2009 Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds improved a little bit in the 2008 season, ending with a .457 win average versus a .444 win average in 2007, but they still landed in fourth place in the NL Central and missed the playoffs. Clearly something needed to change, and with Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey, Jr. both gone, the Reds are starting the 2009 season a whole new club. The offseason was relatively quiet, though the Reds did pick up Ramon Hernandez and Willy Taveras. Mostly they’ll be relying on their cache of promising young talent, like Edinson Volquez, Jay Bruce and Johnny Cueto, to turn the Reds around. The question now is, with The Big Donkey and Junior gone, who will be the new leader? The best way to find out is to watch it all go down live, so get your tickets to Great American Ballpark and catch the Cincinnati Reds in action in 2009!

Baseball's First All-Professional Team

Amongst all the professional baseball franchises in the world, only one, the Cincinnati Reds, can lay claim to being the first ever. They have a century old rivalry with their Central Division mates St. Louis and Chicago, and have formed more recent rivalries against Houston and Milwaukee. The Reds are best known for their Big Red Machine teams of the 1970s. The team, stocked with Hall of Famers Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench, and Tony Perez, won back to back World Series titles in 1975 and 1976. Their last championship was in 1990, under the guidance of Manager Lou Pinella who led his team to victory over the heavily favored Oakland A’s.

Great American Ballpark

In 2003, after decades playing in the multi-functional Riverfront Stadium, the Reds moved into a brand new baseball-only facility named the Great American Ballpark. This beautiful 42,000 seat stadium sits right on Cincinnati’s historic riverfront. The stadium has many of the modern amenities that today’s fans enjoy along with some things unique to Cincinnati.

Cincinnati is a tremendous sports town with a rich history. The NFL’s Bengals play in Paul Brown Stadium across the street and feature many exciting young players. The city is also home to 2 major NCAA basketball programs: the Cincinnati Bearcats and Xavier Musketeers. These two cross town rivals play a much anticipated game every year for city bragging rights.