The Big Red Machine

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This article is about the Cincinnati Reds of the 1970s. For the professional wrestler Kane, see Glen Jacobs.

"The Big Red Machine" is also the publicly used name of the Hells Angels biker gang.

This tribute to the Big Red Machine is one of the art pieces inside the Great American Ball Park, in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Big Red Machine was the nickname given to the Cincinnati Reds baseball team that dominated the National League from 1970 to 1976. Over that span, they won four division titles, three National League pennants and two World Series. Their combined record was 502-300.

Some place the beginning of the Big Red Machine's era at 1970, when they went 102-60 and won the National League pennant under rookie manager Sparky Anderson. They boasted a powerful lineup, mainly consisting of catcher Johnny Bench, first baseman Lee May, second baseman Tommy Helms, third baseman Tony Perez, left fielder Pete Rose, center fielder Bobby Tolan, and right fielder Bernie Carbo. Shortstops Woody Woodward and Dave Concepción were also members of the team. The pitching was questionable, but outstanding seasons by Jim Merritt and Wayne Simpson helped the situation. Wayne Granger, Clay Carroll and Don Gullett helped to form an outstanding bullpen.

In 1971, however, the Reds posted a losing record and were not in contention for the division title. The acquisition of Joe Morgan the following season cemented the most famous Reds lineup of the era.

Although Pérez departed the team after the 1976 season, some extend the Big Red Machine era until the 1978 season, after which Pete Rose left the team and Sparky Anderson was fired. The Reds finished in second place in both 1977 and 1978.

Also, while the primary use of the nickname is to refer to the 1970s era team, the nickname is also sometimes used to refer to the current team, especially if the team is enjoying success at the time.

The Cincinnati Reds were unquestionably the team of the decade in the 1970s. Their overall record of 953 wins and 657 losses is far and away the best of any other major league team for this time period. Their overall winning percentage of .592 shows an average of 95 wins per year. Eight times during the decade the Reds won over 90 games, and three of those times they won over 100. ^[1]

These 8 players shown above are arguably the greatest eight to step onto a baseball field as a collective unit. They had baseball's all-time hit king, 3 Hall of Famers, 6 NL MVPs, 4 NL HR Champs, 3 NL Batting Champs, 25 Gold Glove winners, and 63 collective All-Star appearances.^{[citation needed]}

During their World Championship years of 1975 and 1976 these eight players appeared in only 88 games together, winning 69 and losing only 19. That is a winning percentage of .784. Through a regular 162-game season that would translate into 127 wins, 11 more than the MLB single-season record held by the 1906 Chicago Cubs and 2001 Seattle Mariners.

Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine" are the only National League team during the last 75 years to win back to back World Championships. The 1922 New York Giants were the last NL team to accomplish this feat.

[edit] Key team members and their positions

• Johnny Bench, catcher
• Tony Pérez, first base
• Joe Morgan, second base
• Pete Rose, third base
• Dave Concepción, shortstop
• George Foster, left field
• César Gerónimo, center field
• Ken Griffey, Sr., right field
• Sparky Anderson, manager

[edit] References