The Greatest Reds: #70 - #66

70. Dusty Miller

The greatest "Dusty" ever associated with the Cincinnati Reds, Miller appeared more or less out of nowhere in 1895 after not having played (at best as I can find) for the four previous seasons. Miller was a good hitter (.308 batting average with the Reds over five seasons), who possessed both power and speed (finished 4th in total bases a couple times, and stole 76 bases in 125 games in 1896), but defended right field in a way that could charitably be described as "bad". In 1899, he very suddenly stopped being a good hitter, and his career was over.

69. Ed Bailey

For a 25 year period (1956-1980, with a 1-year exception of 1961), the Reds had considerable stability behind the plate—a three man regime that began with Ed Bailey. In his first full season of 1956, Bailey posted what would remain career highs in runs (59), hits (115), home runs (28), RBI (75), and OPS+ (143). His brother Jim briefly pitched with the Reds in 1959 to form a unique battery of brothers.

68. Hans Lobert

Known as one of the fastest men in the game at the time he played, Lobert once raced a racehorse around the bases as a publicity stunt. His 5-year tenure with the Reds was spotty, but symmetrical: a good hitting season in limited playing time, followed by a weak season, followed by a truly great season, followed by a weak season, followed by a good hitting season in limited playing time. In the great season (1908), Lobert dominated a low run-scoring environment (his 63 RBI were good for 6th best in the NL) with a 144 OPS+ (5th best) that was paired with 47 steals (3rd).

67. Pat Duncan

Called up to Cincinnati late in the 1919 season to spell ineffective left-fielders Rube Bressler and Sherry Magee, Duncan quickly solidified himself as the starting left-fielder in just 31 games, and found himself hitting 5th in game 1 of the 1919 World Series, played in all 8 games, and drove in 8 runs to lead the Reds. He then owned the position for four full seasons, showing remarkable consistency while adapting to the new live-ball era (season-by-season OPS+ marks: 109, 109, 119, 112). 1922 saw Duncan hit 44 doubles (3rd in NL) and drive in 94 runs (7th). 1924 saw the tables turn on Duncan, as his ineffective hitting that year led to being replaced by Rube Bressler and his major league career was over at the age of 30.

66. Gary Nolan

The anatomy of a shredded arm. In 1967, debuting as an 18-year-old rookie, Gary Nolan was awesome. Nolan went 14-8, with a 2.58 ERA (147 ERA+) and 206 strikeouts over 226.2 innings. Two decent years followed, albeit in part-time duty. Then in 1970, Nolan broke out again: 18-7, 3.27 ERA (128 ERA+), and 181 K in 250.2 innings, serving as the 22-year-old ace of a pennant winning team. A mediocre 1971 followed, then in 1972, Nolan was on his way to his best season yet, with a 13-2 record and a 1.81 ERA at the all-star break. Neck and shoulder pain limited him to just 31.2 innings the rest of the year, however. Then just 10.1 innings in 1973, and he missed he ’74 season completely. For the triumphant seasons of 1975-76, Nolan was back in full-time duty (210.2 and 239.1 innings, respectively) as a 15-game winner both years, but did it as the ultimate soft-tosser: leading the league in walk prevention, and compiling just 187 strikeouts in the two seasons combined. The next year, more injuries struck, and Nolan retired.