A Tradition Of Award Winning Players For The Cincinnati Reds

Yes, Joey Votto won the Most Valuable Player award. But The Cincinnati Reds have over an one hundred year history of fielding award-winning players.

In his rookie year, all the way back in 1899, Noodles Hahn led the National League in strikeouts. He would continue to do so for the next two years, also posting a total of four twenty win seasons in six years; something only a handful of players today can claim. The Reds also brought home early National League batting titles thanks to Edd Roush, Cy Seymour and Hal Chase.

With Bill McKechnie as manager, the Reds posted a string of victories, with resulting trophies to match. In 1940 alone, first baseman Frank McCormick won the MVP, Cincinnati won 100 games and the World Series to boot! Catcher Ernie Lombardi was the star though, being named to the All Star team five times between 1936 and 1940 and getting an MVP nod in 1938. Pitcher Bucky Walters nabbed the MVP between his teammates in 1939, one of the few pitchers to get the award. After these successes Jonny Vander Meer’s three consecutive strikeout crowns almost seem an afterthought. Almost.

Frank Robinson started an illustrious career in 1956 by winning the Rookie of the Year award. An invaluable help in his nine years with the team, Robinson helped bring home a World Series trophy in 1961. Although frequently hit by pitches, this did not stop him from also being named National League Most Valuable Player, also in 1961.

As Robinson’s star faded in Cincinnati, outfielder Pete Rose’s ascended. He too won the Rookie of the Year in 1963 and went on to capture numerous titles, including several batting championships and being named the Most Valuable Player for both the League and in the World Series. He is currently baseball’s all time hit leader.

Part of the “Big Red Machine”, Rose was joined by catcher Johnny Bench and second baseman Joe Morgan, amongst others. From 1970 to 1975, the Reds accumulated twenty five Gold Gloves, three League batting champions, six MVP awards, and a whopping sixty-three appearances in the All Star Game! With Sparky Anderson at the helm, the team won the division five times and back to back World Series in 1975 and 1976.

After Rose and Anderson left, the team cooled. Although George Foster was able to snag a couple of home run titles in the late Seventies, the Reds remained dormant for the better part of a decade. But with the arrival of such players as Jose Rijo, 1988 Rookie of the Year Chris Sabo and Hall of Famer in the making Barry Larkin, the team’s fortunes began to turn. Manager Lou Pinella delivered them to their first Division title since 1979 and an eventual World Series victory.

In a nineteen year career spent entirely with the Reds, shortstop Larkin earned All Star nods twelve times, a MVP award in 1995, and together twelve Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers. He is a member of the elite 30-30 club, hitting over thirty home runs and stealing thirty bases in 1996.

And with MVP Joey Vatto, the Cincinnati Reds seem on the verge of greatness again. Having grabbed a couple more Golden Gloves as well, their first trip to the playoffs in fifteen years only seems to set the stage for future World Series glories.