1990 Cincinnati Reds season

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Bob Quinn
ManagersLou Piniella
TelevisionWLWT
(Johnny Bench, Tom Hume, Steve LaMar, Gordy Coleman)
RadioWLW
(Marty Brennaman, Joe Nuxhall)
← 1989 Seasons 1991 →

The Cincinnati Reds' 1990 season was the Reds' 122nd season in American baseball. Starting with a club best nine straight wins to open the season, as well as holding the top spot in the National League West every game during the season, the Reds went 41–21 after 62 games, splitting the remaining 100 games 50–50 to end up with a 91–71 record. It consisted of the 91–71 Reds winning the National League West by five games over the second-place Dodgers, as well as the NLCS in six games over the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the World Series in a four-game sweep over the overwhelming favorite Oakland Athletics, who had won the World Series the previous year. It was the fifth World Championship for the Reds, and their first since winning two consecutive titles in 1975 and '76.

Offseason

Regular season

Eric Davis in 1990

Led by new manager Lou Piniella, the Reds achieved the rare feat of being in first place every day of the season ("wire-to-wire").[3] They also became the first National League team to do so.[4] Starting pitcher Jack Armstrong was a catalyst for the team's fast start, as he won 8 of his first 9 games and was 11–3 through the All Star break. Because of his strong first half, Armstrong was selected as the starting pitcher for the All Star Game.

The Reds clinched the NL West division on Saturday September 29 in a rain-shortened, seven-inning 3–1 home loss to San Diego. The second-place Dodgers lost to the Giants at the same time, mathematically clinching the division for Cincinnati with four games remaining.[4]

Opening Day

Due to the 1990 lockout, Opening Day was pushed back one week from April 2 to April 9. As a result, the Reds who traditionally started every major league season with the first pitch at home on opening day, were forced to start on the road.[5][6] The Reds played three games at Houston and three games at Atlanta before returning for their home opener on Tuesday April 17. It was only the third time since 1876 that the Reds opened the season with an away game. The traditional Findlay Market parade, along with other customary opening day festivities, were held off until April 17 and rebranded "Reds Homecoming."[7][8] On a chilly 49° afternoon, the 6–0 Reds beat San Diego in front of a crowd of 38,384 at Riverfront Stadium - small for opening day standards - to improve to 7–0 on the season.[9]

1990 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

Main article: 1990 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

Cincinnati was well represented at the 1990 All-Star Game in Chicago. In addition to Armstrong at pitcher, Chris Sabo, Barry Larkin, Rob Dibble, and Randy Myers were reserves.

The Nasty Boys

Another new face in the Reds locker room was Randy Myers. He was acquired from the New York Mets for closer John Franco, and became part of the Nasty Boys, along with Rob Dibble and Norm Charlton. Charlton, Dibble, and Myers combined for 44 saves (Myers with 31, Dibble with 11, and Charlton with 2). Myers would become one of the league's elite closers while being selected as an All-Star in 1990. Myers would win his second World Championship as the Reds swept the Oakland Athletics.

"The Nasty Boys — The Reds' three flame-throwing relievers, Randy Myers,
The Cincinnati Enquirer[10]

Season standings

  • NL West
W
L
 Pct. GB Home Road
Cincinnati Reds 91 71 0.562 — 46–35 45–36
Los Angeles Dodgers 86 76 0.531 5 47–34 39–42
San Francisco Giants 85 77 0.525 6 49–32 36–45
Houston Astros 75 87 0.463 16 49–32 26–55
San Diego Padres 75 87 0.463 16 37–44 38–43
Atlanta Braves 65 97 0.401 26 37–44 28–53

Record vs. opponents

1990 National League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Team ATL CHC CIN HOU LAD MON NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL
Atlanta — 6–6 8–10 5–13 6–12 6–6 4–8 5–7 5–7 8–10 5–13 7–5
Chicago 6–6 — 4–8 6–6 3–9 11–7 9–9 11–7 4–14 8–4 7–5 8–10
Cincinnati 10–8 8–4 — 11–7 9–9 9–3 6–6 7–5 6–6 9–9 7–11 9–3
Houston 13–5 6–6 7–11 — 9–9 5–7 5–7 5–7 5–7 4–14 10–8 6–6
Los Angeles 12–6 9–3 9–9 9–9 — 6–6 5–7 8–4 4–8 9–9 8–10 7–5
Montreal 6–6 7–11 3–9 7–5 6–6 — 8–10 10–8 13–5 7–5 7–5 11–7
New York 8–4 9–9 6–6 7–5 7–5 10–8 — 10–8 10–8 5–7 7–5 12–6
Philadelphia 7-5 7–11 5–7 7–5 4–8 8–10 8–10 — 6–12 7–5 8–4 10–8
Pittsburgh 7–5 14–4 6–6 7–5 8–4 5–13 8–10 12–6 — 10–2 8–4 10–8
San Diego 10–8 4–8 9–9 14–4 9–9 5–7 7–5 5–7 2–10 — 7–11 3–9
San Francisco 13–5 5–7 11–7 8–10 10–8 5–7 5–7 4–8 4–8 11–7 — 9–3
St. Louis 5–7 10–8 3–9 6–6 5–7 7–11 6–12 8–10 8–10 9–3 3–9 —


Notable transactions

Roster

1990 Cincinnati Reds
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

Manager

Coaches

Opening Day Lineup

Opening Day Starters
# Name Position
17 Chris Sabo 3B
22 Billy Hatcher LF
11 Barry Larkin SS
44 Eric Davis CF
21 Paul O'Neill RF
25 Todd Benzinger 1B
9 Joe Oliver C
7 Mariano Duncan 2B
32 Tom Browning P

[19]

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
C Joe Oliver 121 364 84 .231 8 52
1B Todd Benzinger 118 376 95 .253 5 46
2B Mariano Duncan 125 435 133 .306 10 55
3B Chris Sabo 148 567 153 .270 25 71
SS Barry Larkin 158 614 185 .301 7 67
LF Billy Hatcher 139 504 139 .276 5 25
CF Eric Davis 127 453 118 .260 24 86
RF Paul O'Neill 145 503 136 .270 16 78

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
Hal Morris 107 309 105 .340 7 36
Glenn Braggs 72 201 60 .299 6 28
Jeff Reed 72 175 44 .251 3 16
Herm Winningham 84 160 41 .256 3 17
Ron Oester 64 154 46 .299 0 13
Luis Quiñones 83 145 35 .241 2 17
Ken Griffey, Sr.
 46 63 13 .206 1 8
Rolando Roomes 30 61 13 .213 2 7
Bill Doran 17 59 22 .373 1 5
Terry Lee 12 19 4 .211 0 3
Alex Treviño 7 7 3 .429 0 1
Billy Bates 8 5 0 .000 0 0
Terry McGriff 2 4 0 .000 0 0
Paul Noce 1 1 1 1.000 0 0
Glenn Sutko 1 1 0 .000 0 0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Tom Browning 35 227.2 15 9 3.80 99
José Rijo 29 197.0 14 8 2.70 152
Jack Armstrong 29 166.0 12 9 3.42 110
Danny Jackson 22 117.1 6 6 3.61 76
Ron Robinson 6 31.1 2 2 4.88 14
Chris Hammond 3 11.1 0 2 6.35 4

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Rick Mahler 35 134.2 7 6 4.28 68
Scott Scudder 21 71.2 5 5 4.90 42

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Randy Myers 66 4 6 31 2.08 98
Rob Dibble 68 8 3 11 1.74 136
Norm Charlton 56 12 9 2 2.74 117
Tim Layana 55 5 3 2 3.49 53
Tim Birtsas 29 1 3 0 3.86 41
Rosario Rodríguez 9 0 0 0 6.10 8
Keith Brown 8 0 0 0 4.76 8
Kip Gross 5 0 0 0 4.26 3
Gino Minutelli 2 0 0 0 9.00 1

National League Championship Series

Main article: 1990 National League Championship Series

Game 1

October 4: Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Pittsburgh 0 0 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 4 7 1
Cincinnati 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 5 0
W: Bob Walk (1–0)   L: Norm Charlton (0–1)   S: Ted Power (1)
HR: PIT – Sid Bream (1)  CIN – None
Pitchers: PIT – Walk (6), Belinda (2), Patterson (1/3), Power (2/3)  CIN – Rijo (51⁄3), Charlton (22⁄3), Dibble (1)
Attendance: 52,911  Time: 2:51

Game 2

October 5: Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Pittsburgh 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 6 0
Cincinnati 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 X 2 5 0
W: Tom Browning (1–0)   L: Doug Drabek (0–1)   S: Randy Myers (1)
HR: PIT – José Lind (1)  CIN – None
Pitchers: PIT – Drabek (8)  CIN – Browning (6), Dibble (11⁄3), Myers (12⁄3)
Attendance: 54,456  Time: 2:38

Game 3

October 8:

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Cincinnati 0 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 6 13 1
Pittsburgh 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 3 8 0
W: Danny Jackson (1–0)   L: Zane Smith (0–1)   S: Randy Myers (2)
HR: PIT – None   CIN – Billy Hatcher (1), Mariano Duncan (1)
Pitchers: PIT – Z. Smith (5), Landrum (1), Smiley (2), Belinda (1)  CIN – Jackson (51⁄3), Dibble (12⁄3), Charlton (1), Myers (1)
Attendance: 45,611  Time: 2:51

Game 4

October 9:

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Cincinnati 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 1 5 10 1
Pittsburgh 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 8 0
W: José Rijo (1–0)   L: Bob Walk (1–1)   S: Rob Dibble (1)
HR: PIT – Jay Bell (1)  CIN – Paul O'Neill (1), Chris Sabo (1)
Pitchers: PIT – Walk (7), Power (2)  CIN – Rijo (7), Myers (1), Dibble (1)
Attendance: 50,461  Time: 3:00

Game 5

October 10:

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Cincinnati 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 7 0
Pittsburgh 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 X 3 6 1
W: Doug Drabek (1–1)   L: Tom Browning (1–1)   S: Bob Patterson (1)
HR: PIT – None   CIN – None
Pitchers: PIT – Drabek (81⁄3), Patterson (2/3)  CIN – Browning (5), Mahler (12⁄3), Charlton (1/3), Scudder (1)
Attendance: 48,221  Time: 2:48

Game 6

October 12: Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Pittsburgh 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 3
Cincinnati 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 X 2 9 0
W: Norm Charlton (1–1)   L: Zane Smith (0–2)   S: Randy Myers (3)
HR: PIT – None   CIN – None
Pitchers: PIT – Power (21⁄3), Z. Smith (4), Belinda (2/3), Landrum (1)  CIN – Jackson (6), Charlton (1), Myers (2)
Attendance: 56,079  Time: 2:57

World Series

Main article: 1990 World Series

The World Series between the Oakland Athletics and the Reds featured friends at the managerial level. Athletics manager Tony La Russa and Reds manager Lou Piniella were old friends and teammates from their Tampa American Legion Post 248 team.

Before the Series, while Peter Gammons of ESPN had predicted an Oakland sweep, Chicago Tribune columnist Mike Royko issued the stunning prediction that the heavily favored A's were "doomed", based on the Ex-Cubs Factor. When the prediction came true, it fueled new interest in that arguably spurious correlation.

Pat O'Brien
was sitting.

Also in Game 1, Billy Hatcher helped out offensively in a big way by starting his streak of 7 straight hits in the series (after a walk in the 1st). José Rijo settled in after the early lead and cruised to a surprise Cincinnati victory. The following day, the headline of the Cincinnati Post newspaper captured the city's surprise with the headline, "DAVIS STUNS GOLIATH."

During Game 2, Reds pitcher

All Points Bulletin on Browning, a bulletin that was picked up by Tim McCarver
on CBS television, who passed it along in the ninth inning.

Game 4 was a pitchers' duel between Dave Stewart and José Rijo (the Game 1 starters) that eventually culminated in the Reds sweeping the series. The A's got on the board in the first when Willie McGee doubled and Carney Lansford singled him in. The game remained 1–0 until the 8th when the Reds finally got to Stewart.

Barry Larkin singled up the middle, Herm Winningham followed with a bunt single, and Paul O'Neill reached on a throwing error by Stewart that loaded the bases. Glen Braggs's groundout and Hal Morris's sacrifice fly gave the Reds a precious 2–1 edge which was preserved by both Rijo, who at one point retired 20 straight batters. Randy Myers, one of the Nasty Boys, appeared in relief and got the final two outs.

The 1990 World Series would be the Reds 5th championship but would also be remembered as one of the biggest upsets in baseball history. Until 2020, this was the last World Series to be scheduled to begin play on a Tuesday, and the only since 1984. The schedule called for the seven-game series to be held Tue-Wed, Fri-Sat-Sun, Tue-Wed. Games 5, 6, and 7, however were not necessary.

Highlights

The three primary members of the bullpen; Norm Charlton, Randy Myers, and Rob Dibble (who threw a fastball in excess of 99 mph) were known as the "Nasty Boys" – and wouldn't let the A's score against them in nearly nine innings of work. Media talk of a forthcoming A's dynasty led Reds fans to call their own team the "dyNASTY."

Reds outfielder Billy Hatcher set a World Series record with seven consecutive hits. In addition, Hatcher's .750 batting average, (9 for 12), broke a mark for a four-game World Series that was previously set by Babe Ruth (.625 in 1928).

Pedro Guerrero of the Los Angeles Dodgers
.

Matchups

Game 1

October 16, 1990, at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Oakland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 1
Cincinnati 2 0 2 0 3 0 0 0 X 7 10 0
W: José Rijo (1–0)   L: Dave Stewart (0–1)  
HR: CIN – Eric Davis (1)

Game 2

October 17, 1990, at Riverfront Stadium, in Cincinnati

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
Oakland 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 10 2
Cincinnati 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 5 14 2
W: Rob Dibble (1–0)   L: Dennis Eckersley (0–1)  
HR: OAK –
José Canseco
(1)

Game 3

October 19, 1990, at

Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Cincinnati 0 1 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 14 1
Oakland 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 7 1
W: Tom Browning (1–0)   L: Mike Moore (0–1)  
HR: CIN – Chris Sabo 2 (2)  OAK – Harold Baines (1), Rickey Henderson (1)

Game 4

October 20, 1990, at

Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California

mlb.com coverage of Game 4
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Cincinnati 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 7 1
Oakland 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 1
W: José Rijo (2–0)   L: Dave Stewart (0–2)  S: Randy Myers (1)

Composite Box

1990 World Series (4–0): Cincinnati Reds (N.L.) over Oakland Athletics (A.L.)

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
Cincinnati Reds 4 1 9 1 3 0 0 3 0 1 22 45 4
Oakland Athletics 2 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 28 5
Total Attendance: 208,544   Average Attendance: 52,136
Winning Player's Share: – $112,534,   Losing Player's Share – $86,961 *Includes Playoffs and World Series

Awards and honors

All-Star Game

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Nashville Sounds
American Association
 Pete Mackanin
AA Chattanooga Lookouts
Southern League
 Jim Tracy
A
Cedar Rapids Reds
 Midwest League Gary Denbo
A
Charleston Wheelers
 South Atlantic League Dave Miley
Rookie
GCL Reds
Gulf Coast League
 Sam Mejías
Rookie
 Billings Mustangs Pioneer League Gerry Groninger

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Charleston[21]

References

  1. ^ Randy Myers at Baseball Reference
  2. ^ Tim Leary at Baseball Reference
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
  4. ^
    Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  5. Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  6. Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  7. Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  8. Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  9. Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  10. ^ "Surprise '90 Series sweep of A's defined team effort". Reds.enquirer.com. Archived from the original on April 14, 2009. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  11. ^ Baseball Draft: 1st Round of the 1990 June Draft Baseball-Reference.com
  12. ^ John Roper at Baseball Reference
  13. ^ "Ron Robinson Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  14. ^ "Rolando Roomes Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  15. ^ Ken Griffey at Baseball Reference
  16. ^ "Bill Doran Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  17. ^ "Butch Henry Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  18. ^ "Terry McGriff Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  19. ^ 1990 Opening Day Lineup at Baseball-Reference
  20. ^ Marge Schott: 'A mouth unfiltered' Accessed April 27, 2014
  21. ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
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