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Who are the top Cincinnati Reds of all time? Here is our top 10 countdown:
10. Vada Pinson: a Red for the first 11 years of his career, Pinson was one of the league’s best all-around players in the late 1950s and early 1960s – he was a 4x All-Star, twice led the league in hits, doubles, and triples, hit 20+ home runs 6x, and also stole 20+ bases 7x.
9. Dave Concepcion: second only to Pete Rose in terms of career games played with the Reds, Concepcion spent his entire 19-year career with Cincinnati and made nine All-Star teams with five Gold Gloves at shortstop for the “Big Red Machine” dynasty of the 1970s.
8. George Foster: the 1977 NL MVP with single-season team records of 52 home runs and 149 runs batted in, Foster made four straight All-Star teams (and 5x overall) in the mid-to-late 1970s, leading the league in runs batted in for three consecutive seasons while helping the Reds win back-to-back World Series titles.
7. Tony Perez: the long-time first baseman of the “Big Red Machine” dynasty that won two championships, Perez was a 7x All-Star who consistently drove in 90+ runs for an entire decade with the team, including 6x with 100+ runs batted in.
6. Joey Votto: an on-base machine (seven seasons with the league’s highest on-base percentage, and led baseball in walks and on-base percentage during the 2010s), Votto is a career .300+ hitter with a .400+ on-base percentage while earning six All-Star selections, a Gold Glove, and the 2010 NL MVP award (with two other top-three finishes).
5. Barry Larkin: consistently one of the best players in baseball during his nearly two decade-long career with the Reds, Larkin was a 12x All-Star, 9x Silver Slugger, and 3x Gold Glover who won the NL MVP in 1995 and also led the Reds to the their most recent World Series title (1990).
4. Frank Robinson: the only player ever to win MVP in both the NL and AL, Robinson spent the first half of his career with Cincinnati – from NL Rookie of the Year in 1956, he eventually made seven All-Star teams and hit 30+ home runs 7x with the Reds, culminating in the 1961 NL MVP.
3. Joe Morgan: the engine of Cincinnati’s “Big Red Machine” offense of the 1970s, Morgan was a 10x All-Star and 5x Gold Glover who won back-to-back MVP awards in 1975 and 1976 while also leading the Reds to World Series titles both years.
2. Pete Rose: baseball’s all-time hits king, Rose spent 19 seasons with Cincinnati and won a pair of World Series titles; moreover, he made 13 All-Star teams, won three batting titles and led the league in hits 6x, won a Gold Glove while playing numerous positions, and was NL MVP in 1973.
1. Johnny Bench: as his manager Sparky Anderson once said, “I don’t want to embarrass any other catcher by comparing him to Johnny Bench”; Bench could do it all – he was Rookie of the Year, won two MVP awards, hit 389 career home runs in the middle of the “Big Red Machine” lineup of the 1970s, and earned 10 straight Gold Gloves behind the plate.
Agree/Disagree? As always, debate/discuss, and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Note: All statistics as of time of publication.
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