Damn Yankees by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Damn Yankees

Page 395

During a decade in which they won six division titles and four NL pennants, the Big Red Machine's offense led the NL in runs, homers, OPS and stolen bases. While other baseball dynasties achieved greatness with superlative pitching and balanced hitting, the Reds' success was linked to their everyday lineup, which featured four players who took home a total of six MVP Awards: Johnny Bench (1970 and '72), future hits king Pete Rose ('73), Joe Morgan ('75-76) and George Foster ('77).

The middle of the Reds' batting order also featured Tony Perez, the Cuban first baseman who averaged 27 homers and 104 RBIs from

1969-76, three time All-Star Ken Griffey Sr., and Gold Glove winners Davey Concepcion and Cesar Geronimo.

Their quirky, Hall of Fame manager, Sparky Anderson, put it best;

"I'm not going to sit here and tell you that we were the greatest of all time. But if somebody else has a better team, I want to sit and watch it."