The first event was Friday’s on-field reunion as the franchise celebrated the 40th anniversary of the 1976 team that won a second consecutive World Series championship.
Rose and Baseball Hall of Fame members Johnny Bench and Tony Perez joined 17 other players from the 1976 team on the field before the game to soak up the adulation of a large crowd, and as often as the teams gather, they never seem to get tired of each other. That’s because, according to Bench, they never get tired of reliving what might be the greatest in any of their lives.
“One thing you have to remember is we were all brought her to fill a role,” Bench said before Friday’s pre-game ceremonies. “(Manager) Sparky (Anderson) would call us in – me, Pete, Tony and (Baseball Hall of Famer) Joe (Morgan) – and say, ‘What do you think about getting this guy?’ If we said no, you never heard about it. I mean, who were better scouts than we were? Everybody on the team had a role. The leadoff batter was as important as the cleanup hitter, and the No. 8 batter was as important as the No. 6 batter, and the guys on the bench were more important than anybody. That’s why, when I see guys like (Bill) Plummer and (Santo) Alcala and (Manny) Sarmiento, it’s like stepping back in time and it seems like yesterday.
“People ask me what my biggest moment in baseball was. Nothing replaces walking into that clubhouse in ’75 after we won and knowing that everybody in that clubhouse – players, coaches, trainers, clubhouse guys – were champions. Every guy was a champion. Every guy was going to get a ring.”
Rose, Bench, Perez, Alcala and Sarmiento were joined on the field by 1976 teammates Dave Concepcion, Ken Griffey Sr., George Foster, Cesar Geronimo, Don Gullett, Dan Driessen, Pat Zachry, Don Werner, Fred Norman, Pat Darcy, Rawly Eastwick, Mike Lum, Will McEnaney, Bob Bailey and Jack Billingham. Each stood on a star-shaped placard with his name and number.
Morgan was unable to be on hand, but the rest were introduced after a highlight video was shown on the scoreboard. Anderson, who died in 2010, was shown in a video talking about the 1976 team and Bench delivered a short speech before Billingham threw a ceremonial first pitch to Concepcion and Reds president and chief executive officer Bob Castellini presided over the unveiling of a plaque honoring the team and its accomplishments.
Bench said he feels there’s no question that the 1976 Reds were baseball’s best-ever team. Rose isn’t so sure.
“I would never get in front of any group and say we were the best team in the history of baseball because I don’t know about the (1927) Yankees or some of the Dodger teams of the 1950s with Jackie Robinson and Duke Snider (and Roy) Campanella and those guys, but I will go to my grave saying the Big Red Machine was the most entertaining team ever,” Rose said. “We had white stars. We had black stars. We had Latino stars. We had a Hall of Fame manager. We had speed. We had defense. We had home run leaders. We had batting champions. We had daring baserunners, and the reason we were so good – because you can analyze all the teams in baseball today – what teams in baseball today have a potential (Most Valuable Player) candidate every year that are catchers and second basemen? None. But that was the Big Red Machine. There was a period of time when I led off for the Big Red Machine and the next three guys up all got statues outside the ballpark. Not plaques, statues. You’ve got to be a heck of a player to have a statue. Bench, Morgan and Perez, they’re out there.”
Rose is scheduled to join them next year. Guess who else will be on hand.
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