Loading ...The “save” didn’t become an official statistic in baseball until 1969, although it had been tracked for years. The definition of a save itself was defined in 1960 by Chicago sportswriter Jerome Holtzman but it has been redefined, examined and criticized since. (The first official “save” went to Bill Singer on Opening Day 1969, [...]
|
|||||
 Enter code "redlegnation" when ordering for $5 off!  
|
Let’s recap tonight’s titanic struggle…. FINAL Cincinnati 3 Philadelphia 2 W: B. Arroyo (10-7) L: V. Worley (6-9) S: A. Chapman (31) BOX SCORE POSITIVES –Outstanding performance by Bronson Arroyo tonight. Arroyo pitched into the ninth, allowing two runs on just three hits. Arroyo struck out four and didn’t walk a better. Masterful. This [...] December 8, 1987: Four years and one day after making him the Reds first big free agent acquisition, the Reds trade outfielder Dave Parker to the Oakland A’s for starting pitcher and future Reds ace Jose Rijo and reliever Tim Birtsas. Parker’s best Reds season had come in 1985 when he finished second in MVP balloting after hitting .312 with 34 home runs and 125 rbi, 42 doubles, a .551 SLP, and a .916 OPS (149 OPS+). He led the league in rbi, doubles, total bases, and intentional walks. He finished fifth in MVP voting in 1986 when he hit .273 with 31 home runs and 116 rbi, again leading the league in total bases, but his OPS+ slipped to 117 (OPS was .807). He slipped a little more in 1987 when he hit .253 with 26 homers, 97 rbi, and a .744 OPS (92 OPS+) and his defensive performance had also been declining now that he was 36 years old. Parker still had a few more productive years remaining and finished 11th in MVP voting in the American League while with the Oakland A’s in 1989 (.264/22/97 with .741 OPS) and 16th in MVP votes with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1990 (.289/21/92 with .781 OPS). His final season came in 1991. The Reds had young outfielders in place ready to replace Parker, namely Kal Daniels, Eric Davis, Paul O’Neill, and Tracy Jones. All the outfield prospects were at least a decade younger than Parker and all were talented players. For Parker, the Reds received their next ace pitcher in Jose Rijo. Rijo had reached the majors at age 19 with the New York Yankees in 1984, but had struggled in his first four major league seasons, going 19-30 with a 4.75 ERA (83 ERA+) with the Yankees and Oakland A’s before joining the Reds. November 17, 1933: The Reds trade Red Lucas, one of the best pitchers and pinch hitters in Reds history, along with reserve outfielder Wally Roettger, to the Pittsburgh Pirates for outfielder Adam Comorosky and infielder Tony Piet. Lucas was a Reds Hall of Famer who’s probably not as well known today because he played on some truly rotten Reds baseball teams. He was probably the “Mario Soto” of his day, being one of the best pitchers in the league on one of baseball’s worst teams. However, there were two huge differences in Soto’s and Lucas’s perfomrances. Soto was a strikeout pitcher who struck out as a many as 274 in a season (258 innings). Lucas “pitched to contact,” never striking out more than 72 in a season (270 innings). Soto walked 3.4 batters/nine innings for his career, Lucas walked 1.6/nine innings. Another difference was that Lucas was an exceptional hitter with a lifetime batting average of .281 (85 OPS+) with 190 rbi in 16 seasons. Soto’s career batting average was .132 (-12 OPS+) with 24 rbi in 12 seasons. Lucas’s win-loss percentage regularly exceeded his team’s performance. As a Red, Lucas was 109-99, a .524 won-loss percentage from 1926-33. The Reds during these eight years posted a .441 winning percentage. Lucas’s best season was 1929 when he went 19-12 with a 3.60 ERA (127 ERA+) and led the league with 28 complete games and a 1.204 WHIP. He finished sixth in MVP voting, finishing second amongst pitchers (there was no Cy Young Award at the time), as he was second in games won and fifth in ERA. For his career, Lucas was 157-135 with a 3.72 ERA (107 ERA+). As a hitter, Lucas batted .300 for the Reds with a .735 OPS (97 OPS+). As a pinch hitter, Lucas was 114 for 437, a .261 batting average. Lucas didn’t walk away quietly from the Reds. He played five seasons for the Pirates, going 47-32 with a 3.77 ERA. Against the Reds, he was a whopping 14-0 during those five seasons and 33-32 against the rest of the league. As for the other principals in the deal, Roettger played 47 games with the Pirates and was done. Comorosky played two seasons for the Reds, one as a starter, batting .256 with two homers (71 OPS+). Piet became the Reds starting third baseman for 1934 and hit .259 with one homer (75 OPS+) before being sold to the Chicago White Sox. November 17, 1992: The Reds trade all-star closer Norm Charlton to the Seattle Mariners for former MVP outfielder Kevin Mitchell. Charlton was part of the Reds 1990 “Nasty Boys” bullpen and had become a co-closer with Rob Dibble in 1992. Charlton was selected to the 1992 all-star team and finished the season 4-2 with a 2.99 ERA and 26 saves. Coupled with Dibble’s 3-5, 3.07 ERA and 25 saves, the Reds had quite a combination out of the bullpen. With both relievers expected to make about $2.5 million in salary for 1993, the Reds decided to stick with Dibble and deal the lefty Charlton to the Mariners for one of baseball’s most feared sluggers at the time, Kevin Mitchell. |
 |
|||
|
Copyright © 2013 Redleg Nation - All Rights Reserved |
|||||
Recent Comments