Best Cincinnati Reds Ever: Eric Davis v. Vada Pinson

Second Round Matchup | No. 3 Eric Davis v. No. 6 Vada Pinson

The next second round matchup in our “Best Red Ever” tournament features two premier Cincinnati Reds outfielders. Eric Davis may be considered the better player, but Davis never finished higher than ninth in the NVP voting — Pinson finished as high as third.

Davis:

Eric Davis’ first round win (92 percent of the vote) over Lee May in our Best Cincinnati Reds Ever tournament — along with a detailed write-up — can be found here.

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Eric The Red kept it rolling the following year when he hit 37 home runs, drove in 100 RBIs and stole 50 bases on 56 attempts all while hitting an improved .293. He was already littering his trophy case as a 25 year old earning a bid to the All-Star game, winning both a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Award and again earning MVP votes. He added two more Gold Gloves, another Silver Slugger Award and a second a final All-Star appearance to cap an impressive Reds career by age 29.

Highlights

— ranks ninth in career home runs (203) with the Reds

— ranks eighth in career stolen bases (270) with the Reds

— ranks seventh in career slugging percentage (.510) for the Reds

— ranks fifth in career OPS (.877) with the Reds

— World Series champion with the Reds

— Reds Hall of Fame inductee

Pinson:

Vada Pinson’s first round win (68 percent) over Gary Nolan — along with a detailed write-up — can be found here.

As a 20 year old in 1959, Pinson — in his first full season — made the All-Star team, garnered MVP votes and led all of Major League Baseball in a handful of statistics including doubles and runs. Oh, and he added a .316 batting average and a 20-20 season. He was nearly identical the following season, again an All-Star and receiving MVP votes, Pinson hit .287, had a 20-30 season and once more led the league in doubles. If possible, Pinson one-upped himself as a 22 year old, winning his first and only Gold Glove, finished third in the MVP voting (behind Frank Robinson and Orlando Cepeda, but ahead of players like Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron), hit a robust .343, had 16 home runs, 23 stolen bases and led the league with 208 hits.

Highlights

— ranks seventh in career games played (1,565) with the Reds

— ranks fifth in both career doubles (342) and triples (96) for the Reds

— ranks 10th in career RBIs (814) for the Reds

— One of just 11 Reds to have over 200 career stolen bases (221) with Cincinnati

— Reds Hall of Fame inductee

Next: Find the tournament breakdown here!

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