The Cincinnati Reds were the world’s first professional baseball team. The first and for a long time one of the best. The Reds from the early 20th century until the late 1990’s were among the elite of baseball with the Yankees, Cardinals, Dodgers, and Red Sox. All of these teams had great ballplayers and great traditions. In the late 90’s UDF and Chiquita owner Carl Linder bought the team and ran the Reds into the ground. The Reds became on the same level as the Milwaukee Brewers and Pittsburgh Pirates, a Midwest city with a below average baseball team.
Just when the Bengals get their swagger back, the Reds fall apart. The Reds have a streak of five consecutive losing seasons, which ties a team record set back in the 50’s. To people who follow the Bengals, that may not seem like much, but the Reds are not the Bengals. They are, or used to be, one of the flagship franchises of Major League Baseball.
The Reds today, our Reds, are at best mediocre. Well, mediocrity and waiting for football season to start is over. Our savior, Robert Castellini, has bought the Reds. Castellini was part owner of the uber successful St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals had the best record in the National League the past two seasons, and Castellini is determined to get the Reds past the pesky Cards, Cubs, and Astros and once again have the Reds as kings of the Central division.
Castellini and his deep pockets are committed to spend more money on players who can help the team. As a small market team the Reds have to focus on their minor leagues and bring players up through the ranks. The Reds for years had one of the most established and successful minor league systems, but recently the minor league’s well has gone dry.
Most of the great players that came from the Louisville and Chattanooga clubs currently play for the Yankees or Red Sox. The Reds’ lack of ability to pay these superstars has lampooned the club and helped the Yanks and Sox place themselves in the playoffs almost every year.
Remember the playoffs? Yeah, that’s that thing the MLB does every October to determine the best team in baseball. With Castellini’s deep pockets and the people he will put around him, the Cincinnati Reds should regain their prominence and join the Bengals as a team the people of Cincinnati can be proud to call themselves a fan of.
Hey and maybe we will even make the playoffs. If the Bengals can do it, why can’t the Reds?