Okay, while we've all been hyperventilating over Castro invading Cincinnati (it's just Juan, folks - not Fidel!), I got to think about the all-time best Hispanic players for the Reds. Given our rich history with Latin American players, I thought this task would be easy, but we've got loads of gaps.
What I'm going to put forward is clearly incomplete and I'm drawing blanks on many past players. Most surprising has been the dirth of Latin outfielders for the Reds. I've taken players born in Latin American countries. For manager, I chose American born Lou Pinella given his success instead of Cuban born Tony Perez, who never had a chance managing here. I have also left out the current players because I think they're still establishing themselves.
1B Tony Perez
2B Mariano Duncan
3B Chico Ruiz *
SS Dave Concepcion
C Bo Diaz
OF Cesar Geranimo
OF Cesar Cedeno
OF **
P Mario Soto
P Jose Rijo
P Dolf Luque
P Manny Sarmiento
RP Pedro Borbon
Manager Lou Pinella
Third is very weak, as are the outfield slots, plus I need more pitchers.
Your thoughts folks? I know I'm overlooking some players.
* I really wanted to grant Ruiz's wish to bench him, but he played some third and I had no one else that came to mind.
** The outfield slots were fairly hard. I thought about about Juan Encarnacion and Jose Guillen, but they both only played a half season with the Reds.
Originally Posted by Centralchamps05
