Sunday, May 3, 2009

Top 10 Best Trades in Cincinnati Reds History

After much research I've came up with the Top 10 best trades in Cincinnati Reds history. The following trades are listed from ten to one, with one being deemed as the most important for the organization:

(10) 1998
Acquired: Sean Casey from Cleveland
Traded: Dave Burba


Impact: Casey turned into a fan-favorite in Cincinnati. Not only that, he left everything on the field and showed that by batting over .300 five years in a Reds uniform and was a career .302 hitter.

(9) 1984
Acquired: Pete Rose from Montreal
Traded: Tom Lawless

Impact: Rose became a player-manager and revitalized the franchise with his energy. I think this move was important mainly because he set the all-time hit record in a Reds uniform.

(8) 1921
Acquired: Eppa Rixey from Philadelphia
Traded: Greasy Neale and Jimmy Ring

Impact: Rixey won 20 or more games three times. He's the all-time Reds leader in wins (179), starts (356) and innings (2,890).

(7) 1987
Acquired: Jose Rijo from New York Yankees
Traded: Dave Parker

Impact: Rijo ended up being the anchor in the Reds Wire-to-Wire run in 1990. He also went on to play 10 years with the Reds and posted a 97-61 career record, including a 2.83 ERA. The aging Parker put up decent numbers in his years with the A’s but the Reds won this trade.

(6) 1933
Acquired: Paul Derringer, Allyn Stout, and Sparky Adams from St. Louis
Traded: Leo Durocher, Butch Henline, and Jack Ogden

Impact: Derringer teamed with Bucky Walters to give the Reds a formidable 1-2 pitching punch, winning 20 or more games four times. Of his 161 wins, second on the all-time Reds list, 45 came in the pennant years of 1939-40.

(5) 2006
Acquired: Brandon Phillips from Cleveland
Traded: Player to be named (Jeff Stevens)

Impact: Since being traded Phillips has averaged 25 home runs, 26 stolen bases and a .270 average through his first three seasons. Not to mention he won a gold-glove and is one of the best second baseman in the game at the present time.

(4) 1971
Acquired: George Foster from San Francisco
Traded: Frank Duffy and Vern Geishert


Impact: After emerging as a threat with the Big Red Machine, Foster led the NL with 52 homers in 1977 and 40 in '78. He still ranks fifth on the club's all-time list with 244 homers.

(3) 1932
Acquired: Ernie Lombardi, Babe Herman, and Wally Gilbert from Brooklyn
Traded: Tony Cuccinello, Joe Stripp, and Clyde Sukeforth

Impact: Named to the Hall of Fame in 1986, Lombardi hit over .300 seven times in 10 years with the Reds and led the NL with a .342 average in 1938.

(2) 1977
Acquired: Tom Seaver from New York Mets
Traded: Pat Zachry, Doug Flynn, Steve Henderson, and Dan Norman

Impact: Seaver continued his Hall of Fame career with the Reds, having tremendous seasons and winning 122 of his 311 wins away from the Mets.

(1) 1971
Acquired: Joe Morgan, Cesar Geronimo, Jack Billingham, Ed Armbrister, and Denis Menke from Houston Astros
Traded: Lee May, Tommy Helms, and Jimmy Stewart


Impact: In a deal panned by the Cincinnati press, the Reds picked up three big pieces of the Big Red Machine in Morgan, Geronimo, and Billingham. Thanks in large part of this trade, the Reds would run off ten straight winning seasons, five division titles, three National League Championships, and two World Series titles.

Your Thoughts?

The Top 10 worst trades in Cincinnati Reds history will soon follow.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You have to move that Rijo deal up. You can link that deal directly to the world championship in 1990.

XU said...

I agree Rijo could be moved up but I also looked at who the Reds dealt. Dave Parker still had a couple good years after he was traded from the Reds when many of the guys the Reds traded amounted to nothing with there new teams.