1-0.
1-0.
1-0.
The Cincinnati Reds became the first team since 1960 to lose three straight games by that score. Talk about futility. The Philadelphia Phillies were the last team to lose three straight games by that score in 1960. No team has ever lost four in a row by that score.
I was concerned about their offense before the season started, was shocked the day they scored 14 runs but, looking back, maybe that was just an aberration. I tried to recall the last horrible hitting team the Reds had but failed. I admit, I didn’t look up and pour over statistics but historically, the Reds have always been more a “good-hit, poor pitching” team more than anything else.
Certain years do stand out but not because of bad hitting— instead it was bad pitching. 1969 comes to mind when the Big Red Machine had a high-octane offense but not a very good pitching staff. A perfect example of that was a 19-17 Reds win over Philadelphia that season in Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia.
Camil Pascuel started that game for Cincinnati and a total of five Red pitchers held off the Phillies, thanks mostly to a three-inning stint by closer Wayne Granger who finished the game. Johnny Bench was 5-for-6 that day, Alex Johnson was 4-for-6.
Jim Merritt had a 17-9 record for that team but an earned run average of 4.87 and one of Manager Dave Bristol’s starters was Tony Cloninger, who finished with an 11-17 record and an ERA of 5.03.
But bad hitting Reds teams are few and far between. One weak hitter that stands out was John Vuckovich, who Sparky Anderson started at third base for the Reds in 1975. Anderson felt the Reds lineup could withstand the good-field, weak hitting Vuckovich at third base. Anderson’s patience ran out in May. He replaced Vukovich at third base with Pete Rose and inserted George Foster into the lineup in left field. And that bold move, which even caught then-General Manager Bob Howsam by surprise, cemented the Big Red Machine and led to back-to-back World Series titles but replaced in May when he moved Pete Rose from left field to third base and inserted George Foster into the lineup. That bold move finalized the Big Red Machine.
Vuckovich, who passed away in 2007 at age 59, holds the record for the lowest career batting average of any non-pitcher with a minimum of 500 at-bats with an average of .161. He was 6 for 44 at the plate when Sparky made the move, with just one RBI. Vuckovich’s nickname was “balsa” because of his horrible bat.
The Reds also had a catcher with the last name of Trevino in 1982. He was the first catcher to officially follow Bench, who played at third base that season. Alex Trevino finished the 1982 season with a .251 batting average with one home run and 33 runs batted in. Trevino came to the Reds from the Mets as part of the trade for Foster.
Trevino and Vuckovich look like both would fit in with the hitting skills of the current 2025 Reds. It’s early for sure and hopefully the offense will snap out of it but three shutouts in a row is both disgusting and discouraging.
Where are the Torpedo bats?
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