35 years ago (1973), a 7-2 loss in Game 5 of the NLCS at Shea Stadium in Queens.
Cincinnati
Pete Rose lf
Joe Morgan 2b
Dan Driessen 3b
Tony Perez 1b
Johnny Bench c
Ken Griffey rf
Cesar Geronimo cf
Darrel Chaney ss
Jack Billingham p
New York Mets
Wayne Garrett 3b
Felix Millan 2b
Cleon Jones rf
John Milner 1b
Ed Kranepool lf
Jerry Grote c
Don Hahn cf
Bud Harrelson ss
Tom Seaver p
WP: Tom Seaver (1-1)
LP: Jack Billingham (0-1)
HR: None.
Tom Seaver and Tug McGraw combined on a seven-hitter, as the Mets won the best-of-five series 3-2, and advanced to the World Series to face the defending World Champion Oakland Athletics. Mets pitchers completely shut down the Cincinnati offense, as the Reds hit only .186/.247/.311/.558 in the five games. When you consider that those numbers include Pete Rose, who hit a robust .381/.435/.714/1.149, it is unbelievable just how dismal the rest of the club was. Not including Rose, the rest of the Reds hit only .158/.220/.253/.473!
This concludes the "This Date In Reds History" feature for this season. I really appreciate all the positive feedback I have received, and I would like to thank everybody who contributes to the discussions, as well as those who just stop by to read each day. (I would name each of you, but there are quite a few of you, and I would hate to inadvertently overlook anyone.) As long as there is an interest I will continue to post them. Next year I will feature the 1954, '59, '64, '69, '74, '79, '84, '89, '94, '99, and 2004 seasons. I would like to recognize retrosheet.org and baseball-reference.com, two great sites where I find a lot of information.
See you all on April 2, as the 1984 Reds will open next season's schedule!