Retired Numbers - Reds

 

As you would imagine, all Cincinnati Reds with their uniform number retired are in the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame; And all but three of them are in the National Baseball HoF.

Below is a photo of my childhood heroes I picked up on a trip to Cinci many years ago. These gents were the heart of the Big Red Machine and each of their numbers have been retired.

From Wikipedia "The Big Red Machine is a nickname for the Cincinnati Reds baseball team that dominated the National League from 1970 to 1979 and is widely recognized as being among the best in baseball history. The team won six National League West Division titles, four National League pennants, and two World Series titles. Between 1970 and 1979 the team averaged over 95 wins a season, with a total record of 953 wins and 657 losses."

What a great time it was to be a Reds fan!

L to R: Tony Perez, Johnny Bench, Sparky Anderson, Joe Morgan, & Pete Rose.

No. 1 Fred Hutchinson

1960 Topps, Card #219.

No. 5 Johnny Bench

1974 Topps, Card #10.

No. 8 Joe Morgan

1972 Topps, Card #752.

No. 10 Sparky Anderson

1972 Topps, Card #358.

No. 11 Barry Larkin

2000 Fleer Traditions, Card #352

No. 13 Dave Concepción

1975 Topps, Card #17.

No. 14 Pete Rose

1970 Topps TSN AS, Card #458.

No. 18 Ted Kluszewski

1954 Topps, Card #7.

No. 20 Frank Robinson

1964 Topps, Card #260.

No. 24 Tony Pérez

1973 Topps, Card #275.

No. 42     Jackie Robinson

1949 Leaf Gum / Donruss Commemorative Rookie Card Reprint #79.

In preparing this post I wondered why baseball's oldest franchise doesn't have a uniform number retired for anyone that played or managed for the Reds before Ted Kluszewski's tenure with the Reds (1947-1957)? Shouldn't HoFers Bid McPhee, Edd Roush, Eppa Rixey, Bill McKechnie (mgr), and/or Ernie Lombardi have their number retired? If you look up their statistics you'll see that each one is clearly worthy of such a (posthumous) honor. What I learned is that either they had no uniform number (McPhee) or they had multiple numbers (all the rest).

I also wondered who might be the next Red to have their number retired? One retired player I think is worthy of consideration is Vada Pinson. His 11 year career with the Reds is mighty impressive. However, my guess is current player Joey Votto and his no. 19 will be the next Red to have their uniform  number retired. His no. 19 will fit in nicely between Big Klu's #18 and Frank Robinson's #20.

Who do you think will be the next Reds uniform number to be retired?

My favorite card from this post: I love the '70 Rose and '74 Bench cards, but the '72 Morgan is my favorite.

What's yours?

Thanks for visiting!

CinciCuse Bill