The Greatest Reds: #85 - #81

85. Hughie Critz

In 1926, Critz finished 2nd in the NL MVP voting. Two years later, he finished 4th. His OPS+ marks in each season were 86 and 90, respectively, perhaps giving indication to how well regarded Critz’s glove was. Indeed, the numbers seem to indicate a rangy second baseman with sure hands. Critz’s 1928 season saw him finish 7th in hits, 5th in steals, and 9th in triples.

84. Billy Werber

Perhaps the greatest discrepancy between peak and career value on the list, Werber played two full seasons (1939-40) as the full-time lead-off hitter/third baseman for pennant-winning clubs. Coincidentally, he put up identical OPS marks of 777 in each season (OPS+ of 108 and 113, respectively) to pair with above average defense, and stolen base totals that ranked in the NL top 5. En route to World Series victory in 1940, Werber hit 370/452/519 against the Tigers, a performance that bumped Werber roughly 10 spots up this list. Two quirky notes: 1) Werber was the first player to ever bat on television; and 2) At the time of Werber’s death in 2009, he was recognized as the oldest living MLB ballplayer.

83. Tom Browning

A long-time workhorse who routinely posted top-10 finishes in innings pitched (and home runs allowed), Browning was 35 games over .500 in an 11-year stint with the Reds. He had seven consecutive seasons with double-digit wins, including a 20-win season in his rookie campaign of 1985 (also posting career highs in IP: 261.1, K: 155, and ERA+: 107). Of particular note during his career was a perfect game in 1988 against the Dodgers, and a pivotal win in Game 2 of the 1990 NLCS to allow the Reds to even the series against the Pirates.

82. John Franco

Six full seasons with the Reds, averaging 66 appearances, 88 innings, 25 saves, 61 strikeouts, and a 2.49 ERA (153 ERA+). As a Brooklyn native and St. John’s alum, he was perhaps destined to end up with the Mets (traded there after 1989 for Randy Myers), but he also was seemingly destined to be on not-quite-good-enough teams, arriving in New York too late for their team successes, and leaving Cincy too early for theirs—playing instead on 4 straight 2nd place Reds teams. His career 424 saves remain the most ever for a left-handed pitcher.

The top 15 Relief Pitchers in Reds history:

1          John Franco

2          Clay Carroll

3          Danny Graves

4          Pedro Borbon

5          Tom Hume

6          Rob Dibble

7          Ted Power

8          Joe Beggs

9          Jeff Shaw

10        Scott Williamson

11        Norm Charlton

12        Scott Sullivan

13        Jeff Brantley

14        Harry Gumbert

15        Rawley Eastwick

81. Bobby Adams

The post-WWII version of Ron Oester, albeit with a lesser glove. Here are the career stat comparisons between the two: Adams: 4019 AB, 188 2B, 49 3B, 37 HR, 90 OPS+; Oester: 4214 AB, 190 2B, 33 3B, 42 HR, 87 OPS+. Adams’s best season came in 1952, primarily as a result of getting to play every day, one of only two seasons when he topped 500 plate appearances.