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Reds Hall of Fame announces 2012 class |
CINCINNATI, OH (FOX19) -
Three-time All-Star Sean Casey, Big Red Machine infielder Dan Driessen and 19th century first baseman John Reilly will be the next three players inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame. Casey was selected by the fans through the Modern Player Ballot presented by Cincyfavorites.com. The Veterans Committee selected Driessen and Reilly to make up the Reds Hall of Fame Class of 2012. The trio will be honored June 22-24 during Reds Hall of Fame Induction Weekend, which will include on-field ceremonies at Great American Ball Park, the star-studded Hall of Fame Induction Gala and a variety of festivities at the Hall, including meet and greets with Reds Hall of Famers and alumni. One of the most popular players to ever wear a Reds uniform, Casey came to be known as “The Mayor” during his eight-year Reds career. A versatile infielder of the Big Red Machine clubs of the 1970s, Dreissen played 12 seasons for the Reds from 1973 to 1984. A Cincinnati-native and dominant first baseman in the 1880′s, Reilly wore a Reds uniform for his nine-season Major League career and held Reds records for most singles, double, triples, home runs, runs scored, RBI and games played. Casey was the top vote-getter of the thousands of ballots cast online at RedsMuseum.org, at Great American Ball Park and at participating Skyline Chili and Montgomery Inn locations. Driessen and Reilly were selected by the Reds Hall of Fame’s Veterans Committee, comprised of members of the media, Hall of Famers, historians and Hall of Fame executives. “Since 1958, the fans have played an integral part in the Hall of Fame election process, and this year was no exception as record participation resulted,” said Reds Hall of Fame Executive Director Rick Walls. “I’d like to thank Cincyfavorites.com, the thousands of fans that voted, and the Veterans Committee for recognizing the contributions of these players.” The addition of Casey, Driessen and Reilly will bring the Hall’s membership ranks to 75 players, three managers, and three executives.
Copyright 2011 FOX19. All Rights Reserved. What are your opinions. Posted in reds-news | Comments Off
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Votto Finishes 6th In NL MVP Voting |
POSTED: 2:27 pm EST November 22, 2011 CINCINNATI — Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Bruan has been awarded the 2011 National League Most Valuable Player Award.Braun received 20 of a possible 32 first-place votes from members of the Baseball Writer’s Association of America.The Dodgers’ Matt Kemp finished second in voting, followed by Prince Fielder, also of the Brewers, Justin Upton of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Albert Pujols of the World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals.Last year’s winner, Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto, finished sixth in voting.
Copyright 2011 by WLWT.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Gotta run!. Posted in reds-news | Comments Off
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Frank Robinson coming to Dayton |
By Marc Katz, Staff Writer
Updated 11:42 AM Wednesday, November 2, 2011 DAYTON — Frank Robinson works out more at age 76 than he did during his hall-of-fame baseball career, which was marked with many significant milestones. Robinson was the first black manager in the big leagues, the only player to win the MVP award in both leagues, a Triple Crown winner and the centerpiece in arguably the worst trade in Cincinnati Reds history. He’ll talk about all of that and more Saturday night during the Schear Family Heart In Sports Community Conversation with hall-of-fame baseball writer Hal McCoy at the Dayton Marriott. Two recent bouts with a racing heart beat made Robinson a good subject for the Heart In Sports talk, but the guy who slugged 586 career home runs (ninth all-time) while hitting .294 over 21 seasons claimed he did it all with little offseason exercise. “When I was younger, they had different measurements for you to get in shape,” Robinson said this week from his Los Angeles-area home. “We didn’t have a lot of offseason training. As a matter of fact, we just kind of took it easy, or we worked (at other jobs) during the off-season. We went to spring training to get in shape.” Robinson, now an adviser to baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, certainly was in shape in 1956 as a 20-year-old rookie when he hit .290 with 38 homers and 83 RBIs. He led the National League with 122 runs scored. “I never gave it any thought about longevity in baseball until I was in it for about 10 years,” Robinson said. “My thinking was just try to get five years in. After that, I said, ‘Well, why not 10?’ After that, why not 20? You had to get 20 years in to be fully invested in the pension plan at that time.” At one point, he thought he’d be with the Reds for life, but on Dec. 9, 1965, he was traded to Baltimore for pitchers Jack Baldschun and Milt Pappas plus outfielder Dick Simpson. Reds owner Bill DeWitt, trying to justify himself, uttered Robinson was “an old 30,” even though he was coming off a season of 33 homers, 113 RBIs and a .296 batting average. The old guy hit .316 with the Orioles, adding 49 home runs and 122 RBIs to capture the American League’s Triple Crown. He won the league MVP award and helped Baltimore to a world championship. Robinson wasn’t so old, and he still didn’t work out in the offseason the way today’s players do. “I don’t know if that’s good or bad,” he said. “Players today work in-season, they work offseason. I did a little more when I got to be about 30, but I didn’t do any real weight training at any time. I was pretty well developed as far as my muscles were concerned. “What I should have done, and I know now, I should have done more stretching. I’m doing a lot more stretching now and I’m doing things with my body I couldn’t do even when I was younger.” As for the trade, Robinson surmises he might have gained a reputation as a troublemaker. As an elder on the team, he became a spokesman and said he would cover for teammates by telling management any complaints were his. Otherwise, he was quiet and was overshadowed in the National League by contemporaries Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente. “Yeah, I’m with those guys,” he said. “But I’m always mentioned fourth. That’s OK. Team goals were more important to me.” Obtained by the Indians in 1974, Robinson was surprised to be offered a job as player-manager the next season. He wanted to decline, but his agent let him know how important it was to break that color barrier. The move cost him a chance at 3,000 hits and 600 home runs. “I didn’t play much as a manager,” said Robinson, who last managed in 2006 (Nationals). “Even today, I don’t regret it. If I hadn’t managed, I would have made it to 3,000 and 600, but that’s OK.” What do you guys think about this. Posted in reds-news | Comments Off
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Canadian Votto among Gold Glove winners |
Cincinnati first baseman Joey Votto of Toronto won a National League Gold Glove award on Tuesday. Clayton Kershaw, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier became the first trio of Los Angeles Dodgers to win NL Gold Gloves in the same year, and Adrian Gonzalez, Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury became the first three Red Sox in 32 seasons to win the AL honour together. Kershaw became a first-time winner at pitcher when the awards were announced Tuesday. Ethier earned his first Gold Glove in the outfield and Kemp regained the NL award he also earned in 2009. Gonzalez earned his first American League Gold Glove to go along with two he won in the NL while with San Diego, Pedroia won at second base for the first time since 2008 and Ellsbury picked up his first Gold Glove. “I try to be a complete player. You can always go into offence slumps,” Gonzalez said during the awards show on ESPN2. The previous three Red Sox to win in the same year were shortstop Rick Burleson along with outfielders Dwight Evans and Fred Lynn in 1979. Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle was the lone AL holdover, winning for the third straight year. Baltimore’s Matt Wieters won at catcher, the Angels’ Erick Aybar at shortstop, Texas’ Adrian Beltre at third, and Kansas City’s Alex Gordon and Baltimore’s Nick Markakis in the outfield. Beltre won for the third time, after gaining the award in 2007 and 2008. The St. Louis Cardinals’ Yadier Molina became the first NL catcher to win in four straight years since Charles Johnson from 1995-98. Phillips earns another GloveCincinnati second baseman Brandon Phillips also won along with Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, Philadelphia third baseman Placido Polanco and Arizona outfielder Gerardo Parra. Phillips and Tulowitzki joined Molina as the NL holdovers, with Phillips winning for the third time in four years. “It just shows my hard work really played off,” Phillips said on the show. Polanco also won AL Gold Gloves in 2007 and 2009. This year’s AL group displaced Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer; Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira, second baseman Robinson Cano and shortstop Derek Jeter; Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria; former Rays outfielder Carl Crawford; and Seattle outfielders Ichiro Suzuki and Franklin Gutierrez. Suzuki’s streak of Gold Gloves ended at 10. The right fielder, who had won in every one of his big league seasons, had tied the AL record for Gold Gloves by an outfielder shared by Ken Griffey Jr. and Al Kaline. Last year’s NL winners included Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols, Reds third baseman Scott Rolen and Colorado’s Carlos Gonzalez and Philadelphia’s Shane Victorino joined in the outfield by Michael Bourn, then of Houston. Rawlings announced the winners Tuesday. Managers and coaches vote for players in their leagues and can’t pick players on their own teams. Breaking with the recent format, outfielders were picked for specific spots. The AL had Gordon in left, Ellsbury in centre and Markakis in right, and the NL had Parra in left, Kemp in centre and Ethier in right. Beltre and Gonzalez each earned $100,000 US bonuses, while Aybar and Markakis get $75,000 apiece. Molina, Pedroia, Polanco and Votto each receive $50,000, and Tulowitzki and Buehrle both get $25,000. Phillips gets an automatic $250,000 raise next season to $12.25 million under the option the Reds exercised Monday. Leave any suggestions in the comment box. Posted in reds-news | Comments Off
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Robinson coming to town to talk health |
By Marc Katz, Staff Writer
1:24 AM Wednesday, November 2, 2011 DAYTON — Frank Robinson works out more at age 76 than he did during his hall-of-fame baseball career, which was marked with many significant milestones. Robinson was the first black manager in the big leagues, the only player to win the MVP award in both leagues, a Triple Crown winner and the centerpiece in arguably the worst trade in Cincinnati Reds history. He’ll talk about all of that and more Saturday night during the Schear Family Heart In Sports Community Conversation with hall-of-fame baseball writer Hal McCoy at the Dayton Marriott. Two recent bouts with a racing heart beat made Robinson a good subject for the Heart In Sports talk, but the guy who slugged 586 career home runs (ninth all-time) while hitting .294 over 21 seasons claimed he did it all with little offseason exercise. “When I was younger, they had different measurements for you to get in shape,” Robinson said this week from his Los Angeles-area home. “We didn’t have a lot of offseason training. As a matter of fact, we just kind of took it easy, or we worked (at other jobs) during the off-season. We went to spring training to get in shape.” Robinson, now an adviser to baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, certainly was in shape in 1956 as a 20-year-old rookie when he hit .290 with 38 homers and 83 RBIs. He led the National League with 122 runs scored. “I never gave it any thought about longevity in baseball until I was in it for about 10 years,” Robinson said. “My thinking was just try to get five years in. After that, I said, ‘Well, why not 10?’ After that, why not 20? You had to get 20 years in to be fully invested in the pension plan at that time.” At one point, he thought he’d be with the Reds for life, but on Dec. 9, 1965, he was traded to Baltimore for pitchers Jack Baldschun and Milt Pappas plus outfielder Dick Simpson. Reds owner Bill DeWitt, trying to justify himself, uttered Robinson was “an old 30,” even though he was coming off a season of 33 homers, 113 RBIs and a .296 batting average. The old guy hit .316 with the Orioles, adding 49 home runs and 122 RBIs to capture the American League’s Triple Crown. He won the league MVP award and helped Baltimore to a world championship. Robinson wasn’t so old, and he still didn’t work out in the offseason the way today’s players do. “I don’t know if that’s good or bad,” he said. “Players today work in-season, they work offseason. I did a little more when I got to be about 30, but I didn’t do any real weight training at any time. I was pretty well developed as far as my muscles were concerned. “What I should have done, and I know now, I should have done more stretching. I’m doing a lot more stretching now and I’m doing things with my body I couldn’t do even when I was younger.” As for the trade, Robinson surmises he might have gained a reputation as a troublemaker. As an elder on the team, he became a spokesman and said he would cover for teammates by telling management any complaints were his. Otherwise, he was quiet and was overshadowed in the National League by contemporaries Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente. “Yeah, I’m with those guys,” he said. “But I’m always mentioned fourth. That’s OK. Team goals were more important to me.” Obtained by the Indians in 1974, Robinson was surprised to be offered a job as player-manager the next season. He wanted to decline, but his agent let him know how important it was to break that color barrier. The move cost him a chance at 3,000 hits and 600 home runs. “I didn’t play much as a manager,” said Robinson, who last managed in 2006 (Nationals). “Even today, I don’t regret it. If I hadn’t managed, I would have made it to 3,000 and 600, but that’s OK.” Leave any suggestions in the comment box. Posted in reds-news | Comments Off
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Top Five Catchers in Cincinnati Reds History |
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 More from this contributor: Chicago White Sox top five catchers Chicago Cubs top five catchers Boston Red Sox top five catchers Baltimore Orioles top five catchers Atlanta Braves top five catchers Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content. Thanks for visiting our blog =). Posted in reds-news | Comments Off
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