To learn about our efforts to improve the accessibility and usability of our website, please visit our Accessibility Information page. Skip to section navigation or Skip to main content
Below is an advertisement.

Cincinnati Reds

The Official Site of the Cincinnati Reds
MLB.com

History

Skip to main content
Below is an advertisement.
REDS TIMELINE
1869-1899 | 1900-1940 | 1941-1980 | 1981-Present
Timeline
1981  - Oct. 4: The Reds finish with the best record in the Major Leagues but do not make the playoffs. Due to an unusual "split-season" format, the Reds do not qualify for post-season play.
1983  - Sept. 17: Johnny Bench homers off Houston’s Mike Madden on “Johnny Bench Night” at Riverfront Stadium. It was the 389th and final homer of his career.
1984  - Aug. 17: Pete Rose debuts as Reds player/manager. Rose leads the Reds to a 6-4 win over the Cubs and goes 2-for-4 with two RBI.
1985  - Sept. 11: Pete Rose becomes baseball’s all-time hits leader with a single to leftcenter field off San Diego’s Eric Show for career hit No. 4,192. Rose would finish his career with 4,256 hits.
1987  - May 30: Eric Davis connects for his third grand slam of the month, tying a Major League record, as Cincinnati tops Pittsburgh, 6-2, at Three Rivers Stadium.
1988  - July 12: The All-Star Game returns to Riverfront Stadium. The AL edges the NL, 2-1. Danny Jackson, Barry Larkin and Chris Sabo represent the Reds.

Sept. 16: Tom Browning becomes the first pitcher in Reds history to throw a perfect game when he retires all 27 Dodgers he faces for a 1-0 victory.
1989  - Aug. 24: Cincinnati hero Pete Rose is given a lifetime ban from baseball for conduct related to gambling.
1990  - Sept. 29: The Reds clinch the Western Division title when the secondplace Dodgers lose to the Giants, 4-3. The ’90 Reds would become the only NL team ever to occupy first place the entire duration of the regular season.

Oct. 20 After edging the Pirates in the NLCS, the Reds sweep heavily favored Oakland to claim a World Series title. Series MVP Jose Rijo and Chris Sabo lead Cincinnati during the Series.
1995  - Oct. 6: The Reds sweep the Dodgers with a 10-1 win in Game 3 of the Division Series. The victory sends the Reds to the NLCS, where Atlanta eventually sweeps them in four games.

Nov. 15: Barry Larkin wins the 1995 NL MVP after setting a club record for shortstops with a .319 batting average (min. 400 at-bats) and a modern club record of 51 stolen bases.
1996  - April 1: Opening Day turns tragic as long-time NL umpire John McSherry collapses behind home plate just seven pitches into the game. McSherry is rushed to University Hospital, where he passes away due to a massive heart attack.

Sept. 6: Riverfront Stadium is officially renamed Cinergy Field.

Sept. 22: Barry Larkin becomes the first shortstop in ML history to join the prestigious 30-30 club (30 homers and 30 stolen bases in the same season), when he belts his 30th homer of the season in the first game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals.
1997  - June 13: For the first time in the team’s 129-year history, the Reds play an AL opponent during the regular season. The White Sox spoil the first Interleague game with a 3-1 win.
1999  - Sept. 4: Eight different Reds (ML record) homer a total of nine times (NL record) during a 22-3 drubbing of the Phillies at Veterans Stadium. The club would connect for 209 homers during the season – the most by a Cincinnati team since the 1956 squad connected for a team-record 221.

Oct. 4: After finishing the regular season tied for the NL Wild Card spot with a 96-66 record, the Reds fall to the Mets, 5-0, in the sixth one-game playoff in Major League history.
2001  - Sept. 11: All games are postponed due to terrorist acts in New York (World Trade Center), Washington D.C. (The Pentagon) and Somerset, Penn. The regular-season schedule wouldn’t resume for another six days.
2002  - Dec. 31: Cinergy Field comes down in a cloud of dust at 8 a.m. More than 25,000 spectators flooded into downtown Cincinnati to witness the event. In just 37 seconds, Riverfront Stadium/Cinergy Field was reduced to a pile of rubble.
2003  - Mar. 31: Cincinnati hosts one of the most anticipated openers in club history with the debut of Great American Ball Park. The Reds lose to the Pirates, 10-1, before a sellout crowd of 42,343.
2004  - In their first season under manager Dave Miley, the Reds jumped off to a surprising start, finishing the first half of the season six games above .500 and in contention for a playoff spot. However, injuries and inconsistent pitching led to a second-half slide, which left them with a 76-86 record at season's end. Despite the decline, however, there were plenty of bright spots. In the final campaign of his 19-year run with the Reds, Barry Larkin hit .289. Ken Griffey Jr., belted his 500th home run on Father's Day in St. Louis before undergoing season-ending hamstring surgery a few weeks later. Danny Graves became the club's all-time saves leader and Adam Dunn led the team with 46 home runs and 102 RBIs.
2005  - After the club's poor start resulted in the release of second baseman D'Angelo Jimenez and closer Danny Graves and then the dismissal of manager Dave Miley and pitching coach Don Gullett, the Reds set their sights on making the best of a bad situation in 2005.

Playing pressure-free ball under interim manager Jerry Narron in the second half, the results were encouraging. Narron got the club focused on the fundamentals of the game, the pitching staff improved dramatically and the offense continued to put up its usual barrage of runs

In the end, '05 was the Reds' fifth consecutive losing season, and the team saw the playoff hopes that come with a boosted payroll go by the wayside. But the emergence of youngsters such as shortstop Felipe Lopez, third baseman Edwin Encarnacion and pitchers Aaron Harang and Brandon Claussen gives the club hope that a winning season just might be around the corner.

2006  - With newly hired GM Wayne Krivsky in control and making a flurry of moves and Jerry Narron in his first full year as manager, the Reds pleasantly surprise as division contenders most of the season. However, a late summer fade left them with an 80-82 mark. Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo became a formidable 1-2 punch for the rotation. Harang led the NL with 216 strikeouts and six complete games and tied for the league lead with 16 wins. Arroyo finished with a 3.29 ERA and 14 wins while leading the Majors with 240 2/3 innings pitched.
2007  - Brandon Phillips emerged as one of the best all-around players in the game of baseball, receiving votes for the National League MVP, Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards. Phillips became just the second second baseman in Major League history to reach the 30/30 plateau, totaling 30 homers and 32 stolen bases on the season.
2008  - The Reds finished 74-88 during new manager Dusty Baker's first season. It was also a year marked by change as general manager Wayne Krivsky was replaced 21 games into the season by Walt Jocketty. Eventually two longtime cornerstone players, Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn, were traded away as the club focused on a youth movement that featured Joey Votto, Jay Bruce and others. There were several nice individual achievements as starting pitcher Edinson Volquez became a breakout sensation, an All-Star and a 17-game winner. Votto, who hit 24 homers, finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting. And on June 9, Griffey deposited a Mark Hendrickson curve ball deep over the right-field wall at Dolphin Stadium, which marked career home run No. 600. Griffey became just the sixth player in Major League history join the 600-home run club.
2009  - The Reds finished in fourth place with a 78-84 record during a season where injuries marred the roster. The regular starting lineup was together for just 10 games while key players like Joey Votto, Jay Bruce and Ramon Hernandez missed significant time. The rotation was hit too with Edinson Volquez going down in May and he eventually needed season-ending Tommy John surgery on his elbow. There were some positive moments. Votto led the club with a .322 average and 25 home runs while Brandon Phillips drove in a team-high and career-high 98 RBIs and became the only player in franchise history to produce at least 20 doubles, 20 homers and 20 steals in three consecutive seasons. On the mound, Bronson Arroyo won 15 games for the second-straight season and reached the 200 innings mark for the fifth straight year. Beginning on July 10, Arroyo posted a 2.07 ERA over his final 16 starts which gave him the best ERA in the Majors over that span. Closer Francisco Cordero finished second in the National League with 39 saves. And it was a positive year for young players. After several missteps the past couple of seasons, pitcher Homer Bailey seemed to put it all together in the second half and went 6-1 with a 1.70 ERA over his final nine starts. Center fielder Drew Stubbs emerged after his big league debut and hit eight homers with 17 RBIs and 10 steals in 42 games.
1869-1899 | 1900-1940 | 1941-1980 | 1981-Present