1-0.
1-0.
1-0.
The Cincinnati Reds became the first team since 1960 to lose three straight games by that score. Talk about futility. The Philadelphia Phillies were the last team to lose three straight games by that score in 1960. No team has ever lost four in a row by that score.
I was concerned about their offense before the season started, was shocked the day they scored 14 runs but, looking back, maybe that was just an aberration. I tried to recall the last horrible hitting team the Reds had but failed. I admit, I didn’t look up and pour over statistics but historically, the Reds have always been more a “good-hit, poor pitching” team more than anything else.
Certain years do stand out but not because of bad hitting— instead it was bad pitching. 1969 comes to mind when the Big Red Machine had a high-octane offense but not a very good pitching staff. A perfect example of that was a 19-17 Reds win over Philadelphia that season in Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia.
Camil Pascuel started that game for Cincinnati and a total of five Red pitchers held off the Phillies, thanks mostly to a three-inning stint by closer Wayne Granger who finished the game. Johnny Bench was 5-for-6 that day, Alex Johnson was 4-for-6.
Jim Merritt had a 17-9 record for that team but an earned run average of 4.87 and one of Manager Dave Bristol’s starters was Tony Cloninger, who finished with an 11-17 record and an ERA of 5.03.
But bad hitting Reds teams are few and far between. One weak hitter that stands out was John Vuckovich, who Sparky Anderson started at third base for the Reds in 1975. Anderson felt the Reds lineup could withstand the good-field, weak hitting Vuckovich at third base. Anderson’s patience ran out in May. He replaced Vukovich at third base with Pete Rose and inserted George Foster into the lineup in left field. And that bold move, which even caught then-General Manager Bob Howsam by surprise, cemented the Big Red Machine and led to back-to-back World Series titles but replaced in May when he moved Pete Rose from left field to third base and inserted George Foster into the lineup. That bold move finalized the Big Red Machine.
Vuckovich, who passed away in 2007 at age 59, holds the record for the lowest career batting average of any non-pitcher with a minimum of 500 at-bats with an average of .161. He was 6 for 44 at the plate when Sparky made the move, with just one RBI. Vuckovich’s nickname was “balsa” because of his horrible bat.
The Reds also had a catcher with the last name of Trevino in 1982. He was the first catcher to officially follow Bench, who played at third base that season. Alex Trevino finished the 1982 season with a .251 batting average with one home run and 33 runs batted in. Trevino came to the Reds from the Mets as part of the trade for Foster.
Trevino and Vuckovich look like both would fit in with the hitting skills of the current 2025 Reds. It’s early for sure and hopefully the offense will snap out of it but three shutouts in a row is both disgusting and discouraging.
Where are the Torpedo bats?
“I tried to recall the last horrible hitting team the Reds had but failed.”
How about last year, when they ranked 26th out of 30 with a .231 batting average.
As I read the article, I was sadly thinking the same thing.
Yeah, the Red’s offense was pretty terrible last season. Nick Krall’s response was to sign a $4 million dollar free agent outfielder, a back up catcher and Gavin Lux.
And yes I know Trevino and Lux were acquired in trades.
I said about 6-7 years ago when Walt Jocketty was here that the Reds drafts were going to lead to abysmal hitting teams. I hate it, but here we are.
Some blasts from the past. But far too many are working to get on that list. And yes, the Reds should have done more for the offense. They need the next three against Milwaukee. It’s a brain thing. The Brewers aren’t that good.
“The Brewers aren’t that good”
I am not sure the Reds are either.
After reading this article I am thinking about how bad the 1982 offense was. I looked it up and they are worse than I remembered. Dead last in the league in runs scored. Only two players had double digit home runs. The team leader in RBI had 57. Only four players had 40!
They are better than they are playing. I think the important thing is to acknowledge that Steer isn’t ready and needs IL time, hopefully not surgery. Maybe Candelario and Fraley never produce. And so forth. Krall needs to make the requisite moves and shake up the team. Hayes and Stephenson returning will help – hopefully.
@LDS, I agree Steer needs to get checked out again. He just looks so overwhelmed at the plate the first week of the season.
On the flip side the Reds have been pretty bad to start the season the past few years. Hopefully they can start turning things around.
I read Stephenson gets an MRI on Monday. That he needs an MRI before beginning rehab concerns me. I am glad they are doing it if the docs think it is needed. However the fact it is needed makes me wonder if there was more severity to the injury than was announced. Hopefully my concerns are unfounded.
I’ll see your John Vukovich, .211/.286/.289/.575 in 46 PA as a Red, and raise you a Jack Hannahan, .209/.294/.278/.572 in 212 PA as a Red.
The infamous “We got Jack for that.” quote.
Good one.
+1000
I’ll see your Jack Hannahan and raise you a Jim Baumer. Reds 1961 starting 2B until they traded for Don Blasingame in mid-April. Baumer had .125 BA in 10 games as a Red.
I’m starting to wonder about the advanced scouting and analytics work on this team. Last night was an exception, but we keep going deep into the games with starters pitching perfect games against us. The approach seems to be the same regardless of who is on the mound. Cortes did not appear to have very good stuff, and left a lot of pitches in hittable spots, yet our batters seemed to have no clue how to work him. We also seem to swing at lots of first pitches against relievers with control issues, which contributes to our near-absence of walks. Rant over. Go Reds!
One of my favorite stories about Sparky Anderson and John Vukovich was when Sparky pinch hit for Vukovich in the first inning with the bases loaded.
Vukovich wanted out after that and the Pete Rose experiment began
And Vukovich had his family in from out of town to see him play with BRM that day.
MLB averages are down overall in 2025 (.230 BA, .692 OPS according to Baseball Reference) and have been declining for years. Maybe a new approach is needed? Or, a return to the more traditional approach, i.e. hit the ball where it’s pitched, focus on situational hitting, make contact, productive outs, etc. The launch angle, exit velocity stuff is an easier mark for established pitchers.
I’ve heard this argued the other way, actually – that with it being SO hard to hit in today’s game, you might as well just swing for the fences and try to hit a HR. Otherwise you’d have to string together 2 or 3 hits in the same inning, and that’s gotten harder and harder to do.
I think there’s a lot to that, too. It’s almost too hard to believe that stringing two or three hits together is such a hard thing.
Vukovich is the answer to a great Bar trivia question. Opening day third baseman for 75 Big Bed Machine.
NOTE TO JOHN: The correct spelling is “Vukovich.”
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/vukovjo01.shtml
Pete Vuckovich pitched for the Cards and Brewers; from 1978-1982, he went 71-41 with a 3.29 ERA.
And as an actor in “Major League,” he played as the Indians’ nemesis, Haywood, as a power-hitting first baseman.
This is the content I needed today.
That’s awesome! I did not know Pete Vuckovich played that part in “Major League” 🙂
1975 was the highest BA (.211) ever reached by Vukovich in MLB. He stayed with Reds until August 1975. Reds traded Pat Osburn (P) for him in 1974 and got Dave Schneck (OF) for him in trade late in 1975 season.
Take out the 14 run game and EDLC is hitting .173 with no HR and 1 RBI. Could that be a part of the problem?
Definitely. But you could do that with Fraley or Steer and make their averages .000 – so that game inflates a lot of guys at the moment.
Valid point. In fact, had Elly came up with a hit in the 9th, they could have tied two of these games. I’m seeing Elly revert to what we saw so much last year. He is watching fastballs and sliders over the middle for strikes early in the count, and then before you know it he has 2 strikes on him, and either strikes out or grounds out weekly on a pitch that is either out of the zone or one he has to swing at because it will be a called strike three. I just think he has to jump on strikes down the middle early. It’s as if he has been told so much to get deep into counts that it is hurting him.
But … but … the TORPEDO!! ??
I think the thing that bothers me is the team wasn’t this bad during spring at any point this year. There is so much potential here. aka the 14-run game that was mentioned above. The past few years I always worried if the team scored runs in the bunches because after those games, they tended to be on the low end of scoring runs the next few days. The record they tied, makes me sick to my stomach. I know not having Hayes and Stephanson hurts the offense and hopefully we will see them return in 2 to 3 weeks. This team should be out doing extra batting practice or something. I know it’s only the first week, but this cannot be the trend for the first month or more in the season.
My recollection is the Reds lost a lot of games late in the spring as teams were paring down their rosters and getting serious about coming up to speed for the regular season. By my count, they were 3-7 in their last 10 games in Arizona vs MLB opposition. That’s counting boths games on a split squad day on March 21 when they went 1-1.
https://www.mlb.com/reds/schedule/2025-03
There were also tell tale signs like Stephenson playing less when he should have been playing more to prepare do the season. Ditto for Friedl’s usage pattern over the period; plus Steer wasn’t playing and was announced as supposedly headed for the IL. The only real bolt from the blue to me was the Hays injury.
Yeah, early Spring Training results are mostly useless. The Reds handling of the Spencer Steer situation borders on neglect. Steer probably should have had surgery last fall. I would not be surprised if he goes under the knife sometime this season. I assume Hay’s injury was a surprise to everyone. I afraid there are unrealistic expectations for Hays’ return. Stephenson’s return should help a bit.
I’d have to go back and look, but it seems those games they lost late were mostly by a reliever that isn’t on the team right now. In other words a reliever or two would get bombed late in the game.
Presently, we have a bunch of Paulownia hitters on the team (a wood lighter than balsa). lol
I was wondering last night how the Reds position players will look in a few years. Personally, I think McLain and Elly are likely the only ones to have solid major league careers. I suspect Tyler Stephenson will have an average career. The rest we will likely forget about quickly once they are gone.
CES will hit well enough to have a solid career if he stays healthy. Among Reds with double digit plate appearances, CES is right behind McLain and EDLC on metrics like WOBA, WOBACON, Exit Velo, and Hard Hit %. additionally, if a person puts any stock in xWOBA et al, his actuals are well below his expected.
We disagree. In nearly 400 major league at bats, CES has an obp of .289 with a slugging percentage of .412. He has also struck out nearly 30% of the time. Not a great start to a major league career.
I mean his offensive numbers may be OK (not outstanding) for a utility infielder, but for a first baseman hitting in the heart of the order, not so much.
CES will flat out hit. Using last year’s numbers isn’t really fair. He’s the 3rd best hitter on the team right now, and he was a stud in 2023. He has mashed in the higher minor leagues as well. CES will have a very solid career as long as he’s healthy.
Go look at CES college and minor league stats. Heck look at his Fall stats. He has hit everywhere he’s played and he’s hit like an absolute monster. Last year is the only year he didn’t hit, and he was clearly playing hurt. Heck he was hitting this season, right up until he got hit on the same darn wrist again. I can only hope it’s not affecting him. If he stays healthy you will see 30 HR’s out of him.
“If he stays healthy you will see 30 HR’s out of him.”
Chris, I thought you don’t care about home runs?
At this point, I’d take two or three bloopers if it would score a run.
A team does not lose one to nothing three times in a row and not have a major problem. It has not been done since 1960. I have confidence in McClain and De La Cruz. The rest of these players look like minor league quality. I think CES has it in him, but he is not showing it in the regular season, yet.
+4,256
Spencer Steer is a good player, but clearly was not ready for opening day due to his shoulder. His swing is not right.
The sad thing to think about is that I believe under the Castellini regime they have never made any significant trades to help the team. So what you see is what you get. You will take this produce and like it!
…made any significant trades mid-season…
Scott Rolen trade was significant and mid-season.
Not to be argumentative, but Edwin Encarnacion did hit 345 Home Runs after that trade.
Who cares how many HR’s EE hit after that trade? Rolen was a huge difference maker. And remember, EE was actually cut from the Blue Jays. It was a coach that reworked his swing and then he became a completely different hitter. That coach wasn’t in the Red’s organization.
Rolen in HOF. Encarnacion was mostly DH in AL. He could not have been DH for Reds then.
I must have missed Scott Rolen leading the Reds to a world championship. Was it in the papers?
Seriously, I am not bashing Scott Rolen, I am actually a fan of his, but the Reds acquired him at the tail in of his career and Encanarcion had years in front of him in his career.
Who cares about Home Runs? Are you serious? Would you encourage the Reds to trade a player now that has 300 home runs ahead of him?
Rolen was a key addition to the Reds teams of 2010 and 2012. Encarnacion didn’t lead anybody to WS championship. He was DH in AL.
Regardless, acquiring Rolen in 2009 was a significant mid-season trade.
On an entirely different note, today, I got out and held that baseball Tito gave me this spring. Felt really good to grip a baseball again. I highly recommend it, especially to you former players out there. It’s good therapy! lol
(especially during lean times with the team)
Good memory of 1975 start. Reds were 4-6 in their first 10 games.
I remember Sparky pinch hitting (Driessen, I think) for Vukovich in his first AB in one of those early games. Vukovich was mad because his family had come to the game to watch him play for the Big Red Machine.
Camilo Pascual was a star pitcher for Washington Senators and Minnesota Twins in 1960s. By 1969, he was at the end of his career.
That’s crazy, but I can understand why Vukovich would be upset.
How about shaking up the lineup a bit by sending down (anyone who fits the bill of underachiever) to AAA and bringing up Benson and Marte. I know that doesn’t sound great, but sometimes just shaking up the team can make a difference. Plus, Marte and Benson are actually doing pretty good so far.
I think maybe it’s just hard to know how things are gonna play out early in the season. I mean we could be the braves who look like they’ve never played baseball before ever and are 0-7. The entire al central has the same record we do. They will be fine, just need a little patience.
Are there Vegas odds for another 1-0 loss tonight? Wouldn’t bet against it!!
Doubt those last three games represent any big deal. Sure, the Reds scored 0, 0, and 0 runs. However, the opposition scored 1, 1, and 1, and one of those was unearned. Neither team was hitting or scoring in those games. Great pitching on both sides of the field. Just the way the ball bounces.
That said, I still think Steer belongs on the IL until he is fully ready to play and demonstrates his stroke is solid through an appropriate rehab period. Since Benson and Marte, and probably Hines, are going to be in Cincy at some point, I would warm up the Louisville shuttle and be prepared to swap Dunn and Hurtabese for two of Benson, Hines, and Marte. All five of those guys should become very familiar with the route until somebody figures out how to perform at the highest levels of the game.
And now illness strikes Tito and a number of the players. When it rains…
Reds fan since 68,I cannot believe what I just seen.Hardly a barreled ball playing pepper with the infielders.
I’ve been watching (and listening to) 1970s and early 80s World Series and playoffs which involve the Reds, Pirates, Orioles, or Phillies. It’s very refreshing to see fundamentally sound baseball. Defense was highly thought of in those days before the 1994 strike, the juice era, and this current misguided era where the game has been reduced to a perpetual home run derby instead of players sacrificing themselves for the team, bunting, moving the runner over, hitting to the opposite field, etc, all of which is less common nowadays. Players were professionals in those days, now they’re prima-donnas.