Reds hall of fame, new members (Casey, Driessen & Reilly)...

[_Sir_Charles_]

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/reds/201...-to-reds-hall/

Three-time All-Star Sean Casey, Big Red Machine infielder Dan Driessen and 19th century first baseman John Reilly will be the next three players inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.

Casey was selected by the fans through the Modern Player Ballot presented by Cincyfavorites.com. The Veterans Committee selected Driessen and Reilly to make up the Reds Hall of Fame Class of 2012.

I have to admit, I really liked Driessen...but the Reds hall of fame? Really?

[George Anderson]

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/reds/201...-to-reds-hall/



I have to admit, I really liked Driessen...but the Reds hall of fame? Really?

Yea, I realize standards are lower for a teams HOF than Cooperstown, but seeing those 3 in a HOF makes me want to laugh.

[_Sir_Charles_]

Yea, I realize standards are lower for a teams HOF than Cooperstown, but seeing those 3 in a HOF makes me want to laugh.

I understood Casey, simply because it was a fan vote. I know how popular he was. As for Reilly...I'm just not very familiar with him. Dan's the head-scratcher for me.

[redsmetz]

Looking at Reilly's 1888 season, for the era, it was phenomenal. He led the league (American Association) in HR's (13), RBI (103) and Slugging (.501), OPS (.864), OPS+ (170) and had 84 stolen bases that year too. Earlier in 1884, he basically led the league in many of those same categories. With 69 homers when he retired, I suspect he was the club all-time leader until the 1920's, but that's just a guess on my part.

To be honest, until now, I'd never heard of him. I see he's buried in Spring Grove, so I'll have to look him up next time I'm walking over there.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/pl...eilljo01.shtml

Edit: just read the article, they wrote:

When he retired after the 1891 season, Reilly held Reds records for most singles, double, triples, home runs, runs scored, RBI and games played. While all of these records have since been broken, Reilly remains one of only four players in Reds history to lead the league in home runs twice.

[George Anderson]

I understood Casey, simply because it was a fan vote. I know how popular he was. As for Reilly...I'm just not very familiar with him. Dan's the head-scratcher for me.

The thing Driessen and Casey have in common is a Hall of Famer (Perez) and a likely future Hall of Famer (Konerko) were both traded to make room for these 2 players respectively and considering what was expected of them, they ended up being busts.

The fans voting for the HOF really irks me. The common average, every day fan is pretty clueless, so why these people are given a vote to decide who goes in an elite club for the greatest players to ever play for the Reds is beyond me. This is supposed to be a Reds Hall of Fame and not a Most Popular Reds Ever Club.

I know the Reds like to have inductees every year but at this rate Billy Bates will have a plaque soon.

[Col_ IN Reds fan]

Not in favor of these additions,cheapens HOF.

[oneupper]

i'd say Joey Votto, Jay Bruce and Brandon Phillips are shoo-ins at this point.

[gilpdawg]

I don't have a problem with it. The Reds hall is basically for the fans anyway and not to be taken so seriously. Sabo sort of mocked it when he went in. Something like "what kind of HOF would have me anyway, but I'll take it."

[Eric_the_Red]

Some of these responses crack me up. How do you "cheapen" a hometown HOF, made for fans, and as an effort to get people to the "induction" game and museum? It's fun....not everything in the world of baseball has to be treated as seriously and somberly as a wake.

And people wonder why baseball's popularity is declining.

As for me, I'll be there to cheer for "The Mayor" one more time, and hopefully catch a Reds win to boot!

[Col_ IN Reds fan]

[QUOTE=Eric_the_Red;2505570]Some of these responses crack me up. How do you "cheapen" a hometown HOF, made for fans, and as an effort to get people to the "induction" game and museum? It's fun....not everything in the world of baseball has to be treated as seriously and somberly as a wake.

And people wonder why baseball's popularity is declining.

Wow my opinion on the Reds HOF makes baseball popularity decline?
You should start a poll on which three Reds should get into HOF next year.
Maybe they should increase it to 7 or 8 HOFers per year, that would certainly draw more people to the induction ceremony and game.

[Mainspark]

Casey's induction was inevitable, given the fan voting, and probably not all that inconsistent with some past selections.
I have nothing against Dan Driessen personally, but his selection indicates (1) anyone who played for the Reds for an extended period, regardless of performance, is going to eventually get in or (2) every induction ceremony has to involve some member of the Big Red Machine teams. Or both.
Driessen had a nice season his first year as a regular, but beyond that was something of a disappointment. (Joe Morgan once suggested he was never the same player after suffering a broken wrist in the late '70s.)
Unfortunately, I'll always associate him with those post-BRM teams that lost 100 games in 82-83.
For my money, Dave Parker contributed more to the franchise in four seasons than Driessen did in eight, with an MVP-caliber season in 1985 and playing a key role in returning the team to respectability.
I think we can eventually count on seeing the entire Big Red Machine rosters - with inductees like Ed Armbrister, Merv Rettenmund and Mike Lum, among others - being so honored.

[westofyou]

Fact is the Reds have traditionally been weak at 1st

And Driessen was a better hitter vs his peers than Casey

CINCINNATI REDS
CAREER
1B
AT BATS >= 2500

OPS                             DIFF   PLAYER   LEAGUE     AB     
1    John Reilly                .117     .780     .663     4412   
2    Ted Kluszewski             .116     .869     .753     4961   
3    Jake Beckley               .112     .818     .706     3465   
4    Lee May                    .104     .813     .709     2837   
5    Tony Perez                 .087     .801     .714     3796   
6    Frank McCormick            .071     .788     .717     4787   
7    Dan Driessen               .064     .785     .721     3881   
8    Hal Morris                 .059     .807     .747     3382   
9    Sean Casey                 .056     .834     .778     4007   
10   Doc Hoblitzell             .034     .727     .693     3172

[Mainspark]

And Driessen was a better hitter vs his peers than Casey

But take into consideration that Casey's peers included a few guys who suddenly gained the ability to hit 50+ homers on a yearly basis.

[RedlegJake]

Long John Reilly should have made it to the Reds HoF long ago if they knew what they were doing. Twice hit for the cycle (one of what? two or three to do so?) and was a second tier league slugger - not on a par with the like of Dan Brouthers - but on the next notch - for several seasons and probably would compete with Beckley as the best overall hitter the Reds had before Roush (who played in Cincinnati awhile, I know Crawford, Seymour, and King Kelley were better players and Browning was a great hitter (but maybe the worst fielder of his time which was saying something) but none were with the Reds more than a season or two. Beckley and Reilly were both first basemen and while Beckley is probably overrated, imo, and went into the major league HOF, Reilly has been largely forgotten except for diehard fans and lovers of the game's early history. He had speed and power, and I've always marvelled at first basemen of that era who caught barehanded, of course, like everyone, but the thought of digging out an errant throw in the dirt barehanded makes me admire those old first sackers guts only a bit less than the old catchers. On second thought, those old catchers were just plumb nuts!

[westofyou]

But take into consideration that Casey's peers included a few guys who suddenly gained the ability to hit 50+ homers on a yearly basis.

True, but the numbers don't lie, OPS wise they were equal vs their peers and Driessen was a better baserunner by a large margin.

In Reds history they are equal, one just happened to follow a HOF, the other Hal Morris