Cincinnati Reds move in four directions to cover the annual Reds’ Caravan routes

The Cincinnati Reds’ Caravan is barnstorming Reds Country January 26-29.

In what has become an annual event, the Cincinnati Reds’ Caravan will cover five states in four days.  The Reds accomplish this by sending four teams out from Cincinnati, each in a different direction.  It will cover 17 stops and over 3,300 mile before finishing up in Florence.

What would have been considered the A Team in the past is headed north.  The group is highlighted by Marty Brennaman and Scott Schebler.  They are covering the four Ohio cities of Columbus, Dayton, Hamilton, and Lima.

The south swing visits, Bowling Green, Lexington, Louisville, and then crosses into Tennessee to visit Nashville.  This group changes nearly stop by stop as Adam Duvall leaves seclusion for just the Louisville stop.  The newly re-signed Zack Cozart comes out for the Nashville event.  Lexington gets a special visitor as former Red Austin Kearns joins their mix.

Non-players highlight the west crew as it stops in Bloomington, Evansville, Indianapolis, and Muncie in Indiana.  Local boy made good, catcher Tucker Barnhart, is the lone current player along for the ride, but COO Phil Castellini is coming along for the ride with announcer Thom Brennaman.  Former GM Walt Jocketty and former catcher Corky Miller are also along for the ride.

The east swing of the Cincinnati Reds’ Caravan has the most interesting combination of cities.

When the fourth bus heads east it will start off for Athens, Ohio, home of the Ohio University.  It throws the best Halloween party in the country.  It’s a Thursday night event after driving all day from Cincinnati.

The next evening the bus roles into Charleston, West Virginia, the capital of the state.  It is also largest city in the state.  Ironically, the city is also home to the West Virginia Power, the Class A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates.  The city is 210 miles from Cincinnati.  In culture and topography, it is a world away.

On Saturday morning, the Caravan roles into Parkersburg.  It is the third largest city in the state with just over 30,000 residents.  Parkersburg is just small.

To put it into perspective for those of you from the Cincinnati region, that is half of the size of Colerain Township.  That is the home of the perennially nationally ranked high school football team.  That is not a knock on the state, nor city.

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The last stop for the group, that includes new closer Drew Storen and the Cowboy Jeff Brantley, is Ashland, Kentucky.  Ashland is smaller than Parkersburg.  It is part of the greater Huntington, West Virginia, area.  There are plenty of Reds fans are nearby.  When the four buses converge in Florence, Kentucky, Storen’s bunch will likely have the best stories to tell.