1988 Cincinnati Reds season

Last updated

1988  Cincinnati Reds
League National League
Division West
Ballpark Riverfront Stadium
City Cincinnati
Record87–74 (.540)
Divisional place2nd
Owners Marge Schott
General managers Murray Cook
Managers Pete Rose
Television WLWT
(Jay Randolph, Johnny Bench)
Radio WLW
(Marty Brennaman, Joe Nuxhall)
  1987 Seasons 1989  

The 1988 Cincinnati Reds season was the 119th season for the franchise in Major League Baseball, and their 19th and 18th full season at Riverfront Stadium. It marked the last of four consecutive winning seasons for the Reds, all of which resulted in second place finishes in the National League West. Led by manager Pete Rose, the Reds finished with the best record of these four seasons at 87 wins and 74 losses, but finished seven games back of the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. The 1988 season would be Pete Rose's last full season as Reds manager.

Contents

Offseason

Regular season

Danny Jackson became the last pitcher to win at least 20 games in one season for the Reds in the 20th Century. The 1988 season also marked the final season for the gifted shortstop, Dave Concepción, an integral member of the Big Red Machine of the 1970s in which he played the last of 19 years with the club. [2]

Suspension of Pete Rose

The stage was set in a dramatic end of a home game on April 30 against the New York Mets, in which the score was tied 5–5 leading into the ninth inning. The game had been contentious throughout, with two hit batsman and a bench-clearing brawl in the seventh inning that resulted in the ejections of both Tom Browning and Darryl Strawberry. [3] [4] With the Mets batting with two outs in the top of the ninth, Mookie Wilson hit a ground ball to shortstop Barry Larkin, whose throw to first base was wide and pulled first baseman Nick Esasky's foot from the bag. First-base umpire Dave Pallone, who'd long been seen as unfair by the Reds, hesitated before making a delayed safe call. Esasky, waiting for the call, failed to make a throw to the plate on Howard Johnson's attempt to score from second base. Johnson's bold baserunning proved to be the difference and stood as the game-winning run for the Mets. A furious Pete Rose rushed from the dugout, vehemently arguing the call. Rose later claimed that Pallone hit him in the cheek with his finger, prompting Rose to shove Pallone twice with his shoulder and forearm knocking him backward. Rose was then ejected and had to be restrained by his own coaches. At the same time, fans in the stadium began showering the field with debris, at which time Pallone left the field with the players retreating to the dugouts.

After a nearly 15-minute suspension of play, the game was resumed with the remaining three umpires. [5] [6] National League president A. Bartlett Giamatti suspended Rose for thirty days, which was the longest suspension ever levied for an on-field incident involving a manager. Rose was also fined. In addition, Reds radio announcers Marty Brennaman and Joe Nuxhall were criticized for inciting the fan response with what were characterized by "inflammatory and completely irresponsible remarks". At the time, especially given Brennaman's and Nuxhall's iconic status in Cincinnati, it was common for spectators at ballparks to listen to their teams' radio broadcasts using portable radios. [7]

Season standings

NL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Los Angeles Dodgers 9467.58445364931
Cincinnati Reds 8774.540745354239
San Diego Padres 8378.5161147343644
San Francisco Giants 8379.51211½45363843
Houston Astros 8280.50612½44373843
Atlanta Braves 54106.33839½28512655

Record vs. opponents


Sources:
TeamATLCHCCINHOULADMTLNYMPHIPITSDSFSTL
Atlanta 5–75–135–134–144–84–86–65–58–105–133–9
Chicago 7–56–67–54–8–19–99–98–107–118–45–77–11
Cincinnati 13–56–69–97–115–74–79–37–510–811–76–6
Houston 13–55–79–99–96–65–78–48–46–127–116–6
Los Angeles 14–48–4–111–79–98–41–1011–16–67–1112–67–5
Montreal 8–49–97–56–64–86–129–9–18–104–87–513–5
New York 8–49–97–47–510–112–610–812–67–54–814–4
Philadelphia 6-610–83–94–81–119–9–18–107–114–77–56–12
Pittsburgh 5–511–75–74–86–610–86–1211–78–48–411–7
San Diego 10–84–88–1012–611–78–45–77–44–88–106–6
San Francisco 13–57–57–1111–76–125–78–45–74–810–87–5
St. Louis 9–311–76–66–65–75–134–1412–67–116–65–7

Notable transactions

Roster

1988 Cincinnati Reds
Roster
PitchersCatchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Manager

Coaches

All-Star Game

The 1988 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 59th playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 12, 1988, at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, the home of the Cincinnati Reds of the National League. The game resulted in the American League defeating the National League 2-1.

The Perfect Game

A ticket from Browning's perfect game. Los Angeles Dodgers at Cincinnati Reds 1988-09-16 (ticket).JPG
A ticket from Browning's perfect game.

Tom Browning pitched a perfect game on September 16, 1988 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. [15]

Scorecard

September 16, 1988, Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

Team123456789RHE
Los Angeles000000000001
Cincinnati00000100X130
W: Tom Browning (16-5)  L: Tim Belcher (10-5)  
Attendance: 16,591, Time: 1:51

Batting

Los Angeles Dodgers ABRHRBICincinnati RedsABRHRBI
Griffin, ss3000Larkin, ss3110
Hatcher, 1b3000Sabo, 3b3010
Gibson, lf3000Daniels, lf3000
Gonzalez, lf0000Davis, cf2000
Marshall, rf3000O'Neill, rf3000
Shelby, cf3000Esasky, 1b3000
Hamilton, 3b3000Reed, c3000
Dempsey, c3000Oester, 2b3010
Sax, 2b3000Browning, p3000
Belcher, p2000None0000
Woodson, ph1000None0000
Totals27000Totals26130

Pitching

Los Angeles DodgersIPHRERBBSOCincinnati RedsIPHRERBBSO
Belcher, L (10-5)8.031017Browning, W (16-5)9.000007

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

PosPlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
C Bo Díaz 9231569.2191035
1B Nick Esasky 12239195.2431562
2B Jeff Treadway 10330176.252223
SS Barry Larkin 151588174.2961256
3B Chris Sabo 137538146.2711144
LF Kal Daniels 140495144.2911864
CF Eric Davis 135472129.2732693
RF Paul O'Neill 145485122.2521673

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

PlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
Dave Concepción 8419739.19808
Dave Collins 9917441.236014
Ron Oester 5415042.280010
Jeff Reed 4914233.23217
Lloyd McClendon 7213730.219314
Herm Winningham 5311326.230015
Terry McGriff 359619.19814
Tracy Jones 378319.22919
Buddy Bell 215410.18503
Luis Quiñones 235212.231111
Leon Durham 215111.21612
Eddie Milner 23519.17602
Ken Griffey Sr. 255014.28024
Lenny Harris 164316.37208
Ron Roenicke 14375.13505
Leo García 23284.14300
Van Snider 11286.21416
Marty Brown 10163.18802

Pitching

= Indicates league leader

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

PlayerGIPWLERASO
Danny Jackson 35261.023*82.73161
Tom Browning 36250.21853.41124
Mario Soto 1487.0374.6634
Ron Robinson 1778.2374.1238
Jack Armstrong 1465.1475.7945
Norm Charlton 1061.1453.9639
Dennis Rasmussen 1156.1265.7527
  • Tied with Orel Hershiser (LAD) for league lead

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

PlayerGIPWLERASO
José Rijo 49162.01382.39160
Keith Brown 416.1212.766

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

PlayerGWLSVERASO
John Franco 7066391.5746
Rob Murphy 760633.0874
Frank Williams 603212.5943
Rob Dibble 371101.8259
Tim Birtsas 361304.2038
Pat Perry 122205.6611
Randy St. Claire 101002.638
Pat Pacillo 61005.0611
Jeff Gray 50003.865
Candy Sierra 10004.504
Dave Concepción 10000.001

Farm system

LevelTeamLeagueManager
AAA Nashville Sounds American Association Jack Lind, Wayne Garland, Jim Hoff,
George Scherger and Frank Lucchesi
AA Chattanooga Lookouts Southern League Tom Runnells
A Cedar Rapids Reds Midwest League Dave Miley
A Greensboro Hornets South Atlantic League Marc Bombard
Rookie GCL Reds Gulf Coast League Sam Mejías
Rookie Billings Mustangs Pioneer League Dave Keller

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Chattanooga, Cedar Rapids [16]

Awards and honors


All-Star Game

References

  1. Dave Parker page at Baseball Reference
  2. Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.98, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN   978-0-451-22363-0
  3. Hoard, Greg (May 1, 1988). "Mets frustrate Reds (Part 1)". The Cincinnati Enquirer. p. 13. Retrieved September 28, 2018 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  4. Hoard, Greg (May 1, 1988). "Mets frustrate Reds (Part 2)". The Cincinnati Enquirer. p. 15. Retrieved September 28, 2018 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  5. Hoard, Greg; Erardi, John (May 1, 1988). "Stadium uproar (Part 1)". The Cincinnati Enquirer. p. 1. Retrieved September 28, 2018 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  6. Hoard, Greg; Erardi, John (May 1, 1988). "Stadium uproar (Part 2)". The Cincinnati Enquirer. p. 9. Retrieved September 28, 2018 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  7. Chass, Murray (May 3, 1988). "Pete Rose Is Suspended 30 Days". The New York Times. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  8. Guy Hoffman page at Baseball Reference
  9. Skeeter Barnes page at Baseball Reference
  10. Paul Byrd page at Baseball Reference
  11. Mario Soto page at Baseball Reference
  12. Max Venable page at Baseball Reference
  13. Tracy Jones page at Baseball Reference
  14. Ken Griffey page at Baseball Reference
  15. "Los Angeles Dodgers at Cincinnati Reds, Box Score, September 16, 1988". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  16. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
  17. "Hutch Award". Baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved August 24, 2012.