Top 25 Reds’ Position Players of All-Time: End of Year Countdown (Part 1 – 25-21)

Whenever someone creates a “Best Of” list or a “Greatest” something or other in rank order, it always opens the topic for debate exactly what qualifies someone or something better than another.  To end 2012, I thought it would be interesting to look at All-Time Reds in a rank order.  There is no “right” answer to this, although I made a best attempt to make this a bit more “scientific” in equalizing ranks across a large disparity of games played.  Intangibles are harder to award where discrete numbers weren’t produced, but no consideration was given for any player’s statistics beyond his time as a Reds player.

With that in mind, we start the countdown with #25:

25 – Wally Post (1949-1957, 1960-1963)

As a Reds staple in the outfield starting in the 1954 season, Post appeared in 902 games as a Red until the 1963 season (with a break for being traded to the Phillies for the 1958 and 1959 seasons before being traded back in 1960).  His 172 career HR rank 11th on the Reds all-time list while his .498 career slugging percentage is 8th.  With an OPS of .821 putting him 17th, Post proved to be one of the more prolific power hitters of his time.  His 1955 and 1956 seasons saw career highs of 40 and 36 HR, respectively, along with 109 RBI notched in 1955.

24 – Brandon Phillips (2006-Present)

2B Brandon Phillips (Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports)

As one of only two active players who made the countdown, Phillips gets the nod here as much for his offensive statistics (which have accumulated well in his seven seasons so far) as the defensive prowess for which he plays his position at second base (3 Gold Glove awards to date).  His 610 runs (21st), 1,160 hits (19th), 142 HR (16th), 563 RBI (23rd), and 150 SB (17th) are steadily climbing up the list all-time numbers and only expect to see Brandon move higher as time goes on.

23 – Sean Casey (1998-2005)

“The Mayor” compiled a healthy list of stats in his eight seasons in Cincinnati, including three All-Star selections.  In 1075 career games, he accumulated 588 runs (23rd), 1,223 hits (18th), 118 HR (20th), 604 RBI (2oth), and a .305 BA (12th).

22 – Ken Griffey Jr. (2000-2008)

Although it was an injury-filled time in Cincinnati, “The Kid” still managed to put up some healthy numbers.  In 945 games across eight plus seasons, Junior hit 210 HR (7th) and 602 RBI (21st) with a .514 slugging percentage (4th) and .876 OPS (6th).  It’s easy to imagine how his numbers could have projected had he played in more games, but, needless to say, he was effective when he did.  Most of his accolades occurred as a Mariner, but he was twice selected an All-Star as a Red.

21 – Ken Griffey (1973-1981, 1988-1990)

For the sake of additional longevity and accumulating more numbers than his son, Griffey (the Senior) was an integral part of the Big Red Machine.  In 1,224 games, he scored 709 runs (14th), knocked 1,275 hits (16th), 212 doubles (17th), 63 triples (16th), and swiped 156 SB (16th).  His .303 BA (16th) and .370 OBP (18th) rank favorably as well.  Griffey was selected to three All-Star games during his time in Cincinnati.

I return tomorrow with Part 2, counting down from #20 to #16 to conclude on 12/31 with #5 to #1.

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