Jamie_B Posted May 24 Report Share Posted May 24 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I_C_Deadpeople Posted May 24 Report Share Posted May 24 Icky is classic. Speaking of classic, just finished reading "The Machine" , the story of the 1975 Reds, damn that brought back some sweet memories. One of the best teams ever, if not they best. The book ends with the attached and whenever I think of the 75 and 76 teams I always state the starting 8. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncleEarl Posted May 24 Report Share Posted May 24 37 minutes ago, I_C_Deadpeople said: Icky is classic. Speaking of classic, just finished reading "The Machine" , the story of the 1975 Reds, damn that brought back some sweet memories. One of the best teams ever, if not they best. The book ends with the attached and whenever I think of the 75 and 76 teams I always state the starting 8. The great 8! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea Ray Posted May 25 Report Share Posted May 25 He doesn't get the pub that the Hall of Famers got but George Foster was the bat that put them over the top. He was the piece that turned a good lineup into a great one. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I_C_Deadpeople Posted May 25 Report Share Posted May 25 22 minutes ago, Sea Ray said: He doesn't get the pub that the Hall of Famers got but George Foster was the bat that put them over the top. He was the piece that turned a good lineup into a great one. Yup and Sparky asked Rose to play 3rd so he could get Driessen into the lineup but he was a brutal fielder. Then he put Foster in, man him and that black bat looked mean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_B Posted May 25 Author Report Share Posted May 25 That "uh, Cesar Geronimo" is accurate. :lol: I bought my brother for a few years a signed 8x10 of each of the members of the Big Red Machine, Geronimo's was the hardest to find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shebengal Posted May 25 Report Share Posted May 25 17 hours ago, I_C_Deadpeople said: Icky is classic. Speaking of classic, just finished reading "The Machine" , the story of the 1975 Reds, damn that brought back some sweet memories. One of the best teams ever, if not they best. The book ends with the attached and whenever I think of the 75 and 76 teams I always state the starting 8. I'm going to have to look this up. If you're interested in Reds history, you should read "Before the Machine: The Story of the 1961 Reds". It's a good read, too. (Also a shameless plug as my brother wrote it.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spicoli Posted May 25 Report Share Posted May 25 Another good book basically about the start of the franchise as told by a reporter that traveled with the team in the very beginning…. If I Never Get Back by Darryl Brock. It’s a work of “fiction” but it’s extremely well thought out and researched. It is very much worth the read if you’re a Reds fan/aficionado, I can’t recommend it enough. Thank me later 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I_C_Deadpeople Posted May 25 Report Share Posted May 25 1 hour ago, Shebengal said: I'm going to have to look this up. If you're interested in Reds history, you should read "Before the Machine: The Story of the 1961 Reds". It's a good read, too. (Also a shameless plug as my brother wrote it.) The Machine: A Hot Team, a Legendary Season, and a Heart-stopping World Series: The Story of the 1975 Cincinnati Reds Paperback – Aug. 31 2010 by Joe Posnanski (Author) This is the book details. The description of the actions of the team during game 6 and 7 in the World Series are so interesting (no spoilers in case someone wants to read the book). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I_C_Deadpeople Posted May 25 Report Share Posted May 25 I still have the 1976 SI magazine from the World Series Win: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncleEarl Posted May 25 Report Share Posted May 25 18 hours ago, Sea Ray said: He doesn't get the pub that the Hall of Famers got but George Foster was the bat that put them over the top. He was the piece that turned a good lineup into a great one. He was good in '75-'76, but really didn't become the devastating hitter he was until '77. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncleEarl Posted May 25 Report Share Posted May 25 18 hours ago, I_C_Deadpeople said: Yup and Sparky asked Rose to play 3rd so he could get Driessen into the lineup but he was a brutal fielder. Then he put Foster in, man him and that black bat looked mean Driessen was the Reds primary third baseman in '74. Pete was moved to third for Foster. Perez was traded to Montreal by Dick Wagner so Driessen could play first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spicoli Posted May 25 Report Share Posted May 25 9 minutes ago, UncleEarl said: Man you’re not kidding there.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I_C_Deadpeople Posted May 26 Report Share Posted May 26 5 hours ago, UncleEarl said: Driessen was the Reds primary third baseman in '74. Pete was moved to third for Foster. Perez was traded to Montreal by Dick Wagner so Driessen could play first. In the book Sparky said he moved Rose to 3rd to make a spot for Driessen ; at the time he thought Foster was soft. Did not take long for Driessen to fail in the field and Foster took over and even surprised Sparky. And trading Perez was certainly a killer. And free agency hit them as well- but hey we had a classic team! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tzintzinatty Kid Posted May 26 Report Share Posted May 26 18 hours ago, spicoli said: Another good book basically about the start of the franchise as told by a reporter that traveled with the team in the very beginning…. If I Never Get Back by Darryl Brock. It’s a work of “fiction” but it’s extremely well thought out and researched. It is very much worth the read if you’re a Reds fan/aficionado, I can’t recommend it enough. Thank me later One of my favorite books ever! I've probably read it a half dozen times at least. Excellent historical sci-fi story. I heard he did a sequel a few years back but I haven't read it yet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncleEarl Posted May 26 Report Share Posted May 26 11 hours ago, I_C_Deadpeople said: In the book Sparky said he moved Rose to 3rd to make a spot for Driessen ; at the time he thought Foster was soft. Did not take long for Driessen to fail in the field and Foster took over and even surprised Sparky. And trading Perez was certainly a killer. And free agency hit them as well- but hey we had a classic team! Sparky must have been old and misremembered. Driessen started over 120 games at third in 1974. Frankly, Sparky said a lot of crazy stuff. One day he would say Concepcion was the best SS he ever had and the next day it would be Alan Trammell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I_C_Deadpeople Posted May 26 Report Share Posted May 26 2 hours ago, UncleEarl said: Sparky must have been old and misremembered. Driessen started over 120 games at third in 1974. Frankly, Sparky said a lot of crazy stuff. One day he would say Concepcion was the best SS he ever had and the next day it would be Alan Trammell. He was a bit kooky and very very superstitious. It all worked out well in the end! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shebengal Posted May 26 Report Share Posted May 26 23 hours ago, I_C_Deadpeople said: The Machine: A Hot Team, a Legendary Season, and a Heart-stopping World Series: The Story of the 1975 Cincinnati Reds Paperback – Aug. 31 2010 by Joe Posnanski (Author) This is the book details. The description of the actions of the team during game 6 and 7 in the World Series are so interesting (no spoilers in case someone wants to read the book). Already have it on reserve at the library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncleEarl Posted May 27 Report Share Posted May 27 9 hours ago, I_C_Deadpeople said: He was a bit kooky and very very superstitious. It all worked out well in the end! For sure. Great skipper. Had two great teams in Cincinnati and Detroit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Le Tigre Posted May 27 Report Share Posted May 27 Since the thread has veered totally away from Elbert, I just finished a book (it’s been out a while) about the worst NBA team in history: the 1972-1973 Philadelphia 76ers. “Perfectly Awful” is a howl, and totally indicative of the sordidness in 1970’s professional sports. Heartily recommend! https://www.wbur.org/onlyagame/2014/11/22/nba-charley-rosen-philadelphia-76ers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea Ray Posted June 1 Report Share Posted June 1 In 1975 the plan was to play John Vukovich at 3B. He couldn't hit a lick so they decided in May that a move had to be made Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I_C_Deadpeople Posted June 1 Report Share Posted June 1 24 minutes ago, Sea Ray said: In 1975 the plan was to play John Vukovich at 3B. He couldn't hit a lick so they decided in May that a move had to be made Indeed. The book details that Sparky knew Vukovich could not hit and he wanted Driesen's bat in the lineup - ended up with Foster and Dreisens bat in the lineup in some fashion. The book breaks down the season almost in weekly chunks so you do get a good sense of what was going on - especially early on when the team was basically playing .500 ball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea Ray Posted June 1 Report Share Posted June 1 On 5/25/2021 at 4:17 PM, UncleEarl said: He was good in '75-'76, but really didn't become the devastating hitter he was until '77. He was devastating in 1977 but he led the league in RBIs in 1976. That's huge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea Ray Posted June 1 Report Share Posted June 1 Ironic that they traded Perez to make room for the younger Driessen 'cause their careers ended about the same time. Perez retired after the 1986 season. Driessen played just a few games for St Louis in 1987 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|High School Harry| Posted June 1 Report Share Posted June 1 What does any of this have to do with Ickey Woods? Was and always will be one of my favorite Bengals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.