The Reds the best MLB franchise in the 70s?

[fearofpopvol1]

6 playoff appearances, 4 World Series appearances and 2 championships (BRM).

Oakland did have a ridiculous run from 1971-1975 (including 5 playoff appearances and 3 championships), but they were non-existent for the latter part of the 70's whereas the Reds were competitive for most of the decade.

Pittsburgh and the NYY won 2 championships as well, but their competitiveness in the 70s were not as impressive in my opinion.

What do you all think? I admit, I was not around watching baseball in the 70s, but based on numbers, it looks like it comes down to Oakland vs. Cincinnati.

[TheNext44]

Good analysis. Agree with it all.

Just to add to the argument, the A's lost 90 games twice and 100 games once in the decade. The Reds finished below second place just once in 1971, mostly do to injuries.

[westofyou]

O's have a horse in this race

CAREER
1970-1979


WINNING PERCENTAGE              PCT    
1    Reds                       .592   
2    Orioles                    .590   
3    Pirates                    .569   
4    Dodgers                    .565   
5    Red Sox                    .556   
6    Yankees                    .555   
7    Royals                     .528   
8    A's                        .520   
9    Twins                      .506   
10   Phillies                   .503

[George Anderson]

I think if you factor in the numerous MVP awards, HR titles, Gold Gloves, Pete's streak, the HOF'ers on the team and to many other things to count, you hafta give the nod to the Reds.

[RedsBaron]

O's have a horse in this race

CAREER
1970-1979


WINNING PERCENTAGE              PCT    
1    Reds                       .592   
2    Orioles                    .590   
3    Pirates                    .569   
4    Dodgers                    .565   
5    Red Sox                    .556   
6    Yankees                    .555   
7    Royals                     .528   
8    A's                        .520   
9    Twins                      .506   
10   Phillies                   .503

Yes they do, but their horse will place, not win.
The Reds won six division titles ('70, '72, '73, '75, '76 and '79) while the Orioles won five ('70, '71, '73, '74 and '79). The Reds won four pennants ('70, '72, '75 and '76) while the Orioles won three ('70, '71 and '79). The Reds won two World Series ('75 and '76) while the Orioles won one ('70).

[cumberlandreds]

The Reds of course. But I do have red colored glasses. You made the argument for them very well. I think overall they were the best franchise. They also may have had the most recognizable names for the decade. Pete Rose and Johnny Bench were household names even in the non-baseball fans house. Everyone knew those two. Bench made many guest appearances national TV shows. Rose had a few commercials too. Morgan and Perez were also well known to the very casual fan too. I'm not sure any other team in that decade has the familiarity to everyone like the Reds did.
I would vote for the Pirates 2nd. They won two World Championships in 1971 and 1979. They made the playoffs in 1970,72,74 and 75. The only losing season they had was in 1973 and were only 2 games under .500 and just 2.5 games out of the playoffs.
If the A's hadn't fallen off the table so abruptly they would have made a good case. Finley decided he wasn't going to pay anyone and broke that team up very quickly.

[westofyou]

Yes they do, but their horse will place, not win.
The Reds won six division titles ('70, '72, '73, '75, '76 and '79) while the Orioles won five ('70, '71, '73, '74 and '79). The Reds won four pennants ('70, '72, '75 and '76) while the Orioles won three ('70, '71 and '79). The Reds won two World Series ('75 and '76) while the Orioles won one ('70).

Yep, however they fall behind the A's and the Yankees in garnering press and tend to be overlooked by the folks who were not there.

Plus they overlap the decade rules... but from 66-75 they were the best team.

CAREER
1966-1975


WINNING PERCENTAGE              PCT    
1    Orioles                    .587   
2    Reds                       .569   
3    Pirates                    .548   
4    Dodgers                    .543   
5    A's                        .541   
6    Red Sox                    .535   
7    Cardinals                  .532   
8    Giants                     .526   
9    Twins                      .525   
10   Tigers                     .523

[RedsBaron]

Under Bill James's Win Shares method the three best players in the 1970s were Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench and Pete Rose (based upon total Win Shares for the decade).
The 1970s was an unusual decade in that each division had one team that was clearly the class of the division and another team that was very, very good for at least part of the decade. The Reds dominated the NL West, but for most of the decade the Dodgers were very good, winning three division crowns and NL pennants ('74, '77 and '78). The Pirates, as Cumberlands noted, dominated the NL East, but the Phillies became very good in the latter part of the decade, wnning three straight division titles in "76-'78. The Orioles dominated the NL East, but the Yankees became terrific in the second half of the decade, with three straight diviion titles in '76-'78 and World Championships in the latter two seasons. The A's were terrific for five seasons, winning division titles in '71-'75 and World Series in '72-'74 before collapsing, but then the Royals rose, winning division titles in '76-'78.

[fearofpopvol1]

The Orioles are worth mentioning for sure, but I think if you consider playoff appearances, pennants and titles, it really comes down to the Reds vs. A's...but the O's should be in the conversation I suppose.

[westofyou]

The Orioles are worth mentioning for sure, but I think if you consider playoff appearances, pennants and titles, it really comes down to the Reds vs. A's...but the O's should be in the conversation I suppose.

The A's were in 5 straight playoffs and 3 World Series in the 70's, the finished 2nd twice and 7th twice and 6th.

The O's were in 5 playoffs and 3 World Series in the 70's

The O's finished 2nd 3 times, 3rd once and 4th once.

I know who I'm picking in the AL