Central. By 1995, the Reds won the division thanks to Most Valuable Player Barry Larkin. After defeating Western Division Champs the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first NLDS since 1981, they lost to the Atlanta Braves. In a bizarre move, eccentric team owner Marge Schott announced mid-season that Johnson would be gone by the end of the year, regardless of outcome, to be replaced by former Reds third baseman Ray Knight. Johnson and Schott had never gotten along; by most accounts, the main reason for the firing was that Schott didn't approve of Johnson living with his fiancée before they were married, In contrast, Knight, along with his wife, professional golfer Nancy Lopez, were personal friends of Schott's. The team took a dive under Knight and he was unable to complete two full seasons as manager, subject to complaints in the press about his strict managerial style. In 1999 the Reds won 96 games, led by manager Jack Mckeon, but lost to the New York Mets in a one game playoff. Earlier that year, Schott sold controlling interest in the Reds to Cincinnati businessman Carl Lindner.
Riverfront Stadium was demolished in 2002 and ended an era marked by three world championships.
Great American Ball Park opened in 2003 with high expectations for a team led by local favorites, including franchise outfielder Ken Griffey, Jr., shortstop Barry Larkin, reliever Danny Graves and first baseman Sean Casey. Although attendance improved considerably with the new ballpark, the team continued to lose. This was largely because Schott hadn't invested much in the farm system since the early 1990s, leaving the team relatively thin on talent. After years of promises that the club was rebuilding toward the opening of the new ballpark, General Manager Jim Bowden and manager Bob Boone were fired on July 28. This broke up the father-son combo of manager Bob Boone and third baseman Aaron Boone, and Aaron was soon traded to the New York Yankees. Following the season Dan O'Brien was hired as the Reds' 16th General Manager.
The 2004 and 2005 seasons continued the trend of big hitting and poor pitching and ultimately poor records. Griffey, Jr. joined the 500-home run club in 2004, but was again hampered by injuries. Adam Dunn emerged as formidable home run hitter, hitting a 535-foot home run against Jose Lima. He also broke the major league record for strikeouts in 2004. Although a number of free agents were signed before 2005, the Reds were quickly in last place and manager Dave Miley was forced out in the 2005 midseason and replaced by Jerry Narron. Like many other small market clubs, the Reds dispatched some of their veteran players and began entrusting their future to a young nucleus that includes Adam Dunn, Ryan Freel, and Aaron Harang. Late summer, 2004 saw the opening of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame. The Reds HOF had been in existence in "name only" since the 1950s, with player plaques, photos and other memorabilia scattered throughout front office store rooms and hallways. Ownership and management desired a stand-alone facility, where the public could walk through inter-active displays, see locker-room recreations, watch videos of classic Reds moments and peruse historical items from the Reds' long history. The main first floor houses a movie theatere which resembles an older, ivy-covered brick wall ballyard - the movie theatre replays continuously throughout the day. The hallways contain many old photographs. As visitors move to the rear of the building, they can view a three-story wall containing a baseball for every hit Pete Rose had during his career. The third floor contains interactive exhibits including a pitcher's mound fans can throw off of, a radio booth fans can create their own play-by-play announcements, and children's area where the fundamentals of baseball are taught by former Reds player videos.
In 2006, a new era in Reds baseball began as fruit and vegetable wholesaler Robert Castellini took over as owner, assuming control of the team from Lindner. Castellini promptly fired general manager Dan O'Brien. Wayne Krivsky, previously an assistant General Manager with the Minnesota Twins, and a candidate for the job when O'Brien was hired, was appointed as the General Manager of the Reds after a protracted search. The first move Krivsky made was to trade young outfielder Wily Mo Peña to the Boston Red Sox for pitcher Bronson Arroyo. Arroyo made his first start in a Reds uniform on April 5, 2006. He not only earned the win, but also led off the third inning with his first career home run. Krivsky also gave fans hope with mid season trades that bolstered the "non-existent" bullpen, trading for "Everyday Eddie" Guardado and then trading outfielder Austin Kearns, shortstop Felipe Lopez, and 2004 first round draft pick Ryan Wagner to the Washington Nationals for relievers Gary Majewski, Bill Bray, shortstop Royce Clayton, and two prospects. This move was controversial, as not only did it seem as if the Reds did not receive much in return for two starting position players and a former first-round draft pick, but also it was later discovered that the Nationals may have hidden Majewski's health problems.
For Opening Day 2006, President George W. Bush threw out the ceremonial first pitch, becoming the first sitting president to throw out the first pitch at a Reds game.

**WWW.WIKIPEDIA.ORG