The Greatest Reds: #23 - #21

23. Adam Dunn

The Big Donkey. Dunn was an incredibly divisive character during his time with the Reds, owing to his prodigious power, remarkably high strikeout totals, and disinterested defense. Although he was traded before the 2008 trade deadline, Dunn was consistent with his home run output, hitting 46 in 2004 before running off four straight seasons of exactly 40. However, despite the power (Dunn was also good for 25-35 doubles a year), Dunn’s run production was suspect, topping out at just 106 RBI in his peak year. The high strikeouts (led the league in each year from 2004-2006) belied a strong command of the strike zone, as Dunn was generally a lock for over 100 walks each year, leading to his on-base percentage with the Reds running 133 points higher than his career batting average. Ultimately, despite being the best Red of the first decade in the 21st century, Dunn was marked for what he couldn’t do, namely lead the Reds to a winning mark. He was traded in 2008 for Micah Owings and Wilkin Castillo.

22. Paul Derringer

The Reds traded two washed-up players and a never-would-be to the Cardinals for Derringer and a pair of others early on in the 1933 season. Derringer’s introduction was suspect: losing 25 games with the Reds despite a 105 ERA+. He lost over 20 games the next year as well, despite improving his rate stats. Through the 1937 season, Derringer was roughly an average pitcher, with a losing record compiled for a lousy team. Over the next three seasons, Derringer was a very good #2 pitcher for a much improved team, going 66-33 with a 2.97 ERA (126 ERA+) over 904 innings in that stretch. In the 1940 World Series, Derringer was rewarded with the Game 1 starting assignment. He was knocked out of the game before recording his 5th out, allowing 5 runs. He bounced back nicely, with complete game victories in games 4 and 7, the latter a stunning 2-1 thriller. Over his 10 seasons with Cincinnati, Derringer amassed 161 wins and threw for a 111 ERA+ in over 2600 innings.

21. Ken Griffey, Sr

Presumably one of the best players ever selected in the 29th round of the amateur draft, Griffey went on to have a career that spanned 19 seasons. It’s difficult to tie together Griffey’s numbers with my standing perception of the player…it feels like something’s missing from the stats. For example, in Griffey’s first stint with the Reds, he played in a little over 1000 games. If the cumulative stats from those years are normalized to represent an average 162-game year, his stat line looks like this: 307/375/437 (125 OPS+), 162 games, 597 AB, 104 runs, 184 hits, 31 2B, 9 3B, 9 HR, 66 RBI, 23 SB, 65 BB. Good numbers, to be sure, but: A) he really only averaged 116 games played per year in that stint; and B) even bumped up to the 162 game normalization, the numbers don’t evoke visions of a starting right-fielder on one of the greatest offensive teams in baseball history. It’s possible I’m not taking the era enough into account, so maybe this is overly harsh. Additionally, the numbers seem to indicate a below-average fielder, despite Griffey’s legendary speed. Other notes: 1) in his career season of 1976, Griffey had his one great offensive season, hitting for a 140 OPS+ and adding 34 steals; 2) to his credit, Griffey’s decline was very slow, and he remained a useful hitter into his 40’s; 3) Griffey’s postseason performances were hit or miss, but overall they were on the weak side (.240 batting average, 661 OPS in 83 plate appearances); and 4) Senior had about 800 more plate appearances with the Reds than his son. And though there styles of play were as different as good be, Senior’s OPS+ with Cincy ended up at 123, just edging out Junior’s 122 mark. I’m sure this comes up a lot at family reunions, and not Junior’s lifetime 480 home run advantage.

The Top 15 Right Fielders in Reds history

1          Ken Griffey, Sr

2          Ival Goodman

3          Mike Mitchell

4          Curt Walker

5          Reggie Sanders

6          Dusty Miller

7          Paul O'Neill

8          Dave Parker

9          Greasy Neale

10        Wally Post

11        Sam Crawford

12        Johnny Wyrostek

13        Tommy Harper

14        Dave Collins

15        Tommy Griffith