Big Red Machine

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This article is about the Cincinnati Reds of the 1970s. For the professional wrestler known as "The Big Red Machine", see Kane (wrestler). For the two Soviet ice hockey lineups, see Russian Five. For indie rock band, see Big Red Machine (band).
Pete Rose pictured during the Big Red Machine era

The Big Red Machine is a nickname for the

National League West Division titles, four National League pennants, and two World Series titles.[3]
Between 1970 and 1979 the team averaged over 95 wins a season, with a total record of 953 wins and 657 losses.

The core of that Reds team had the best record in the Major Leagues in 1981, but did not make the postseason because of Bowie Kuhn's split-season playoff format due to the player's strike.

Origins

Riverfront Stadium, where the Reds played during the 1970s

The nickname was introduced in a July 4, 1969 article by Bob Hertzel in

Ken Griffey, Sr.[11] The Cincinnati Reds of the 1970s garnered more World Series appearances than any other team during that decade, and compiled an overall record of 953 wins and 657 losses.[12] They are the only National League team since the 1921 and 1922 New York Giants to win back-to-back World Championships. Among NL teams, only the 1996 Atlanta Braves and the 2009 Philadelphia Phillies have returned to the Fall Classic with a chance to repeat as World Champions in years since, both falling to the New York Yankees of the "Core Four" era. The 2010–2014 San Francisco Giants did win three World Championships in five years, at least sparking the debate of whether they could be considered a National League dynasty, but they did not reach the postseason in consecutive years during this span.[12]

The "Great Eight"

The eight players most frequently referenced as members of the Big Red Machine include baseball's all-time hit leader in Rose;

Gold Glove awards and made 63 All-Star Game appearances.[14] The starting lineup of Bench, Rose, Morgan, Pérez, Concepción, Foster, Griffey, and Gerónimo (collectively referred to as the "Great Eight") played 88 games together during the 1975 and 1976 seasons, losing only 19.[15]

Later years

Dan Driessen took over at first base for Tony Perez in 1977.[16] Although some of the original players departed the team, some extended the Big Red Machine nickname for two more years until the departures of Anderson and Rose following the 1978 season.[4] The Reds turned around to finish in second place in 1977[17] and 1978.[18] Ray Knight replaced Pete Rose at third base for Cincinnati in 1979 and the rest of the Reds starting lineup still included six of the great eight: Bench, Morgan, Foster, Concepcion, Griffey and Geronimo. The Cincinnati Reds won another division title in 1979,[16] but lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NLCS.

The Big Red Machine had one last great run in 1981 when they finished the strike season with the best record in baseball. Only three of the great eight remained in the starting lineup: Foster, Griffey and Concepcion. Bench had an injury plagued season and was moved from catcher to third base. Tom Seaver had a win–loss record of 14–2 and an ERA of 2.54 while starting only 23 games in the Reds' strike-shortened 108-game regular season.[19] Despite that, the Reds finished second in the National League West in both halves of the season, making them ineligible to compete in the postseason despite having the best overall record in baseball.

Rivalries

The Big Red Machine's archrival were the

1995 NLDS
, with the Reds sweeping the Dodgers in three games.

The Big Red Machine was also part of the rivalry with the two Pennsylvania teams. All of the Reds' four pennants in the 1970s came against these teams (Pittsburgh Pirates in 1970, 1972, and 1975, and Philadelphia Phillies in 1976). In 1979, Pete Rose added to the notion of the Big Red Machine being part of the rivalry when he signed with the Phillies and helped them win their first World Series championship in 1980.

Statistics

Cincinnati Reds season results, 1970–1979
Season Record Divisional finish Playoffs
1970 102–60 1st (West) Won NLCS vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, 3–0
Lost World Series to Baltimore Orioles, 4–1
1971 79–83 4th (West)
1972 95–59 1st (West) Won NLCS vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, 3–2
Lost World Series to Oakland Athletics, 4–3
1973 99–63 1st (West) Lost NLCS vs. New York Mets, 3–2
1974 98–64 2nd (West)
1975 108–54 1st (West) Won NLCS vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, 3–0
Won World Series vs. Boston Red Sox, 4–3
1976 102–60 1st (West) Won NLCS vs. Philadelphia Phillies, 3–0
Won World Series vs. New York Yankees, 4–0
1977 88–74 2nd (West)
1978 92–69 2nd (West)
1979 90–71 1st (West) Lost NLCS vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, 3–0

Sons of the Big Red Machine

The clubhouse of the Big Red Machine was full of young kids who would go on to play in the Major Leagues. The most successful was

Eduardo Perez as well as Bill Plummer's grandson Conner Menez, and Lee May's grandson Jacob May, all played in MLB. Additionally, Paul Blair's son Paul Blair III, Bobby Tolan's son Robbie Tolan, Lee May's son Lee May Jr., Tommy Helms' son Tommy Helms Jr., Rich Hinton's son Robert Hinton, Darrel Chaney's son Keith Chaney and grandson Chase Chaney, Andy Kosco's son Bryn Kosco, Ken Griffey Sr.'s son Craig Griffey, and Tony Perez's son Victor Perez, all played minor league baseball.[20]

Further reading

References

  1. ^ Peterson, Bill (1995-04-23). "Big Red Machine Rates Among Best Ever; Balance of Offense, Defense made '75 Cincinnati Team So Great". Rocky Mountain News. Scripps Howard news Service.
  2. ISBN 0-7385-2324-0
    . Retrieved 2009-05-13.
  3. ^ "Cincinnati Reds Team History & Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC.
  4. ^
    ISBN 0-313-32991-5
    . Retrieved 2009-05-13.
  5. ^ "Big Red Machine". Time. 1970-08-24.
  6. ^ Furlong, William Barry (1970-08-30). "Johnny Bench: Supercatcher For the Big Red Machine". The New York Times Magazine. p. 169.
  7. ^ Daley, Arthur (1971-03-19). "Sparky and His Big Red Machine". The New York Times. p. 45.
  8. ^ Minot Jr., George (1972-06-11). "Bench Leads Reconditioning of the Big Red Machine". The Washington Post. p. D2. That tiresome nickname of the summer of 70 is catching on again.
  9. ^ Baseball-Reference.com. "1970 Batting, Pitching, & Fielding Statistics". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2009-02-01.
  10. ^ Baseball-Reference.com. "Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees". Sports Reference LLC.
  11. ^ Drooz, Alan (1996-10-14). "Cincinnati's Big Red Machine Cemented Its Place in History With 1976 Title". Los Angeles Times. p. 12.
  12. ^ a b Baseball Almanac. "World Series: A Comprehensive History of the World Series".
  13. ^ Baseball-Reference.com. "Pete Rose Statistics and History". Sports Reference LLC.
  14. ^ Baseball-Reference.com. "Baseball Statistics and History". Sports Reference LLC.
  15. ^ Erardi, John; Rhodes, Greg (1997). Big Red Dynasty. Road-West Publishing. Retrieved 2009-08-10.[dead link]
  16. ^ a b 1979 Cincinnati Reds Batting, Pitching, & Fielding Statistics – Baseball-Reference.com
  17. ^ Baseball-Reference.com. "1977 Batting, Pitching, & Fielding Statistics". Sports Reference LLC.
  18. ^ Baseball-Reference.com. "1978 Batting, Pitching, & Fielding Statistics". Sports Reference LLC.
  19. ^ 1981 Cincinnati Reds Batting, Pitching, & Fielding Statistics – Baseball-Reference.com
  20. ^ Stephens, Tim (30 June 2016). "Big Red Machine players' kids make impressive lineup". Herald-Dispatch. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
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