Corey Patterson or Willy Taveras? Who would you rather have leading off?

[BluegrassRedleg]

I don't know. If it's so easy, why aren't you leading off for the Reds?

Quality response. If being able to do something on a MLB field was a prerequisite for posting here, none of us would be doing so.

Forgive me for wondering why the Reds haven't had a legit leadoff man in the last 17 or 18 years.

[JoeyGears76]

Forgive me for wondering why the Reds haven't had a legit leadoff man in the last 17 or 18 years.

Maybe it's because your idea of a legit leadoff man is few and far between. There are only a handful of Ichiro, Henderson types out there.

[BluegrassRedleg]

Maybe it's because your idea of a legit leadoff man is few and far between. There are only a handful of Ichiro, Henderson types out there.

How do you know what my idea is?

For the record, my idea is a guy who goes up there with the mindset of setting the table, working pitchers deep into the count and posting an OBP that isn't 20 points higher than his BA.

The Reds haven't had anyone do that consistently since the early- to mid-90s.

[mlh1981]

Here is a list of everyone who has led off a game for Cincinnati since 2000, up through last year:

-Chris Dickerson, Jerry Hairston Jr, Corey Patterson, Jay Bruce, Jolbert Cabrera, Danny Richar, Joey Votto, Ryan Freel, Jeff Keppinger, Scott Hatteberg, Josh Hamilton, Brandon Phillips, Quinton McCracken, Felipe Lopez, Chris Denorfia, Royce Clayton, Dewayne Wise, D’Angelo Jimenez, Jermaine Clark, Eric Valent, Ray Olmedo, Barry Larkin, Sean Casey, Aaron Boone, Reggie Taylor, Juan Castro, Todd Walker, Brady Clark, Juan Encarnacion, Wilton Guerrero, Donnie Sadler, Pokey Reese, Deion Sanders, Alex Ochoa, and Michael Tucker

You have a few greats, and some good ones, but overall, this is a pretty sad list. Unless Tavares turns it around, he's in danger of being one of the "nobodies" on this list.

[BluegrassRedleg]

Here is a list of everyone who has led off a game for Cincinnati since 2000, up through last year:

-Chris Dickerson, Jerry Hairston Jr, Corey Patterson, Jay Bruce, Jolbert Cabrera, Danny Richar, Joey Votto, Ryan Freel, Jeff Keppinger, Scott Hatteberg, Josh Hamilton, Brandon Phillips, Quinton McCracken, Felipe Lopez, Chris Denorfia, Royce Clayton, Dewayne Wise, D’Angelo Jimenez, Jermaine Clark, Eric Valent, Ray Olmedo, Barry Larkin, Sean Casey, Aaron Boone, Reggie Taylor, Juan Castro, Todd Walker, Brady Clark, Juan Encarnacion, Wilton Guerrero, Donnie Sadler, Pokey Reese, Deion Sanders, Alex Ochoa, and Michael Tucker

You have a few greats, and some good ones, but overall, this is a pretty sad list. Unless Tavares turns it around, he's in danger of being one of the "nobodies" on this list.

Frightening.

Larkin is the closest thing to one we've had, and he's really a No. 2 guy. That's a decade of meh (at best) and horrors (Deion).