Latest news with #BigRedMachine
NDTV
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- NDTV
Kane Breaks Silence On Potential Return To WWE, Gives Blunt Response
Are the WWE days behind Glenn Kane Jacobs, the Big Red Machine? It was in the 2021 Royal Rumble that Kane last fought. Since then, there has been no update on his potential in-ring return. The ardent fans of the WWE know the legacy Kane has managed to create, the impact, the buzz, even a glimpse of his can create in the ring. But, with the company looking more into the future, with long-term performers, there's been no hint over Kane's return. In an interview, when Kane was directly asked the big question, he cleared the situation. "[Laughs] I don't know about that, man. Oh man. Brother, we were just talking about athleticism and movement and keeping up with the pace of people nowadays. That may have left me behind, guys," said the WWE legend, told SEScoops. Over the years in the company, Kane managed to win virtually everything that was on offer. He has reigned as the WWE, World Heavyweight, and ECW World Champion. Though a champion like him deserves a proper farewell, but the current situation makes that quite tricky. During another interview, Kane, who is the Knox County mayor at the moment, recalled his first interaction with Vince McMahon, the co-founder of WWE. "Yeah, I'll never forget my first meeting with Vince McMahon and he brought up the Isaac Yankem character as only he could. He asked if I had ever been afraid to go to the dentist. I was like 'No I haven't been.' He's like 'Well I have this idea for a character, a wrestling dentist - Isaac Yankem.' He's like 'I yank em, get it?' "Then he starts doing the Vince laugh. I was mortified actually because here I am sitting across from Vince McMahon who's the most powerful person in the wrestling industry and all I could think was 'Wait you flew me all the way up from Knoxville Tennessee to New York to tell me that you want me to be a wrestling dentist?'"
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'Not now': Why Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz declined Home Run Derby invitation again
Someday Elly De La Cruz wants to participate in the All-Star Home Run Derby. 'The time is going to come,' he said. 'But not now.' For the third time in as many seasons in the big leagues, the Reds young star declined an invitation to participate in the Derby. Elly De La Cruz, who leads the Reds with 18 home runs, again declined to participate in the Home Run Derby during All-Star Game festivities. De La Cruz finished with 25 home runs last season. The grueling nature of the contest, which some past participants suggested had a lingering fatigue effect coming out of the All-Star week, was one factor, he said, as well as the desire to keep his focus on helping the Reds win. Advertisement This time around, the event comes just weeks after the loss of his sister following a long illness. And if he isn't selected to the National League All-Star team, it gives him an opportunity to be home with family for a few days. Reds Pete Rose Hall of Fame Poll: Americans want Pete Rose in baseball's Hall of Fame. 'He has waited long enough' Reds Big Red Machine Padres 'We captured the imagination': Why Big Red Machine secured unique sports, cultural legacy A player is not required to be selected to an All-Star team to be eligible to participate in the Home Run Derby. De La Cruz, who finished third in All-Star fan voting for NL shortstops, reached the halfway point in the season this week hitting .277 with 18 home runs, 55 RBIs and an .862 OPS. He has played in all 81 games. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Why Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz declined Home Run Derby invitation
Fox Sports
14-07-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Cincinnati Reds All-Stars: Building the Best Reds All-Time Lineup
Bench, Morgan, Pérez, or Rose? The "Big Red Machine" of the 1970s had so many high-powered parts, it was like opposing pitchers were picking their poison. The Reds have had some success with newer models of the machine since then, but the core of Cincinnati's all-time list comes from those heydays at the Riverfront. Manager: Sparky Anderson Anderson became Cincinnati's skipper for the 1970 season, and the team immediately had a 102-win campaign and won the National League pennant, which it did again in 1972. In the sixth season of Anderson's managerial stint, the Reds won the 1975 World Series and then repeated as champions in 1976. Anderson managed the Reds from 1970-78, with the team going a combined 863-586. His 863 managerial wins rank first in Reds history, while Anderson's 59.6% winning percentage ranks second. Starting pitcher: Eppa Rixey After eight high-caliber seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies, Rixey joined the Reds for the 1921 season and continued to roll. Pitching deep into games and habitually working out of trouble, the Hall of Fame left-hander was one of the most dominant pitchers of his era. Rixey, who recorded a 3.33 ERA for Cincinnati from 1921-33, is first in Reds history with both 179 wins and 2,890.2 innings pitched, second with a 40.9 WAR among pitchers, tied for eighth with 23 shutouts and is ninth with 180 complete games. Reliever/closer: Danny Graves Cincinnati acquired Graves during the 1997 season, and the right-handed reliever would become a crucial element to its bullpen in the coming years. Across eight years with the Reds (mid-1997 to mid-2005), Graves posted a 3.94 ERA, 112 ERA+ and was a two-time All-Star, while dabbling as a starting pitcher in the 2003 season. What's more, Graves is first in Reds history with 182 saves. Catcher: Johnny Bench One of the best players to both put on a catcher's mitt and swing a bat, Bench, a two-time NL MVP, 10-time Gold Glover and 14-time All-Star, spent his entire 17-year career in Cincinnati (1967-83). Bench was a force to be reckoned with, as the already reliable backstop had an impact bat, slugged at a high level and was one of the preeminent faces of Cincinnati's 1975 and 1976 championship teams. In the 1976 postseason, he totaled three home runs and seven RBIs, while posting a .444/.464/.926 slash line and winning 1976 World Series MVP honors. Bench blasted 30-plus home runs four times and 40-plus home runs twice in the regular season, while totaling 100-plus RBI in six seasons; he led the NL in RBIs three times and home runs twice. Bench is first in Reds history with both 389 home runs and 1,376 RBIs, second with a 75.1 WAR, third with 3,644 total bases, fifth with both 891 walks and 1,091 runs scored and sixth with 2,048 hits. 1B: Joey Votto Votto is one of the best position players of his generation, but the career-long Reds first baseman (2007-23) just wasn't present for a team that won a playoff series, only making the playoffs four times. A six-time All-Star, Votto was a comforting presence at first base and one of the more disciplined hitters in recent memory, laying off pitches and being a composed, compact hitter from the left side who generated power. The first baseman won the 2010 NL MVP Award, led the NL in on-base percentage seven times, walks five times and OPS twice. Votto is second in Reds history with 356 home runs, 3,706 total bases and a .409 on-base percentage, third with 1,144 RBIs, fourth with 1,171 runs scored, fifth with both 2,135 hits and a 63.6 WAR and sixth with a .511 slugging percentage. 2B: Joe Morgan Morgan landed in Cincinnati in 1972 and proceeded to be an All-Star in each of his eight seasons with the club. The middle infielder was a steady, contact hitter with a tremendous eye at the plate who inflicted pain on pitching staffs on the basepaths, while also being a lockdown second baseman. Morgan, who earned five Gold Gloves with the Reds, led the NL in both WAR and on-base percentage four times and walks twice with the franchise. Furthermore, the 5-foot-7 second baseman won both the 1975 and 1976 NL MVP awards. Morgan is first in Reds history with a .415 on-base percentage, second with 406 stolen bases and sixth with both 881 walks and a 57.9 WAR. 3B: Pete Rose When one sees the Reds logo, the all-time hits leader is the first face that comes to mind. Mr. 4,256 (Rose's career hit total) was the prototypical gritty, contact hitter who got on base at will, legged out extra-base hits and was nearly impossible to strikeout. The switch-hitting and versatile Rose starred on Cincinnati's 1975 and 1976 championship teams, while being a career .321 postseason hitter and winning the 1975 World Series MVP Award. In a Reds uniform (1963-78 and 1984-86), "Charlie Hustle" won three NL batting titles, totaled 200-plus hits in nine seasons — leading the NL in six of those seasons — and led the NL in doubles in four seasons. Rose, an overall 17-time All-Star who also managed the team from 1984-89, is first in Reds history with 3,358 hits, 1,741 runs scored, 4,645 total bases and a 78.1 WAR, fifth with 1,036 RBIs and tied for 10th with both a .307 batting average and a .379 on-base percentage. SS: Barry Larkin Another career-long Red (1986-2004), Larkin took the torch from the elite infielders that came before him, serving as a featured part of the team's 1990 World Series title, with the shortstop hitting .300 in the 1990 postseason. Larkin, who led the NL with a 7.0 WAR in 1988 and won the 1995 NL MVP Award, was among the premier shortstops of his generation, hit for average, seldom struck out and showcased power later in his career, highlighted by a career-high 33 home runs in 1996. A three-time Gold Glover, nine-time Silver Slugger and 12-time All-Star, Larkin is second in Reds history with 2,340 hits, third with 1,329 runs scored, 379 stolen bases and a 70.5 WAR, fourth with both 3,527 total bases and 937 walks and seventh with 960 RBIs. OF: George Foster Cincinnati acquired Foster during the 1971 season, and he would become an indispensable part of its offensive attack through 1981. After a series of quiet seasons, Foster began to break out in 1975, emerging as one of the most feared hitters in the sport. Foster led the NL in RBIs in three consecutive seasons (1976-78) and home runs in back-to-back seasons (1977-78), which included 52 long balls in 1977, a year which saw the outfielder win the NL MVP Award. Each of his five career All-Star honors came with the Reds, with whom he won two championships, batting a combined .303 in the 1975 and 1976 postseasons. Foster is tied for third in Reds history with a .514 slugging percentage, is seventh with 244 home runs and 10th with 861 RBIs. OF: Eric Davis Davis was a linchpin of the Reds' 1990 World Series triumph. Spending the first eight seasons of his career in Cincinnati (1984-91 and then one more time in 1996), Davis did a little bit of everything quite well, as he hit for power, swiped bags at a high rate — highlighted by 80 stolen bases in 1986 — and was stellar in center field. He also totaled 30-plus home runs and 100-plus RBIs in two seasons. Davis, a three-time Gold Glover, two-time Silver Slugger and two-time All-Star, is seventh in Reds history with a .510 slugging percentage, ninth with 270 stolen bases and 10th with 203 home runs. OF: Frank Robinson Robinson spent the first 10 seasons of his career with the Reds (1956-65), with whom he became one of the sport's most prolific players from the jump. In Robinson's 1956 rookie campaign, he led the NL with 122 runs scored, while posting a 6.5 WAR, .558 slugging percentage and 38 home runs — and that was just the beginning. The right-handed hitting outfielder spent the rest of his time with the Reds punishing baseballs. Robinson averaged 32 home runs and 101 RBIs per season in Cincinnati, while leading the NL in slugging percentage three times and winning the 1961 NL MVP Award. A six-time All-Star with the franchise, Robinson is first in Reds history with a .554 slugging percentage, third with 324 home runs, fourth with a 63.8 WAR, fifth with a .389 on-base percentage and sixth with both 1,009 RBIs and 1,043 runs scored. DH: Tony Perez Perez spent the first 13 seasons of his career with the Reds (1964-76) and won a pair of World Series on the way out (1975 and 1976). The corner infielder (Perez started at both first and third base for the Reds) cranked at the plate. He was a consistent source of power for Cincinnati who drove in runs at an elite level, posting 100-plus RBIs in six seasons. Perez, who earned each of his seven All-Star nods with the Reds, is second in franchise history with 1,192 RBIs, fourth with 287 home runs, fifth with 3,246 total bases, seventh with 1,934 hits and ninth with both 936 runs scored and a 45.5 WAR. Honorable Mentions: Bill McKechnie (manager) Bucky Walters (starting pitcher) Paul Derringer (starting pitcher) Noodles Hahn (starting pitcher) Jim O'Toole (starting pitcher) Aroldis Chapman (reliever/closer) Rob Dibble (reliever/closer) Brandon Phillips (2B) Dave Concepcion (SS) Jay Bruce (OF) Vada Pinson (OF) Ken Griffey (DH) Adam Dunn (DH) Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! 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Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
10 things you didn't know about the Big Red Machine
By now everybody knows that Dan Driessen was the first designated hitter in World Series history (1976), that Will McEnaney recorded the final out of both the 1975 and 1976 World Series and that the Big Red Machine remains the last National League team to repeat as MLB champs. But in the aftermath of a four-day, 50th-anniversary reunion celebration of the Big Red Machine, here are 10 things you probably didn't know about one of the most storied dynasties in baseball history: Advertisement 1. Cesar Geronimo's right arm of God – and the Yankees Center fielder Cesar Geronimo studied in a seminary in the Dominican Republic to become a priest before he found the path that led him to professional baseball. When he eventually participated in a tryout camp for the Yankees at the urging of his father, the Yankees liked his powerful arm so much they signed him as a pitcher and outfielder. 'After I came out of the seminary when I was 18 years old, I started playing softball,' said Geronimo, who played mostly basketball during his four years studying religion, only playing baseball once or twice a month in that span. 'I never pitched. But the scout that got me knew I had a good arm.' 2. Ken Griffey's baby bonus Outfielder Ken Griffey, a three-time All-Star and career .296 hitter with 200 stolen bases, was the last player drafted by the Reds in 1969, in the 29th round. Advertisement His bonus? 'Jock strap and a pair of sanitary socks. That was it,' Griffey said. 'That was my bonus. And I never wore a jock.' 3. 20 teams passed on Johnny Bench in draft – including Reds Johnny Bench was the valedictorian at Binger High School in small-town Oklahoma, where he also starred on the basketball team in addition to baseball. Bernie Carbo, shown during the 1972 season, was selected in the draft before Johnny Bench. All 20 major league teams at the time passed on Bench, the high school catcher from Binger, Oklahoma. He was then drafted in MLB's first draft in 1965 — but was not the Reds first pick. That was Bernie Carbo (16th overall). Which means all 20 big-league teams at the time passed on Bench, including the Reds, before they made him their second-round pick. 4. Don Gullett was not a very good placekicker Don Gullett, a three-sport high school star who debuted for the Reds less than a year after being drafted 14th overall out of McKell High School in northeastern Kentucky, once struck out 20 of 21 he faced in a perfect game for McKell and another time scored 72 points in a football game. Advertisement The 11 rushing touchdowns and six extra-point kicks came after his coach unleashed him on a smack-talking rival had boasted about shutting him down. 'Of course, we razzed him about missing the other five kicks,' Bench said. 5. George Foster's head games George Foster was one of the first players to employ a sports psychologist early in his career to get past a fear resulting from twice getting hit in the head by pitches. 'I got the idea from Maury Wills because he had created some fear in sliding because he was constantly getting hurt,' Foster said. 'But it was more of being able to talk through it. It helps with your focus. I encourage kids today to use a sports psychologist, because sometimes if they're not playing well they get too much into their own head instead of focusing on their mechanics.' Advertisement It worked for Foster, who went on to earn five All-Star selections and the 1977 NL MVP award. 'They help you focus on the cause and not the result,' he said. 'Once you change the cause your results change.' Tony Perez said he never experimented with the types of bats he used. "Never changed my bat. I used it in the big-leagues, and I used it in the minor leagues. One bat,' he said. 6. Tony Perez had one very big thing in common with Babe Ruth Don't try to get Tony Perez to weigh in on the so-called torpedo bat — or any other flavor-of-the month style of bat that might be trending in the moment. 'Stupid,' he said. 'I used only one bat. Never changed my bat. I used it in the big-leagues, and I used it in the minor leagues. One bat.' That was Model R43, he said. 'That's the one Babe Ruth used to use,' Perez said. Advertisement In other words, a lathe-turned tree trunk. 7. Hey, Johnny Bench, how 'bout another lemonade over here! The Reds were such big stars on the field that popular TV shows took advantage. Bench, in particular, made several appearances on Hee Haw during his career in addition to his well-known gig hosting the Saturday morning kids show The Baseball Bunch with the famed San Diego Chicken. But did you know he also made a cameo as a waiter on a 1973 episode of The Partridge Family? Even the manager, Sparky Anderson, co-starred in a 1979 episode of WKRP in Cincinnati written around Anderson's terrible job at hosting a radio show, playing himself as the recently fired Reds manager. Advertisement When he eventually loses the radio job, too, he says, 'I must be nuts. Every time I come into this town, I get fired.' 8. Nepo baby Pete Rose? Five years before MLB's first draft, Pete Rose was signed out of Western Hills High School by his hometown Reds – but not as the result of any high-demand bidding war or extra effort by the local club. Mostly, it was a favor to local Reds bird-dog scout Buddy Bloebaum, who strongly urged the Reds to sign his nephew Pete. 9. The three-generation MLB Griffey family that might have been Speaking of important guys named Buddy, Griffey's father, Buddy Griffey, was a high school sports teammate of Stan Musial at Donora High School in western Pennsylvania. Advertisement The Hall of Famer more than once said the elder Griffey was good enough to play major-league baseball, and was even reputed to have said Buddy Griffey was better than himself. 'They said they were actually scouting him,' Ken Griffey said. 'But what happened was, the last name was Welsh-related, so they thought he was white.' Not much MLB future in the 1930s for a Black player, no matter how talented. 'He ended up going to Kentucky State on a football scholarship,' Griffey said. Imagine the comparisons Buddy, Ken and Ken Jr. might have been able to make to the three-generation likes of the Boones and Bells. Advertisement 10. Joe Morgan owned these guys Joe Morgan, the man Bill James determined was the greatest second baseman in history, owned trademark rights to the 'Big Red Machine' for specific merchandising after his playing days, securing the rights in 1997. The rights through J.L. Morgan Enterprises Inc., covered, among other things, board games, card games and athletic bags, backpacks and book bags. The rights have since lapsed. Morgan, who was the league MVP during both the BRM's World Series championship seasons, died in 2020. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 10 things you didn't know about the Big Red Machine
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'We captured the imagination': Why Big Red Machine secured unique sports, cultural legacy
George Foster tensed when he heard the strange voice, and braced for the worst. 'You ruined my life,' the man said. Foster had his head down, putting baseballs and 8-by-10 photos on a table where he and other former baseball stars prepared for an autograph-signing fundraiser during a spring training game in Arizona a few years ago. Advertisement 'I thought, 'I better move back and remember my karate moves. Did I beat this guy up or something?' " said Foster, who learned hand-to-hand combat technique from his brother, who taught it in the military. No, the man said. 'You beat my Dodgers.' "Oh, that." That. The Big Red Machine. They still remember. They'll probably never forget. No matter where they grew up watching baseball. And 50 years later, as nearly all of the surviving members from that iconic team conclude a weekend-long celebration at Great American Ball Park, their legacy remains as unique and intact for its cultural impact on a sport and a city as it does for its staying power. Advertisement Never mind the historic dominance of perhaps the greatest lineup ever assembled. 'We captured the imagination,' said Johnny Bench, the Hall of Fame catcher. Bench recalled the last Big Red Machine reunion just a few years ago. The mural of the Big Red Machine mural inside the Great American Ball Pa 'You had grandfathers bringing the fathers and the fathers bringing the kids,' he said. 'So you had three generations of people coming to the park. And the people that lived our past, they were crying. Because it took them to their childhood and their memories. 'You saw the tears. You saw what it meant to so many people,' Bench said. 'We listen to music and we listen to the golden oldies. I guess we were the golden oldies in that way.' Advertisement Classic. Harmonic. Hit parade of all hit parades. The Big Red Machine that dominated much of 1970s baseball certainly hits all of those golden-oldies notes. But its legacy reaches far beyond that, then and now, for a unique confluence of time and place. Opportunity and vision. Sports and mainstream celebrity. More: Why greatest catcher in MLB history Johnny Bench 'didn't reach the level I could have' 'I cried': How Tony Perez defined rise and fall of Big Red Machine Original baseball cards of the 1975 Big Red Machine Big Red Machine legacy rivals any in MLB history General manager Bob Howsam put his roster together in the last era of true dynasties, the back-to-back championships of 1975 and '76 coming in the final two seasons before free agency. Advertisement They won their division five times from 1970 to 1976, finished second with 98 wins once, played in four World Series in that span, and had four players win six NL MVP awards from '70 to '77 (with 14 top-5 finishes overall in that stretch). And they did it in the place where baseball's professional roots run deepest, the only place that hosts an Opening Day parade for its baseball team and considers that day a city holiday. 'It's an amazing story. It's an amazing team,' Bench said. 'I mean, it's just, like, wow, why can't you make a story out of the greatness of our team? And if we don't pass somebody's muster test, that's fine. That's what opinions are for.' The greatness of the Big Red Machine tells only a fraction of the story of why its legacy resonates with Reds fans, rival fans and even non-fans five decades later. Advertisement 'It doesn't just resonate with people that are fans of baseball. It resonates with big leaguers,' said Reds broadcaster Jeff Brantley, the former All-Star closer who led the league with 44 saves for the 1996 Reds. 'That's a whole different kind of 'resonate.' ' The stars of the Big Red Machine were known by more than only the hard-core baseball fans, as seen here with Johnny Bench signing autographs for fans during the Republic Airlines Floyd Cramer Celebrity Golf tournament in 1984. It's a legacy amplified by the all-time scandal that followed the all-time greatness of that team: the 36-year saga of hometown hero Pete Rose's lifetime ban from baseball for gambling on baseball and his posthumous reinstatement last month. It's a legacy that includes an all-time actual MLB legacy in Ken Griffey Jr. growing up in the Riverfront Stadium shadows of that team with his brother, Craig, and All-Star dad, and then growing into an inner-circle Hall of Fame centerfielder. Advertisement It's a legacy that 50 years later rivals any team in MLB history, any sports story in local history, and any cultural phenomenon in the region since Skyline Chili or the Roebling Bridge – the names Johnny Bench and Pete Rose becoming so ubiquitous in the national baseball scene that they transcended sports into mainstream American consciousness the way Joe Namath and Willie Mays did before them. Lasting cultural impact transcends baseball In Cincinnati, few names in or out of sports carry the same weight all these years later. 'I would say Joe Burrow is probably there,' said Reds reliever Brent Suter, an Archbishop Moeller grad whose grandfather was a police officer in Blue Ash. 'Sarah Jessica Parker, Carmen Electra maybe, just in terms of notoriety. They're right up there with the biggest celebrities.' Advertisement Johnny Bench. Carmen Electra. Pete Rose. Sarah Jessica Parker. Joe Morgan, Joe Burrow. Tony Perez, Jerry Springer, George Foster, Dave Concepcion, Doris Day, Sparky Anderson, Steven Spielberg. It was baseball culture that spilled into popular culture because of the celebrity that spilled into local and regional culture because they played everyday all summer and lived in the community. It was impact. 'Impact on a city, impact on the game of baseball,' Suter said. 'Not to mention Ken Griffey Sr., who was a great player in his own right and had a son who's maybe the best centerfielder of all-time.' Advertisement Legacy. The Big Red Machine is still the last National League team to win back-to-back World Series, with the Dodgers spending more than $300 million on payroll this year to try to end that reign. Those Reds had three Hall of Fame players, a Hall of Fame manager, baseball's Hit King (who may one day join the others in the Hall), four league MVPs, seven All-Stars in their eight-man lineup and five guys with a combined 26 Gold Gloves. Their heavyweight greatness in their moment was undisputed. 'There were so many different ways that we could beat you,' Foster said. 'With our legs, with our gloves, with our bats, with our speed,' Foster said. 'Whatever you needed we had on that team. Whatever you needed to be done, we had a guy that could do it.' Advertisement Bench said they drew big crowds just for the magnitude of batting were baseball rock stars wherever went. 'We were intimidating,' Foster said. 'We'd go to Dodger Stadium and fans would talk, and then they'd see us come out for (batting practice), and it was like E.F. Hutton. Everybody listens. We go out there, and it would get quiet.' Until they started taking BP. 'I remember in San Diego, Gaylord Perry told his pitchers not to watch us take batting practice,' Foster said. 'We noticed them watching so we started launching. Rose. Bench. Morgan. So now the pitchers were intimidated.' Yes, that Gaylord Perry. The two-time Cy Young winner and Hall of Fame spitballer. The veteran who in 1971 helped precipitate Foster's trade to Cincinnati when he confronted the young slugger for taking extra BP with the pitchers. Advertisement 'Somehow my bat got underneath his chin,' Foster said. 'I didn't know how it got there.' He was traded quickly after the incident in one of the best trades in Reds history. Or, as Foster heard it from a Giants fan who recognized him a few years ago: 'You're the worst trade in Giants history!' Bench keeps display of autographed balls from the Big Red Machine in his Florida home. 'Big Red Machine went out to humiliate you' They still remember. That might be the biggest thing 50 years later. Just how deep and lasting the impression those players made was. 'We set the standard,' Bench said. Just ask the other pitchers in the league. 'They were a different team than every other team I ever faced,' said former Cy Young winner Steve Stone, who faced the Reds nine times from 1971 through '76 and never beat them (0-4,4.89 ERA). 'There were certain teams that if they get up 6-0, maybe they beat you 6-2. If the Big Red Machine got up 6-0, they tried to beat you 12-0. There was never any wasted at-bats.' Advertisement Stone pitched in both leagues during his 12-year career and faced the Oakland dynasty in 1973 during its three-year run of championships and later the 1977-78 Yankees champions. 'A lot of those teams could beat you,' Stone said. 'The Big Red Machine went out to humiliate you.' With stars at every position, Stone added. 'Not stars but Hall of Famers.' Who was comparable? Who might have been better? Not the '27 Yankees of Ruthian lore, Perez said. 'The Yankees in those days were a great team,' Perez said. 'But in those days you didn't have the great defense. You needed hitters and pitching. That's all. It's hard to catch the ball with the gloves they used to use.' Advertisement During this recent conversation in the living room of his Miami bayside condo, Perez gestures across the room toward the figurines of the Big Red Machine lineup that he keeps on a top shelf. 'But our team,' he said, 'you go through the lineup, that one there, and you can see everything you need to win a ballgame. Anything. You had defense. Speed. Offense. Anything. 'And we had pitching. We didn't have pitching to win 20 games or something like that. But they were great. The bullpen was great. The starters were great.' 'Not only was that lineup relentless,' said All-Star Rick Monday, who joined the arch-rival Dodgers in 1977, 'but defensively they beat you, too.' Advertisement Stone called Davey Concepcion one of the most underrated players in the game, an athletic shortstop with five Gold Glove who mastered the skip throw to first, using the hard turf at newly opened Riverfront Stadium to his advantage. In fact, that Reds 'Great Eight' lineup of Rose, Morgan, Bench, Perez, Foster, Griffey, Concepcion and Cesar Geronimo had higher cumulative WAR (wins above replacement), according to than the 1927 Murderer's Row Yankees of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Tony Lazzeri, Earle Combs and Bob Meusel. The Big Red Machine lineup and 15-game winner Gary Nolan. Cincinnati Reds once prototype for best talent in sports Anyone who wants to win a baseball trivia contest at their next sports-bro party should quiz the room on who the catcher and third baseman were on the '27 Yankees. Advertisement (Bench's and Rose's counterparts were Pat Collins and Joe Dugan). Anybody else? 'Maybe the Dodgers teams (of the 1950s) with Duke Snider and them,' Pete Rose said last year during a long conversation with the Enquirer. 'But Duke was the only left-hand hitter on that team. The rest of them were all right-handed hitters. (Pee Wee) Reese, (Carl) Furillo, (Roy) Campanella).' Anybody else? Sure, maybe. But consider this in any historical comparison: Not only did the Big Red Machine rise to dominance in a post-integration, pre-steroids moment, but as a percentage of MLB players, Black American levels were at their highest in the 1970s, more than 20 percent of the league in some of those seasons (more than double today's numbers). The percentage of Latin American players reached double digits in the '70s and grew steadily through the decade. Advertisement And the young adults of the 1970s were the kids of the '50s and '60s, when baseball was still king in American sports. Bottom line: For the first time – and the last time, so far – the greatest athletes in the Western Hemisphere disproportionately played baseball compared to other sports. And the Reds were the prototype model for the best of the best of that rich pool of talent. So if it seems like they had the greatest lineup of all-time, maybe they did. 'Look in the dictionary for 'the greatest team ever,' ' Bench said. 'We'll be listed.' Perez at his home in Miami, with figurines of the Big Red Machine lineup, World Series trophies and personal awards over his shoulder. MLB free agency dismantles Big Red Machine dynasty Two months and a day after the Reds beat the Red Sox 4-3 in Game 7 of an epic World Series, arbitrator Peter Seitz rendered a landmark decision that opened the door to free agency. He ruled that a player who refused to sign a standard one-year contract containing the 'reserve clause' that owners had used for decades to retain perpetual club control over players would be deemed a free agent at the end of that season. Advertisement 'A lot of guys took 20 percent pay cuts in '76,' said Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer, referring to the maximum one-year cut a team was allowed to impose. MLB litigated the ruling, but the following August – as the Machine was rolling at the top of the game to another championship – a deal was struck with the players union to create the free agent system that continues into this day and age of $350 million payrolls and $765 million outfielders. Within months, the Big Red Machine began to be dismantled – first with the November trade to Montreal of Perez and then the free agency departure of ace Don Gullett. Foster, Rose were gone not long after. And the era of dynasties in places like Cincinnati and Pittsburgh were over. Advertisement The Reds' eight-man lineup of MVPs and All-Stars made a total of $877,000 in salaries in 1975 (roughly the equivalent of $5.3 million today). Economically, the Big Red Machine had found itself in a sweet spot historically just ahead of free agency. 'That's why it lasted so long,' Griffey said. 'All of us played at least six or seven years with the same team.' But the top of the Reds organization knew it would be a quick descent from the greatest heights in franchise history as soon as the free agency pact was struck with the union. Even in the earliest days of adjusting to free agency, the Reds quickly pivoted away from some of their higher priced veterans and built a future around the new business strategy. And never sustained more than three or four years of high-level success at a time again. Advertisement 'Bob Howsam in '76 had said that,' Foster said. ' 'You won't see a team like this together again. I think nobody else will equal what we have.' 'I didn't realize he was going to start breaking up the team.' Big Red Machine payroll be today? 'Priceless' Never mind that a market like Cincinnati could never see another team with the star power and veteran success it had in the 1970s. It's doubtful anyone could afford to put together the equivalent of that team again – as much as the mega-spending Dodgers and New York teams might try. 'Would you try to pay us?' Bench said. How much would it even cost? Advertisement 'A lot – $400 million?' Palmer said. Even the almighty Dodgers' almighty dollars might not stretch that far. 'Yes, they would,' Palmer said. 'You know what they'd do. It would be deferred money.' On the other hand, that $400 million estimate might be on the low side, considering the $51 million a year Juan Soto just got from the Mets on his record 15-year deal, or the $40 million Aaron Judge and Alex Bregman each makes this season. Imagine paying just the hitters on that Big Red Machine team in today's economy. Foster: "The word is 'priceless.' " Pete Rose hugs George Foster after Foster scores the pennant-clinching run on a wild pitch in 1972. Legendary players remained presence in Cincinnati Barry Larkin, the Reds' Hall of Fame shortstop on the 1990 championship team, was a kid in Cincinnati dreaming on that Big Red Machine in the 1970s. Advertisement 'I remember my mom one time telling me she went to the bank,' said Larkin, who then dropped his voice to a whisper, 'and she saw George Foster.' Larkin laughed. 'I saw George Foster,' Larkin said in a whisper again, imitating his mom's reverence. 'It was a big deal.' Forget economics. Forget baseball history. The legacy of the Big Red Machine and all those household names on the city with the annual Opening Day parade was about their impact on the community. It was a big deal. And 50 years later it still is. Rose is from Cincinnati. Foster still lives there. Morgan was a Reds broadcaster and a baseball operations advisor until until his death in 2020. Rose and Bench went into business together with a car dealership while teammates and hosted the local Pete and Johnny Show in the 1980s. WKRP in Cincinnati debuted in 1978 with a lead actor from Dayton (Gary Sandy) often wearing a Reds jacket he scored from The Enquirer, and Sparky Anderson guest-starring in an episode. It was baseball culture that spilled into popular culture because of the celebrity that spilled into local and regional culture because they played everyday all summer and lived in the community. 'You used to see the biggest players in the country on the street,' said Jim Tarbell, the longtime civic leader and businessman, who by mayoral proclamation is also known as 'Mr. Cincinnati.' 'You'd see Morgan and Johnny Bench. You'd see them at the grocery story,' Tarbell said. 'You talk about hometown. It was the epitome of hometown, that period. Civic pride at that time I think was just overwhelming.' Thanks in large part to a certain group of bigger-than-life baseball players in the provincial river city at the crossroads of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. A phenomenon of national celebrity? Something that brought the spotlight on the city culturally? A landmark event or person, place or thing that significant in a moment in time for Cincinnati? 'I'm not sure there's anything quite as unique,' Tarbell said. Bench and Perez celebrate after winning the 1972 National League Championship Series. Impacting generations of players from Cincinnati Larkin is quick to bring up that team when asked why the Cincinnati area has disproportionately produced as many major leaguers as it has compared to other regions of the country – including David Justice, Kyle Schwarber, Andrew Benintendi, Larkin and Suter since that team roamed the city's streets. Suter recalls a family story his dad tells of his grandpa helping Perez's wife, Pituka, with a car problem in his duties as a Blue Ash cop. 'As a thank you, Tony Perez had my dad and his family down there to Riverfront, and they were in the tunnel after the game,' Suter said, 'and Tony came out and introduced them to Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, George Foster – all the guys. He was 10 years old. You talk about star-struck.' You talk about impact. In local sports, Oscar Robertson was a three-time national player of the year on the UC basketball team in the late 1950s and later an MVP for the Cincinnati Royals in the 1960s. 'I wouldn't compare life on the street then to the way it was with the Big Red Machine,' Tarbell said. The Bengals have been to three Super Bowls but haven't won any, and Burrow is a bona fide national figure. But no. 'There isn't any in our lifetime that rivals that,' Tarbell, 82, said. Beyond sports, as a cultural phenomenon in the city? There's the region's Underground Railroad legacy. The shift to a charter system of governance in the post Boss Cox era a century ago. WKRP in Cincinnati? You start to get the idea of how unique the Big Red Machine legacy on the city's landscape might be for its national notoriety and lasting impact. Tarbell takes a few moments to consider what compares. 'In terms of culture, Fountain Square. She's still there,' Tarbell said. And they still remember. Fifty years later. 'It's a long time,' Perez said. And it's yesterday for those who were there the night the champagne poured in Boston. 'I can still see and feel the moment of walking in the clubhouse in '75,' Bench said, 'and seeing Merv (Rettenmund), (Terry) Crowley, (Bill) Plummer and Doug (Flynn), and just sitting there on the side. Just reveling in the whole excitement that was happening with the champagne flowing and Pat Zachry with a grin from ear to year. And from (clubhouse manager) Bernie Stowe and from (trainer) Bill Cooper. 'I mean it was the thing. It was like 25 players. No matter what you did, if you hit three home runs or 50 home runs, you were a world champion. The trainers, the equipment men, the coaches. I mean, (coaches) George Scherger and Alex Grammas and Larry Shepard – I mean, the emotion they were experiencing.' And then Bench compared it to stories he'd heard about families from Boston who lived thousands of miles away sharing the 2004 curse-busting World Series celebration with their kids. 'The emotional side of it is not just for us,' Bench said. 'It was for the thousands and the millions of fans that we created for the Big Red Machine.' This story is part of an ongoing Enquirer series this summer examining the legacy of the Big Red Machine 50 years after the first of back-to-back World Series titles. This story is part of an ongoing summer series This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Big Red Machine has lasting cultural impact on city, baseball
