The Machine by Stephen Porter

  The Cincinnati Reds of the 1970s had five regular batters in their lineup who each eventually had at least 2,000 hits. They also became better known as The Big Red Machine and won back-to-back World Championships with the same line-up!

Stephen Porter pays tribute to The Machine through his prose which discusses the era of the Cincinnati Reds dominance of the National League during the 1970s.

"The outfield was anchored, by three all their own, (George) Foster, (Ken) Griffey, and (Cesar) Geronimo, no better were known." - Stephen Porter
The Machine

by Stephen Porter ©

Published: Baseball Almanac (03-20-2001)

T'was the greatest group of men, ever to play,
On a diamond, with a ball, every day

There was Joe, there was Johnny, and then there was Pete,
The whole team was sturdy, as two ton concrete

Down at first there was Tony, always catching them square,
And at second was Joe, who could run like a mare

Dave held up short, never missing a beat,
And fielding at third, no one else, but Pete

The outfield was anchored, by three all their own,
Foster, Griffey, and Geronimo, no better were known

Individually the best, well maybe not quite,
But together they put up one hell of a fight

All who watched, those 8 play the game,
Knew something was up, they were destined for fame

And sure enough, two years back to back,
The Machine won the title, for they had the knack.

Were they truly the best group, ever to play,
On a diamond, with a ball, every day

It isn't for sure, no one can agree,
For many teams have put it on the line, in this land of the free

But one thing I feel, as other Reds fans do,
Those 8 played the best, as a team, as a crew.

The Machine by Stephen Porter ©



Did you know that during the anti-communist McCarthy era the Cincinnati Reds were asked to change their name to the Redlegs? A sportswriter named Tom Swope wrote, "We were known as the Reds before the Communists. Let them change their name."

The 1976 Cincinnati Reds were the first twentieth century team to lead their league in runs, stolen bases, and home runs.

Authors Rob Neyer and Eddie Epstein discussed & researched Baseball Dynasties in their wonderful book and ranked the Reds Big Red Machine in their top fifteen dynasties list.

     

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