Qualifier: players will be classified under one position even if they played at more than one.

Johnny Bench:

Legendary Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench led the “Big Red Machine” to their brilliant run of success in the 1970s. A career member of the Cincinnati Reds from 1967 to 1983, Bench was a two-time National League MVP, 14-time All-Star, ten-time Gold Glove winner, two-time World Series Champion and a World Series MVP. Bench owns the Reds’ all-time home run record with 389 round-trippers. He ranks second in franchise history in wins above replacement with a 71.3 WAR and he is one of five Reds with 2,000 hits.

Ernie Lombardi:

Hall of Fame catcher Ernie Lombardi played ten seasons with the Reds from 1932 to 1941. Lombardi was an outstanding pure hitter who won two batting titles and went to seven All-Star Games. Over 1,203 games with the Reds, he maintained a 126 OPS+ (league average is 100) with a .311 average, .359 on-base percentage and .469 slugging percentage. Lombardi put together his career year in 1938 when he led the National League with a .342 average, posted a .915 OPS, hit 19 home runs and drove in 95 RBI to win the NL MVP award. He helped the Reds reach back-to-back World Series in 1939 and 1940, winning a championship in the latter year.

Bubbles Hargrave:

Former batting champion Bubbles Hargrave served as Cincinnati’s catcher of the 1920s. Hargrave was an excellent hitter independent of position; factoring in that he played at a defensive-first spot makes his performance all the more impressive. He sported a .310 average, .377 OBP and 122 OPS+ in 766 games in Cincinnati. Hargrave peaked in 1926 when he won a batting title with a .353 average and slugged a career-best .525. His bat was worth 17.8 WAR over eight years with the Reds.

Ed Bailey:

Five-time All-Star backstop Ed Bailey spent the 1950s behind the plate in Cincinnati. Bailey played 100 games for the first time in 1956 and he responded by batting .300 with a .385 OBP, 28 home runs and 142 OPS+ to warrant his first All-Star nod. He maintained a .359 OBP and 109 OPS+ over 714 games with Cincinnati. As a Red, he threw out 45 percent of base-stealers overall, leading the league in the category once in 1957.

Johnny Edwards:

Three-time All-Star Johnny Edwards played seven seasons with the Cincinnati Reds from 1961 to 1967. In the first-half of the 1960s, Edwards was a league-average offensive player and a winner of multiple Gold Gloves for his work behind the plate. In his four seasons as the full-time starter from 1962 to 1965, Edwards posted a .265 average and .102 OPS+ while averaging 11 home runs and 56 RBI per year.

Honorable mentions: Heinie Peitz, Tommy Clarke, Ray Mueller, Ivey Wingo, Larry McLean, Farmer Vaughn and Pop Snyder.

Sources:

Cincinnati Reds Team History & Encyclopedia, Baseball-Reference.com

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Read More: San Francisco Giants, Cincinnati Reds

It was another pitcher’s duel at AT&T Thursday night as Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants squared off with the Cincinnati Reds. The offense was once again hard to come by for Bummy, who pitched very well; just not as well as Johnny Cueto, who along with his battery mates shut out the Giants by a score of 3-0.

Bumgarner (L 2-8) suffered another hard luck loss after pitching seven solid innings, allowing only one run on eight hits, with no walks and seven strikeouts. His counterpart this evening, Johnny Cueto (W 3-2), was extremely effective in his seven innings, allowing only four hits while fanning eight Giants. Nick Masset and Francisco Cordero kept the G-Men silent in eighth and ninth, with Cordero earning his 12th save of the season.

The Giants offense really struggled tonight, going 0-7 with runners in scoring position and only one extra base hit, a double by Miguel Tejada, who finished 2-4 on the night and the only Giant with more than one hit.

A Johnny Gomes single in the fourth plated Scott Rolen to get the Reds on the board, but they didn’t score again until the eighth after a passed ball from Eli Whiteside scored Joey Votto. The Reds added another in the ninth off a Brandon Philips RBI single.

Former San Francisco Giant and current Cincinnati Red Edgar Renteria received his World Series ring before the game to a great ovation at AT&T. Great to see him back, the fans will certainly always have love for that man. 

With the loss the Giants move to 35-28 on the year.Full box score can be found here.

Friday will see Ryan Vogelsong (4-1 1.68 ERA) take the mound for the Giants to take on Travis Wood (4-4 5.72 ERA) for the Reds. Coverage will start at 7:15 p.m. PT on NBC Bay Area and KNBR 680 AM.

For more on the San Francisco Giants, head over to McCovey Chronicles to get in on the action.

Goodyear, AZ (Sports Network) – Cincinnati Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto has been temporarily shut down with mild inflammation in his right shoulder.

Cueto is expected to miss 7-10 days before starting to throw again, meaning he will stay in Arizona when the Reds head back to Cincinnati to start the season.

According to MLB.com, team medical director Dr. Timothy Kremchek said the shoulder is structurally sound.

Cueto has made four starts this spring, but left his two latest outings early because of right arm issues.

He made 31 starts for the Reds last season, his third in the majors. Cueto posted a 3.64 earned run average and 12-7 record, striking out 138 and walking 56 in 185 2/3 innings.

The Sports Network

CINCINNATI – A blog post by veteran writer Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News lit the fuse for what could have been a huge blow-up between the Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals.McCoy posted that Jonny Gomes entered the Reds clubhouse Wednesday singing “Wainwright is gone!” St. Louis Cardinals ace pitcher Adam Wainwright was diagnosed with an elbow injury Wednesday morning and will need season-ending surgery.Gomes has disputed McCoy’s post and is quoted that he was singing “Is Wainwright Gone?” Gomes said he had just finished an interview with broadcaster Rob Dibble and Dibble informed him about the Wainwright injury.St. Louis manager Tony LaRussa said Thursday morning he knows Gomes and is not upset with the report.. Gomes gave his side of the story to MLB.com Reds beat writer Mark Sheldon. McCoy has since removed the Gomes entry from his blog and said, “If I had it to do over, I would ignore what I “thought” I heard — as did a couple of other people. Last August the Reds and the Cardinals were involved in a brawl at Great American Ball Park after the Cardinals apparently took exception to some comments made by Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips. The brawl resulted in suspensions for Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto, Reds manager Dusty Baker and LaRussa.

CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati Reds took their act on the road Thursday morning.The annual Reds Caravan pulled out of Great American Ball Park at 9 a.m. Three buses are on three different paths through Reds country, making 15 stops in four states over the next four days.The Reds said the trips will total about 2,800 miles.This comes on the heels of several player signings. After coming to terms on multi-year deals with Bronson Arroyo, Joey Votto, and Jay Bruce, the Reds locked up pitcher Johnny Cueto with a four-year deal on Wednesday.Reds president and CEO Bob Castellini said he feels the signings will continue to build enthusiasm for his team. He said the caravan should be a fun trip, and he’s noticed a difference when he sees fans on the streets of Cincinnati.”For three or four years, you would walk around town and I would keep my eyes down and they would keep their eyes down,” Castellini said. “Now we’re all talking to each other. Good body language around Cincinnati now about the Reds, there’s no question about that. It’s fun.”Manager Dusty Baker is on one of the legs of the caravan and said he’s just about ready to go.”You know baseball is right around the corner. This is kind of the start of our season, actually,” Baker said.Then Dusty joked that he still has a little business to finish before spring training begins next month.”Leave here, (I’ve) got two weeks to go home, clean my garage, change the oil on all of my trucks, do all of the things you should have been doing the whole winter. And then, you know, hey, it’s time to go back to work!” he said.The Reds pitchers and catchers report to Goodyear, Arizona, February 16. The first full squad workout is February 20.

CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati Reds took their act on the road Thursday morning.The annual Reds Caravan pulled out of Great American Ball Park at 9 a.m. Three buses are on three different paths through Reds country, making 15 stops in four states over the next four days.The Reds said the trips will total about 2,800 miles.This comes on the heels of several player signings. After coming to terms on multi-year deals with Bronson Arroyo, Joey Votto, and Jay Bruce, the Reds locked up pitcher Johnny Cueto with a four-year deal on Wednesday.Reds president and CEO Bob Castellini said he feels the signings will continue to build enthusiasm for his team. He said the caravan should be a fun trip, and he’s noticed a difference when he sees fans on the streets of Cincinnati.”For three or four years, you would walk around town and I would keep my eyes down and they would keep their eyes down,” Castellini said. “Now we’re all talking to each other. Good body language around Cincinnati now about the Reds, there’s no question about that. It’s fun.”Manager Dusty Baker is on one of the legs of the caravan and said he’s just about ready to go.”You know baseball is right around the corner. This is kind of the start of our season, actually,” Baker said.Then Dusty joked that he still has a little business to finish before spring training begins next month.”Leave here, (I’ve) got two weeks to go home, clean my garage, change the oil on all of my trucks, do all of the things you should have been doing the whole winter. And then, you know, hey, it’s time to go back to work!” he said.The Reds pitchers and catchers report to Goodyear, Arizona, February 16. The first full squad workout is February 20.