The underwhelming years to follow in Cincinnati were something no Reds fan, or baseball fan for that matter, wished to witness. The Griffey Jr. Era in Cincinatti wasn’t entirely a downward spiral, however. Despite the setbacks and come up short moments that would unfold, his first year in 2000 brought the Reds a promising start that has seemingly been forgotten about.
The Reds were coming off of a very successful 1999 campaign. Well known manager Jack McKeon took a 77-85 record in 1998 under his first year in charge in Cincinnati and would follow it up with a 96-67 record in 1999 (played 163 games due to a one game playoff, in which they lost to the Mets). Nevertheless, a 19-win improvement would see things on the up and up for the Reds. Infamously bringing in Griffey Jr in the offseason would take the momentum already built up into a promising spring.
The 2000 Opening Day lineup and starting rotation were as follows:
- 2B – Pokey Reese
- SS – Barry Larkin
- CF – Ken Griffey Jr.
- RF – Dante Bichette
- 1B – Dimitri Young
- C – Ed Taubensee
- 3B – Aaron Boone
- LF – Michael Tucker
Notable Bench Players
- C – Benito Santiago
- 3B – Chris Stynes
- OF – Michael Tucker
- OF – Alex Ochoa
- IF – Juan Castro
- SP – Pete Harnisch (Opening Day starter)
- SP – Denny Neagle
- SP – Steve Parris
- SP – Ron Villone
- SP – Rob Bell
- CP – Danny Graves
The First Half
Wildly enough, the first game of the year would actually end in a 3-3 tie with Milwaukee. A six-inning tie in fact, which can only be assumed was due to inclement weather.
Cincinnati played .500 ball in April after that tie, going 12-12. It wouldn’t be uneventful however, as the early month included back-to-back walk off wins against the Cubs (extra inning RBI singles from Pokey Reese and utility outfielder Alex Ochoa, respectfully). It would also include a brief low point with a nasty three game sweep at the hands of the Dodgers where the Reds were outscored 36-7.
The Reds started to gel in May with a 15-game stretch in which they went 11-5. In the middle of that span included a 6-game winning streak sweeping San Diego in the process.
Much of that good form was unfortunately negated in the month of June. After what seemed to be a great start, sweeping Minnesota and going to 31-24 for the year thus far, the Reds would go on to lose 11 of their next 12, getting swept by that same San Diego team in that span this time. In less than 2 weeks they’ve become three games under .500. Some sort of stability was needed, and it would come as they would finish the month playing .500 ball.
Cincinatti would head into the All-Star break 43-44. 2nd place in the Central and 8 games behind St. Louis. Griffey, Larkin, and Danny Graves were Cincinnati’s All-Star selections. A few of their notable stats, as well as other Reds with numbers worthy of mention:
- Griffey got the All-Star nod purely off of power and damage. Despite the lower-than-expected average of .238, Griffey smashed 28 HRs, drove in 72, and slugged .550. 12 of those homers came in the month of June alone
- Barry Larkin was his usual HoF self this first half. Batting .316 with 81 hits. 19 of them doubles, 44 runs in 66 games. with a nice 11 stolen bases on top. He was the oil that ran the Big Red Machine in 2000
- While Danny Graves isnt your usual flamethrowing closer, he was very efficient nonetheless. 14 saves at the break with a 1.99 ERA. A decent 9 wins to his name already as well, earned him an All-Star spot
- Pokey Reese had a sneaky good 19 stolen bases by the break
- Though not an All-Star selection, 36-year-old Dante Bichette was locked in. 13 HRs, 46 RBIs, batted .295 and a decent .831 OPS at the break
Left hander Denny Neagle would be traded at the break to the Yankees for a handful of minor leaguers. A combination of Scott Williamson and Elmer Dessens would fill Neagle’s spot for the remainder of the year
The Second Half
Cincinatti would start off the real grind of the summer on the right foot with a sweep of the Rockies in Coors Field. Finishing the rest of July off playing .500 ball, sweeping Montreal to close out the month.
August would prove to be a roller coaster of sorts for the Reds. After a Strong July, Cincinnati would ring off five straight losses, redeem themselves by winning the next series against Atlanta, then go on to sweep the Cubs in Wrigley, only to get swept by Milwaukee the very next series.
The Reds started August four games behind St Louis and two games above .500. By the end of the month, they would be eight games back.
The Red would trade Dante Bichette at the trade deadline to the Boston Red Sox for Chris Reitsima
Cincinnati would need a serious push in the month of September to have any chances of a playoff spot and would make sure they go down swingin’. Going 18-10, scoring 170 runs for the month. The bats were on fire to close out, scoring 8 or more runs in 9 of those games
The Mets would have the Wild Card spot all but locked up with a 94-win campaign of their own, so dreams of a postseason sneak in were dashed. It didn’t stop the Reds from striving for a winning season however, finishing the season 85-77, which would be their 2nd straight winning season. An achievement at the time that was a great improvement for Cincinnati as winning stability was becoming an issue with the club ever since winning the 1990 World Series
While there was no October baseball for the Reds, there were a number of season accolades and impressive numbers:
- Griffey Jr. played a fat 145 games in 2000. It would unfortunately be the most games he would ever play in a season again. He would jack 40 homers, drive in 118 RBIs, crossing the plate 100 times himself, and showing off the plate discipline with 94 walks. A season line of .271 AVG/.387 OBP/.556 SLG/.942 OPS, proved Cincinnati got at least one classic year out of The Kid.
- Sean Casey had a solid 2000 performance with 20 HRs, 80 RBIs, batting .315 and an OPS of .902 in 133 games. His second half needs a spotlight though, batting .372, with a staggering OPS of 1.092, and 90 hits in 66 games.
- Dimitri Young and Barry Larkin both hit above .300 (.303 and .313 respectively), with Young leading the team in hits (166)
- 8 players produced an OPS over .800 what also played 100+ games for the team (Griffey, Casey, Larkin, Young, Bichette, Stynes, Tucker, Ochoa)
- Aaron Boone also slashed an OPS of .826, though only played 84 games
- Chris Stynes was an “X-Factor” for the team all year. The utility man batted a shocking .334 and produced an .884 OPS in 380 ABs. Hitting just a tick under .400 vs lefties (.398)
- Michael Tucker was very consistent all year as well with an OPS of .892. With a line of .320 AVG/.435 OBP/.552 SLG/.987 OPS at home all year, he was an absolute problem in Cinergy Field
- Pokey Reese would take home his second straight Gold Glove award. While not being among the league’s leaders in fielding percentage, he led the league in Total Zone Runs among 2Bs. Proving he came through time after time in clutch defensive situations.
Season Summary
The yearly goal of a postseason berth came just short for the 2000 Cincinnati Reds. Though knowing how the next few years would unfold for the club, some would argue that just the winning record itself was enough for a successful season. With a healthy Griffey and a lineup full of consistent hitting that was only going to get better, it has to be said that we can’t help but wonder how the 2000’s would have turned out in Cincinnati had Griffey stayed healthy. If it was going to be more like this season, we might be viewing the recent history of the Reds in a much brighter light today.
