The end of the Bruce / Phillips / Votto era

I'm 32 years old.  I started watching baseball in 1990, precisely when the Reds last won it all.  I heard about the Big Red Machine from my dad, and have since studied and watched them extensively.

The last 26 years have been frustrating.  But even when the team isn't making the playoffs, it's natural for a die-hard fan to get attached to individual Reds.  With rumors swirling about a trade of Jay Bruce, let's take a step back to appreciate the stability, productivity and longevity of this recent core group of players.  

Bruce, Phillips and Votto have been the primary starters at their respective positions for 8 consecutive seasons (2009-2016).  Only Machine-era combinations of 3+ players met or exceeded that.

Bench / Perez / Rose - 9 seasons (1968-1976)

Bench / Concepcion / Rose - 9 seasons (1970-1978)
Bruce / Phillips / Votto - 8 seasons (2009-2016)

Bench / Concepcion / Morgan - 8 seasons (1972-1979)

Bench / Concepcion / Perez / Rose - 7 seasons (1970-1976)
Helms / May / Perez / Rose - 6 seasons (1966-1971)
Cardenas / Pinson / Rose - 6 seasons (1963-1968)
Bell / McMillan / Temple - 6 seasons (1953-1958)
Groh / Roush / Wingo - 6 seasons (1916-1921)

All three have been extremely productive during their time as well.  There is no doubt that they will all end up in the Reds Hall of Fame.

Here are their rankings in some key stats...

Games played:
1) Rose - 2722
7) Phillips - 1566
20) Bruce - 1220
22) Votto - 1209

Hits:
1) Rose - 3358
9) Phillips - 1711
15) Votto - 1321
27) Bruce - 1116

HR:
1) Bench - 389
7) Bruce - 233
8) Votto - 210
12) Phillips - 186

RBI: 
1) Bench - 1376
10) Phillips - 824
15) Bruce - 718
17) Votto - 685

WAR (position players)
1) Rose - 77.7
8) Votto - 45.2
18) Phillips - 29.3
30) Bruce - 16.5


A number of things worked against this group.  While they had a solid pitching staff from 2010 through 2012, there were always weak links in the lineup, or mishaps along the way.  Most Reds fans believe we could've taken a championship in 2012, if not for Cueto's injury in Game 1 of the NLDS.  It certainly would have been interesting.  

While the postseason results have been disappointing, we've still had the opportunity to watch one of the most productive cores of position players in Reds history.  Let's appreciate that.

History of the Reds in the Postseason

(updated 4/7/15)

The Cincinnati Reds are widely considered one of the most "history-rich" franchises in baseball.  Unfortunately, the decade of the 1970s was the only one in which the team enjoyed sustained success in the form of postseason appearances.  

Of course, it was more difficult to make it to October baseball in the past.  Until 1969, there was no League Championship Series - only a World Series for the top team in each league.  And the first Division Series (other than its temporary implementation in 1981 strike year) didn't occur until 1995.

The Reds have made it to the playoffs 15 times.  They've won 9 NL pennants (5 by winning a series, 4 by simply having the best regular season record).  

And of course, the Reds have 5 World Championships - 1919, 1940, 1975, 1976 and 1990.

In their 15 appearances, the Reds' records are as follows:

11 series wins, 9 series losses overall

49 game wins, 46 game losses overall

0-1 record in the Wild Card play-in matchup

1 series win, 2 series losses (5-6 game record) in NLDS

5 series wins, 3 series losses (18-14 game record) in NLCS

5 series wins, 4 series losses (26-25 game record) in World Series


The teams the Reds have met, listed by most wins against them:

13-8 vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (beat them in NLCS in 1970, 1972, 1990, but swept by them in 1979, lost 2013 play-in)

7-4 vs. Oakland Athletics (lost World Series in 7 games in 1972, swept them in 1990)

5-3 vs. Chicago White Sox (won 1919 "Black Sox Scandal" World Series)

5-8 vs. New York Yankees (lost 1939 and 1961 World Series, won 1976 World Series)

4-3 vs. Detroit Tigers (won 1940 World Series in 7 games)

4-3 vs. Boston Red Sox (won 1975 World Series in 7 games)

3-0 vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (won 1995 NLDS)

3-3 vs. Philadelphia Phillies (won 1976 NLCS, lost 2010 NLDS)

2-3 vs. San Francisco Giants (lost 2012 NLDS)

2-3 vs. New York Mets (lost 1973 NLCS)

1-4 vs. Baltimore Orioles (lost 1970 World Series)

0-4 vs. Atlanta Braves (lost 1995 NLCS)

As you can see, the Reds have actually played more playoff games against American League competition (51 games, with a 26-25 record) than against the NL (44 games, with a 23-21 record).  That's because a few of their appearances came before the existence of the NLCS - plus, until 1985, the NLCS was only best-of-five.

Finally, here are the specific series results listed chronologically:

1919 - Won World Series 5-3 vs. Chicago

1939 - Lost World Series 0-4 vs. New York

1940 - Won World Series 4-3 vs. Detroit

1961 - Lost World Series 1-4 vs. New York

1970 - Won NLCS 3-0 vs. Pittsburgh, Lost World Series 1-4 vs. Baltimore

1972 - Won NLCS 3-2 vs. Pittsburgh, Lost World Series 3-4 vs. Oakland

1973 - Lost NLCS 2-3 vs. New York

1975 - Won NLCS 3-0 vs. Pittsburgh, Won World Series 4-3 vs. Boston

1976 - Won NLCS 3-0 vs. Philadelphia, Won World Series 4-0 vs. New York

1979 - Lost NLCS 0-3 vs. Pittsburgh

1990 - Won NLCS 4-2 vs. Pittsburgh, Won World Series 4-0 vs. Oakland

1995 - Won NLDS 3-0 vs. Los Angeles, Lost NLCS 0-4 vs. Atlanta

2010 - Lost NLDS 0-3 vs. Philadelphia

2012 - Lost NLDS 2-3 vs. San Francisco

2013 - Lost Wild Card play-in game to Pittsburgh

Top ten seasons of Cincinnati Reds second basemen

This position is another no-brainer (like Bench at catcher), considering Joe Morgan is arguably the best 2B in MLB history. From 1972 to 1976 his numbers were surreal, especially if you look at WAR. The only debate here is which season was superior - '75 or '76?

1) Joe Morgan, 1976. NL MVP. Led the league in OPS and WAR (10.0). #1 in Reds 2B history for RBI and OPS, #2 in Reds 2B history for batting average and homers. Also won a Gold Glove.

2) Joe Morgan, 1975. NL MVP. Led the league in walks, OPS and WAR (12.0). #1 in Reds 2B history for batting average, stolen bases and walks. #2 in Reds 2B history for OPS. Also won a Gold Glove.

3) Joe Morgan, 1973. Led the league in WAR (9.9). #2 in Reds 2B history for stolen bases. #3 in Reds 2B history for HRs. #4 in Reds 2B history for OPS. Also won a Gold Glove.

The best of the rest:
4) Joe Morgan, 1974
5) Pete Rose, 1965
6) Joe Morgan, 1977
7) Brandon Phillips, 2007
8) Joe Morgan, 1972
9) Johnny Temple, 1958
10) Pete Rose, 1966

Big Red Machine

One way in which the 1970s Cincinnati Reds stand out is the fact they dominated the entire NL head-to-head during that decade. Their worst performance against any team was .508 versus the Chicago Cubs.

Here is a list (it might be incomplete) of other MLB teams that dominated to the same extent over the course of an entire decade of regular season play, without a losing record against any league opponent.

1910s New York Giants
1910s Boston Red Sox

1920s New York Giants
1920s New York Yankees

1930s New York Yankees

1940s St. Louis Cardinals

1950s Brooklyn/LA Dodgers
1950s New York Yankees

1990s Atlanta Braves

Some teams that barely missed the cut - 1900s Cubs, 1930s Giants, 1960s Cardinals