Reason #5 to Be Excited About the Reds in 2011

Reason #5 to be excited about the Cincinnati Reds is perhaps one of the most historic and traditional reasons to be excited about the Reds each and every season.

Well this person has excited fans all over Ohio since 1974 to be exact…this person is Marty Brennamen. Brennaman has been the voice of Reds baseball since he took over for Al Michaels in 1974. For many Reds fans, Brennaman has been the only voice of Reds baseball that they have ever known.

So many great moments in Reds baseball have been called by Marty. Brennaman has called Pete Rose record breaking hit, three world series championships, and Jay Bruce’s division clinching walk-off homerun in 2010 (you can listen to the Bruce home run call here).

Marty Brennaman and Joe Nuxhall partnered in the Reds broadcast booth for over 20 years. When Nuxhall passed away in November of 2007, Brennaman opened up the first broadcast in 2008 with a speech about his friend and colleague that no Reds fan will soon forget. Marty has a way with words and an eloquence that is a rare gift for a person to possess.

However, part of what excites Reds fans about Marty Brennaman is the always honest analysis he is willing to give. In the past, he has been accused of inciting a riot by the fans after a bad call. He has also not been shy to say exactly what he thinks about other ball clubs (listen here to hear Brennaman talk about the Chicago Cubs).

According to chicagonow.com Brennaman said just yesterday: “The Cubs have a chance to be improved. I don’t think they’re good enough to win the division,” Brennaman told us Wednesday from Arizona. “I think their defense is very suspect. They have a kid (Carlos Pena) at first base who is an all-or-nothing guy. He either hits the ball out of the ballpark or he makes an out. So to say that the Cubs are a ‘contender’ … that’s a stretch.”

“They could fool everybody and have two or three guys have career years, and here you are come September and they are in the thick of it. But I don’t think on paper that they are a team that can play or can be reckoned with in the same way as the Reds and the Brewers.”

He is never short on opinions and that is why Reds fans love him. You love to have him on your side, and hate to have him against you.

Brennaman is the Reds, and in 2011, he will return to call what will undoubtedly be another great year of games. Marty’s son Thom also works for the Reds doing mostly television but a few radio games as well with his dad.

For many Reds fans Marty Brennaman is the only voice that they have ever known. People come and go even if they are special people. But baseball will always be around for those that love it, and it will be a sad day if and when Marty Brennaman calls his last game. Hopefully that day is still a long way off because it would be hard to imagine a game without Marty’s voice again.