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Best Reds Player Ever?
Your favorite player ever?
Also how close is Joey Votto being the Greatest Reds player ever?
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(06-09-2017, 04:29 PM)Marlon23 Wrote: Best Reds Player Ever?
Your favorite player ever?
Also how close is Joey Votto being the Greatest Reds player ever?
Best ever--I would think Rose or Bench.
My all time favorite--Barry Larkin. He was pure poetry.
And Votto--top ten to fifteen.
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Best ever - Rose
My favorite - Bench
Votto isn't very close IMHO
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Bench or Rose.
Johnny had all the gold gloves along with the power. And he might have even been better were it not for the operation he had...if I remember it was lung
What can you say about Pete....he won the most games and had the most hits. His move to third created the great eight.
After them, lots of options. Morgan, Perez...who happens to be my favorite player..., Robinson. Big Klu, Larkin, Pinson, and Votto.
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Bench, because he had the accomplishments and talent without the issues. Many consider him one of the best catchers in baseball of all-time.
Rose had arguably more accomplishments (i.e. Hit King). But the gambling scandal will always taint things in my mind, even if he is eventually allowed in the HoF (and he should be).
My favorite player was George Foster, the soft-spoken home run smasher.
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Best ever is Rose. Besides the numbers, his name is synonymous with the team.
Personal favorite was Griffey Jr. Didn't have his greatest seasons as a Red, but he still showed flashes when healthy.
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Besides everybody saying Rose and Bench....How about Morgan and Perez......and Frank Robinson....and Barry Larkin.....and I'll mention two names that should be in MLB Hall Of Fame.....Dave Concepcion....Vada Pinson. ....Pinsons batting stats better than some in HOF.....Concepcion one of best shortstops ever in baseball and played entire career as a Red.....and Reds in HOF such as Eppa Rixey, Edd Roush, Ernie Lombardi and others deserve respect. Lets not forget Ted Kluszewski as a player and then a great hitting coach and Joe Nuxhall as a player, announcer but Reds were only team with a very talented batting practice pitcher each game in Joe Nuxhall. Big Klu and Nuxhall a huge part of Big Red Machine.
DAVE CONCEPCION was in 9 All-Star Games, 6 Play-Offs, 4 World Series, 2 World Championships, 5 Gold Gloves, 2 Silver Slugger Awards, 1982 All-Star Game MVP.....Should he be in MLB Hall Of Fame. You bet your asterisk.
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Larkin is my all time favorite. I'm only old enough to have vague memories of the end of the Big Red Machine. Definitely rember Rose going to Philly and Montreal, and coming back. It's really hard for me to say who the best was.
Honorable mention... I really liked Pokey Reese when he was a Red.
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On a list of great Reds, Joey Votto might crack the top 25. That's how awesome the Reds were back in the day.
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I'm telling you there are so many to pick from but had he stayed healthy, the best player I ever saw in a Reds Uniform was Eric Davis. I know he doesn't measure up to the HOFer's numbers but that guy was at a level of pure athleticism and talent that I had never seen a Reds player at before.
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Rose was the best.
Rose WAS my favorite. Now I consider Bench my favorite.
Votto's not close.
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Lee Kerns was the greatest catcher who never got to play for the Reds.. I only say that because he was my grandfather. He was drafted when he was underage and his parents wouldn't let him play instead opting for him to work in the family candy store..
He did go on to coach a lot of local Dayton semi-pro teams, but that was about it.
He thought Bench was the single greatest catcher ever and I tend to agree.
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Best ever was Charlie Hustle. Hands down.
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Best: Pete Rose
Favorite: Bronson Arroyo (I dig the kick!)
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(09-05-2017, 08:38 AM)Air Force 1 Wrote: I'm telling you there are so many to pick from but had he stayed healthy, the best player I ever saw in a Reds Uniform was Eric Davis. I know he doesn't measure up to the HOFer's numbers but that guy was at a level of pure athleticism and talent that I had never seen a Reds player at before.
Raw talent wise, I agree 100%. He was my favorite, and I liked seeing Big Donkey smash taters as well.
That said, the best Red is Pete Rose. Hands down.
Votto is easily top 20.
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Ok, so this will be a bit long winded and may make some angry lol:
Through Accomplishments: Johnny Bench
Through Sheer Ability/Talent: Eric Davis
That being said, I feel the Reds all-around best player was Barry Larkin. Bar none.
Honourable mentions go to Votto, George Foster, Jose Rijo, Joe Morgan, Pete Harnisch.
I wouldn't consider Rose even in the top 10 and this is without the scandal; he is certainly super popular and does own records, but that is because HE PLAYED FAR AND AWAY THE MOST OF ANY BASEBALL PLAYER IN WORLD HISTORY.
The closest person to him in longevity, is Ty Cobb and Cobb smashes the absolute crap out of Rose and this is in an era where offense was non-existent. Yes, I know Cobb is one of the 5 greatest baseball players in world history, but had Rose played the SAME amount as Cobb, his numbers would be drastically lower, significantly lower.
People like him, Concepcion, Tony Perez, Tom Browning, were all GREAT players, but they were more popular, due to hometown bias, than they should be; I wouldn't place any of these guys in the top 5, for example.
Votto, by the time he retires, will be there with Larkin and Bench, as the top 3; he's a once in a generation talent.
EDIT: My favourite? Tough.
Dave Parker is one of my favourite players ever
Hal Morris is definitely up there
Eddie Taubensee is one of my favourite catchers ever
Harnisch and Rijo are up there, as is Norm Charlton
But if I had to pick my favourite RED, whom I always associate with the Reds...
Gotta be Hal Morris or Billy Hatcher.
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I can remember having favorite players as a kid. Bobby Tolan was my favorite as a little kid for no particular reason I can think of other than how he held the bat up high and he could flat out move.
If Billy Hamilton could hit 300 every season he'd be up there in the conversation, but he doesn't so he won't.
I have a feeling that if he's ever traded or leaves in free agency he'll start hitting..nothing to back that up other than seeing it happen with Paul O'neil.. I hated him once he went to NY..
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I would think that Joe Nuxhall deserves to be in the conversation.
Edit: Nevermind, I did some looking and stumbled across this. http://www.thisgreatgame.com/cincinnati-reds-top-10-pitchers.html
Actually was surprised at the number of names that I recognized on the list, in my lifetime, from the lists of leaders in various categories.
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