Concepcion number 13 to be retired

[RedsMan3203]

CINCINNATI - The uniform jersey number 13 worn from 1970 through 1988 by Cincinnati Reds shortstop Dave Concepcion will be retired in ceremonies at Great American Ball Park prior to the Saturday, July 28 game against the Chicago Cubs.

At its meeting last week, the board of directors of the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum voted unanimously to retire the uniform number of the Venezuelan native. Each fan attending the 7:10 p.m. game will receive a commemorative replica of a painting that will be presented to Concepcion that day.

"He was the best shortstop of his era and certainly one of the greatest in the history of our storied franchise," said Reds president and chief executive officer Bob Castellini. "Number 13 deserves to hang next to the uniform jerseys of Bench and Morgan and Perez."

Concepcion's 13 will be the ninth number retired by the Reds, joining Fred Hutchinson’s 1, Johnny Bench’s 5, Joe Morgan’s 8, Sparky Anderson's 10, Ted Kluszewski’s 18, Frank Robinson’s 20, Tony Perez’ 24 and Jackie Robinson’s 42. Concepcion was inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame in 2000.

As the starting shortstop on the Big Red Machine, Concepcion was teammates with Bench, Morgan and Perez under manager Anderson on a club that from 1970-78 went 863-586 (.596) and won five National League West Division titles, four pennants and two World Series championships. The ‘75 and ‘76 Reds combined to go 210-114 (.629) and became the National League’s first franchise in 54 years to win consecutive World Series titles. Concepcion was named team captain in 1973.

With 8,723 at bats in 2,488 games Concepcion ranks second in club history in both categories behind Pete Rose. Since 1900, he ranks among the franchise's all-time leaders in hits (2,326; 3rd), doubles (389; 3rd), stolen bases (321; 3rd), run scored (993; 5th), total bases (3,114; 5th) and RBI (950; 6th).

Concepcion, 58, was a 9-time National League All-Star, fourth-most in club history (Bench 14, Rose 13, Larkin 12), and his 5 Rawlings Gold Glove Awards are second only to Bench's 9 Gold Gloves. He was the Most Valuable Player of the 1982 All-Star Game, 3 times was a The Sporting News All-Star and twice won Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Awards. He was voted the Reds' MVP in 1981.

"By virtue of his 19-year career with the Reds, a claim to being the best shortstop of his era and his overall place in Reds history, Dave Concepcion richly deserves this honor, one that rightfully is reserved for those very few players whose careers truly represent extraordinary accomplishment," said Greg Rhodes, executive director of the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum.

Concepcion's 13 will be displayed alongside the others below the press box behind home plate at Great American Ball Park. Retired uniform number information begins on page 402 of the media guide.



Per Trent - Per the Reds

:beerme:

[NJReds]

:clap: Congrats to one of my favorite Reds.

[George Anderson]

Right On!!! Well deserved honor for one of the great shortstops in the history of the game!!!:beerme: :thumbup: :party:

[Yachtzee]

Na endlich! :beerme:

You can see his impact in the Venezuelan shortstops who have worn 13 in his honor.

[BuckWoody]

:jump: :jump: :jump: :jump:
Huzzah!!!

[hebroncougar]

Very deservedly so. The team honoring it's great tradition is long over due. Congrats Mr. Concepcion.

[Redsland]

Woo-hoo!

[goreds2]

It was a long time coming but I am very glad it is a reality now. :)

[redsmetz]

It was a long time coming but I am very glad it is a reality now. :)

Now if we could just get HOF voters to recognize his greatness and place him in the big hall.

[Chip R]

Great news! Unfortunately I can't go to the game. :(

[goreds2]

Great news! Unfortunately I can't go to the game. :(

I will be in Cincy on July 25 (Reds game) and 26th (Jimmy Buffett). I have to depart on the 27th though. :(

[Yachtzee]

Great news! Unfortunately I can't go to the game. :(

I'm in the same boat. My brother and his wife will be visiting from China, big family fest that weekend.

[macro]

Now if we could just get HOF voters to recognize his greatness and place him in the big hall.


You took the words out of my keyboard. Aside from Ozzie, he was the greatest defensive shortstop of the Astroturf era.

[Joseph]

Congrats Davey, you deserve it.

[cumberlandreds]

It's about time! He was one of the best I have ever seen and should be in Cooperstown too! Congrats to one of best SS ever to play.

[MartyFan]

:jump: :jump: :jump:

FINALLY!!!

My favorite Reds player of all time...I won't be able to make the game though...but man am I happy!

[KronoRed]

Nice

[remdog]

Absolutely about time! That's great news!


Aside from Ozzie, he was the greatest defensive shortstop of the Astroturf era.

Sorry, Davy was better, IMO.

Rem

[Caveat Emperor]

A deserving honor for one of the greatest players ever to don the Red & Wishbone C. Hopefully this will renew interest in placing him someplace else he deserves to be: Cooperstown, NY.

I just hope they're leaving room behind home plate for #11 too.

[M2]

Now if we could just get HOF voters to recognize his greatness and place him in the big hall.

This should help. Sportswriters are an easily swayed lot. Seeing that number 13 hanging at the GAB will have a positive effect on Concepcion's HOF candidacy.

[Degenerate39]

Now we just need 11 and 14 retired.

[George Anderson]

Now we just need 11 and 14 retired.

Retiring #11 will happen one day when and if the burnt bridges are repaired.

Retiring #14....well who the heck knows.???:rolleyes:

After that I would say the Reds have finally retired the numbers of all the individuals who were deserving to have the honor bestowed upon them!!

[RollyInRaleigh]

:clap: A great honor for, in my opinion, the best Reds shortstop of all time.

[Ron Madden]

About time, Good for Davey. (THE BEST REDS SS OF ALL TIME)

:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

[SteveJRogers]

Retiring #11 will happen one day when and if the burnt bridges are repaired.

Retiring #14....well who the heck knows.???:rolleyes:

After that I would say the Reds have finally retired the numbers of all the individuals who were deserving to have the honor bestowed upon them!!

What bridges were burned with Larkin?

As far as 14 goes, I heard the NY Giants retired Frank Gifford's number just at a dinner function, no on field ceromony (don't know why exactly) couldn't they do that? Rose doesn't have to be in attendance so why not.

Lets see, Perez, Rose (okay I'm putting him as "unofficially" retired), Concepcion, Morgan, Bench. Heh, I wonder if the OF trio of The Big Eight are feeling jealous! =;)

[Redlegs]

Long overdue. I'm appreciative the Reds are finally putting number 13 in it's rightful place along the wall below Marty's booth.

[Redlegs]

What bridges were burned with Larkin?


The Reds signed an aging shortstop to a 3 year 9 million dollar deal and he felt unappreciated after that. Go figure.

[Ron Madden]

Barry Larkin had better stats but I thought Davey was the better fielder.

[remdog]

Barry Larkin had better stats but I thought Davey was the better fielder.

Having seen both, I would agree with that statement.

When both Davey and Woody Woodward were playing for the Reds I thought that Davey should sit because I felt Woody would hit more. In '73, Davey came into his own and, from that time on showed that he was both the better fielder and the better hitter (than Woody).

Rem

[RedsFanInMobile]

:beerme: Great news! I'll probably only get to one game this year, but this will be the one. Davey has always been one of my all-time favorite Reds.

[OnBaseMachine]

Great news. I'm too young to have seen Davey play but I've heard the stories from my dad and have been lucky enough to see some brief video's on him. I've seen and heard enough to know that he is among the best shortstops in baseball history and is very deserving of not only being inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame but the Baseball Hall of Fame also.

Who's next? Larkin? And then hopefully Pete.

[SteveJRogers]

FWIW, Davey will be the first MLBer who wore 13 to have his number retired.

http://i20.ebayimg.com/04/i/000/9a/ee/de68_1.JPG
http://i6.ebayimg.com/04/i/000/97/61/4618_1_b.JPG

[SandyD]

It's about time. :D

[Redsland]

The Reds signed an aging shortstop to a 3 year 9 million dollar deal and he felt unappreciated after that. Go figure.
Actually, it was a three-year, $27 million contract. Followed by a $700,000 one-year deal.

But to answer the question, John Allen and Barry Larkin butted heads frequently in the post-Marge years. Generally speaking, Barry challenged ownership (and its mouthpiece, Allen) to put the best possible team on the field, whereas ownership (and its mouthpiece, Allen) wanted Barry to be a good employee and do what he was told. Sometimes these differences of opinion made it into the press, which helped fuel the fire. Ultimately, after Barry was named to the NL All-Star team in 2004, he asked Allen to cancel Barry Larkin Day, because Barry wasn't sure he wanted to retire after all. Allen obliged him, but didn't offer him a contract after the season. Neither did anyone else, but the point is, they hate each other.

[M2]

I doubt Larkin's coming back for a feel good moment until Allen's gone. Can't say I blame him. Lindner/Allen/O'Brien/Miley were probably real easy to walk away from.

Also, I'm guessing modern ballplayers find it a little easier to divorce themselves from the game. They've made a lot of money. They understand it's a business. They can do things on their own terms.

[macro]

Absolutely about time! That's great news!



Sorry, Davy was better, IMO.

Rem

Oh, don't be sorry. I'm not about to argue. I was just giving Smith the benefit of the doubt, because I fear I'm prejudiced toward Davey. You've got to remember, though...Ozzie did backflips and gave good interviews. The voters apparently like stuff like that.

[RedsBaron]

This should help. Sportswriters are an easily swayed lot. Seeing that number 13 hanging at the GAB will have a positive effect on Concepcion's HOF candidacy.

I expect having his number retired will boost Davey in the HOF voting, but, unfortunately, the Enquirer reports that he only received 13.6% of the HOF vote last year, far, far short of the 75% needed, and he only has one more year of eligibility before the writers.

[RollyInRaleigh]

Oh, don't be sorry. I'm not about to argue. I was just giving Smith the benefit of the doubt, because I fear I'm prejudiced toward Davey. You've got to remember, though...Ozzie did backflips and gave good interviews. The voters apparently like stuff like that.

Exactly. Flamboyance will get you everywhere. Davey was all business.

[RedsBaron]

Davey arguably was the greatest pitcher in Reds history, with a career ERA of 0.00.

[Roy Tucker]

Between 1970 and 2004* with Davey and Barry, Reds fans got horribly spoiled by consistent HoF-quality SS play.

Quite the run and one we probably won't see again for a while.



* - I guess there was an interregnum of Kurt Stilwell in '86.

[Redsland]

I expect having his number retired will boost Davey in the HOF voting, but, unfortunately, the Enquirer reports that he only received 13.6% of the HOF vote last year, far, far short of the 75% needed, and he only has one more year of eligibility before the writers.
I suspect he'll fare better with the Veterans' Committee, despite that august body's last couple of oh-fers.

[M2]

I suspect he'll fare better with the Veterans' Committee, despite that august body's last couple of oh-fers.

Joe Morgan's on that committee, right?

Might help to have to have his double play partner arguing his case.

[minus5]

Actually, it was a three-year, $27 million contract. Followed by a $700,000 one-year deal.


I Love Barry but man he did man himself look pretty bad when he did his press conference sitting at his home, sitting in what looked much like a throne complaining about not making enough money and saying something along the lines of 'having to think about feeding his family' or something to that effect. He sure didn't make himself a very sympathetic character at that point.

Still I hope his number is retired sooner than later and that he'll be back in the fold of the Reds organization as well.

Growing up in the 70s I remember everyone wanting to "be Davey" when we played ball in the backyards. Mimicking his batting stance, he was always one of my all time favorites. I'm very happy for him.

[markymark69]

It's about time. :D



That was exactly what I was going to post

[George Anderson]

.

Growing up in the 70s I remember everyone wanting to "be Davey" when we played ball in the backyards. Mimicking his batting stance, he was always one of my all time favorites. I'm very happy for him.

Johnny Bench was my favorite growing up but I would say as kids we mimicked Davey more than any of the BRM. We didnt have much of a back yard growing up so we used to play baseball with tennis balls in the street. I scraped many a knee and elbow acting like I was Davey Concepcion fielding a ball in the hole and making an amazing throw to Dan Driessen.

[RedsBaron]

Joe Morgan's on that committee, right?

Might help to have to have his double play partner arguing his case.

If the Committee was as it was a few years ago, made up of only about 15 or so people, then Morgan possibly could lobby enough members to get Davey elected. That would be the Frankie Frisch model; Frisch almost got former batboys on his old Giants and Cardinals teams into the HOF.

[Pinch Hits]

Davey made the leaping throw from the hole long before Jeter was born. Far too many people think Jeter invented it. Hats off to DC and hope for the HOF!

[Ron Madden]

The Reds have changed the date to honer Davey.

It"s now August 25th. :thumbup:

[WVJulz]

The Reds have changed the date to honer Davey.

It"s now August 25th. :thumbup:

Where did you see that? The official site is still showing July 28th.
Julz

[Matt700wlw]

July 28th is Cooperstown HOF weekend....so this regime who understands these things changed it.

The previous regime would have left it.

[Ron Madden]

Where did you see that? The official site is still showing July 28th.
Julz



Saw it on Trents blog and heard it on the Lance McAlister show.


RedsZone is Always ahead of the Reds Offical Site. LOL

[BuckWoody]

We already have tickets for August 25th. More proof positive that there is a God and that he loves me. :D

[Chip R]

Good thing they changed it. I wonder what would have happend if Davey had been elected. It's be like, Yeah, we're going to retire Davey's number but he can't be here since he's in Cooperstown getting inducted into the HOF. ;)