{"id":30803,"date":"2020-04-23T09:18:39","date_gmt":"2020-04-23T13:18:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonbaseball.com\/?p=30803"},"modified":"2020-04-24T11:31:55","modified_gmt":"2020-04-24T15:31:55","slug":"reliving-history-the-1976-cincinnati-reds-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2020\/04\/23\/reliving-history-the-1976-cincinnati-reds-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Reliving History: The 1976 Cincinnati Reds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Throughout history, there has been many great teams in baseball. For example, you have the 1927 Yankees<\/a>, nicknamed “Murderer’s Row”. You have the 1998 Yankees<\/a> as well, but one team stands out in the annals of baseball lore, and that’s the “Big Red Machine”.<\/p>\n

Reliving History: The 1976 Cincinnati Reds<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The 1976 Reds<\/a>, better known as the “Big Red Machine” is one of the best teams of all time. With a starting lineup dubbed “The Great 8”, they hit, a lot and they pitched very well to boot. This team didn’t just grow overnight though as it was fate that brought this team together, even after the most egregious trade in baseball history. first, let’s look at that.<\/p>\n

The year is 1965, and Frank Robinson<\/a><\/strong> is fresh off his year 30-year-old season, and an NL MVP. Cincinnati owner Bill Dewitt sought after the one thing the Reds didn’t have, pitching. The Cincinnati Reds<\/a> led the league in offense and defense but was at the bottom of the pitching totem pole. So, in lieu of needing that pitching, Dewitt shipped out his 30-year old<\/a> outfielder to the Baltimore Orioles<\/a>. In return, the Reds received Milt Pappas<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Jack Baldschun<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0and\u00a0Dick Simpson<\/a> <\/strong>in a trade widely known as the worst trade in baseball history.<\/p>\n

Pappas had been very good with Baltimore, racking up a 2.60 ERA and a 7.3 fWAR. It was easy to see why Dewitt executed the trade. He believed that Pappas could be the\u00a0Mat Latos<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>to\u00a0Johnny Cueto<\/a><\/strong>, except Cueto in this situation was\u00a0Jim Maloney<\/a><\/strong>. Latos and Pappas actually have very comparable stats as well. As the Reds would soon find out, that trade didn’t pan out, at all. Pappas was not good as a Red and Robinson went on to win the Triple Crown, AL MVP, and a World Series title with the Orioles.<\/p>\n

The Baseball Gods’ Second Chance<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Even after that terrible trade, the baseball gods decided to give Cincinnati a second chance. They already had\u00a0Pete Rose<\/a><\/strong>, baseball’s hit king,\u00a0Tony Perez<\/a><\/strong>, and\u00a0Johnny Bench<\/a><\/strong>. What they needed now were a few more pieces and the empire would be complete. As the team broke into the ’70s, they were determined to win. They did so by winning the division and sweeping the Pittsburgh Pirates<\/a> in three games and making the World Series. Unfortunately, Robinson and the Orioles were waiting and defeated them 4-1 in the series.<\/p>\n

It is important to note that the Reds had added their Hall of Fame manager already in Sparky Anderson<\/a><\/strong>. They won 102 games in 1970, and acquired back end bullpen piece,\u00a0Pedro Borbon<\/a><\/strong>, and also shipped out the aforementioned Jim Maloney. Then, after finishing under .500 in ’71, Cincinnati started to make its move towards the top. In November of ’71, they shipped out mainstays of the lineup in Tommy Helms<\/a><\/strong> and\u00a0Lee May<\/a><\/strong> and also\u00a0Jimmy Stewart<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>to the Houston Astros<\/a>. In return, they received more pieces that would make them a top team. They receive pitchers\u00a0Ed Armbrister<\/a><\/strong> and\u00a0Jack Billingham<\/a><\/strong>, along with Center Fielder\u00a0Cesar Geronimo<\/a><\/strong>, Second Baseman\u00a0Joe Morgan<\/a>,<\/strong> and utility man\u00a0Denis Menke<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

After that huge trade, the Reds were starting to see their dream team take place. In 1972, they finished in 1st place again winning 95 games, and defeated Pittsburgh, again, 3 games to 2. They would lose to the Oakland A’s<\/a> in the World Series in 7 games that year, but this team wasn’t done. They added another pitcher in\u00a0Fred Norman<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>in June of ’73 on their way to another division title. This time the Reds would be thwarted by the New York Mets<\/a> in the NLCS, a series that was nasty and gritty, highlighted by Pete Rose’s brawl with Mets’ shortstop Bud Harrelson<\/a><\/strong>.
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