Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central Division and were a charter member of the American Association in 1881 before joining the NL in 1890.[3][4]
For other uses, see Cincinnati Reds (disambiguation). Not to be confused with Cincinnati Red.The Reds played in the NL West division from 1969 to 1993, before joining the Central division in 1994. For several years in the 1970s, they were considered the most dominant team in baseball, most notably winning the 1975 and 1976 World Series; the team was colloquially known as the "Big Red Machine" during this time, and it included Hall of Fame members Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and Tony Pérez, as well as the controversial Pete Rose, the all-time hits leader. Overall, the Reds have won five World Series championships, nine NL pennants, one AA pennant and 10 division titles. The team plays its home games at Great American Ball Park, which opened in 2003. Bob Castellini has been the CEO of the Reds since 2006. From 1882 to 2023, the Reds' overall win–loss record is 10,857–10,681–139 (a .504 winning percentage).[5]
Community involvement[edit]
The Reds Community Fund, founded in 2001, is focused on the youth of the Greater Cincinnati area with the goal of improving the lives of participants by leveraging the traditions of the Reds. The fund sponsors the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) program with a goal of 30–50 young people graduating high school and attending college annually. It also holds an annual telethon, raising in excess of $120,000. An example of the fund's community involvement is its renovation of Hoffman Fields in the Evanston neighborhood of the city, upgrading the entire recreation complex, for a total of over 400 baseball diamonds renovated at 200 locations throughout the region.[48]
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, since no spectators were allowed at MLB games, the Reds offered fans the opportunity to purchase paper cutouts of their own photographs in the stands at Great American Ball Park. The promotion raised over $300,000 for the fund, more than the fund's traditional events such as Redsfest, the Redlegs Run, an annual golf outing and the Fox Sports Ohio Telethon.[49]