Tom Verducci over at SI.com compiled his Top 10 Baseball Teams of All Time ... and the 1976 Reds weren't on it.
What?
The 1975 Reds were there ... which shows the lack of thought for this list. Yes, the 1975 Reds team is remembered for both its greatness and their epic World Series with the Red Sox. But that 1976 team has more of a claim to fame. Yes, the 1975 Reds won 108 games (six more than the 1976 team) and won the NL West by 20 games ('76 team won by 10 games), but that doesn't mean that the '75 team was greater.
That 1976 Reds team featured seven All Stars. Okay, that doesn't seem like that big of a deal when you consider that teams do that now and there were only 12 NL franchises then. But five of those guys started. The NL All Star starters featured Johnny Bench at catcher, Joe Morgan at 2B, Dave Concepcion at SS, Pete Rose at 3B and George Foster in the outfield. The bench featured 1B Tony Perez and OF Ken Griffey. That means seven out of the eight position players the Reds had in 1976 made the All Star team (only Cesar Geronimo didn't).
Okay, then factor in the postseason. They swept the Philadelphia Phillies (who won 101 games during the regular season) then swept the New York Yankees. They outscored the Yankees 22-8 in that four game series. The same New York Yankees that won the next two World Series titles.
I know that Mr. Verducci is a far smarter man than me when it comes to baseball matters ... I just think he missed the boat on this one.
What?
The 1975 Reds were there ... which shows the lack of thought for this list. Yes, the 1975 Reds team is remembered for both its greatness and their epic World Series with the Red Sox. But that 1976 team has more of a claim to fame. Yes, the 1975 Reds won 108 games (six more than the 1976 team) and won the NL West by 20 games ('76 team won by 10 games), but that doesn't mean that the '75 team was greater.
That 1976 Reds team featured seven All Stars. Okay, that doesn't seem like that big of a deal when you consider that teams do that now and there were only 12 NL franchises then. But five of those guys started. The NL All Star starters featured Johnny Bench at catcher, Joe Morgan at 2B, Dave Concepcion at SS, Pete Rose at 3B and George Foster in the outfield. The bench featured 1B Tony Perez and OF Ken Griffey. That means seven out of the eight position players the Reds had in 1976 made the All Star team (only Cesar Geronimo didn't).
Okay, then factor in the postseason. They swept the Philadelphia Phillies (who won 101 games during the regular season) then swept the New York Yankees. They outscored the Yankees 22-8 in that four game series. The same New York Yankees that won the next two World Series titles.
I know that Mr. Verducci is a far smarter man than me when it comes to baseball matters ... I just think he missed the boat on this one.
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