Cincinnati Reds have not become part of the community

Unlike previous versions of the team, this group of Cincinnati Reds doesn’t treat the city as home.

Currently, none of the Cincinnati Reds live here full-time.  First baseman Joey Votto and catcher Devin Mesoraco both have houses here.  Neither lives here full-time.

This isn’t completely unheard of in baseball, but it is unusual.  Due to the longer season and longer careers, players usually move their families to the city they play in.  That hasn’t been the case for the Reds.

More than that, this is new to Cincinnati.  The fans are used to the players living in the city and in many cases growing up here.

One player that isn’t from too far away is Adam Duvall.  Because he went to school there and moved back there after the trade to the Reds, Duvall calls Louisville home.  In the off-season maybe that is close enough that he doesn’t feel like he lives out of town.

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Another player that is in the similar situation is Gold Glove catcher Tucker Barnhart.  He grew up in Indiana. Now he lives in Kentucky during the season.

Scooter Gennett is the other curious player.  He was born in the Queen City, but did not move here after the Reds acquired him last off-season.  His family still lives out of town in the off-season.

The Cincinnati Reds have a history of players that grew up and lived in the city.

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Recent Reds Barry Larkin and Ken Griffey have a similar story.  They both grew up in Cincinnati and went to Moeller for high school.  They also both live in Tampa, Florida, now.

Larkin lived in Cincinnati for most of his Reds career.  Griffey was one of the players with dual residences. He lived in Tampa in the off-season when he played for the Seattle Mariners and continued that through his time with the Reds.

You also have the case of Todd Benzinger.  He was born in Kentucky and went to New Richmand High School.  He raised his family here and his son went to Moeller, the alma mater of Griffey and Larkin.

None of the recent players match the presence of self-promoter Pete Rose or not quite Hall of Famer Dave Parker.  They are just a pair of players that grew up in Cincinnati and lived here full-time during their careers.  Of course, neither of them had the financial flexibility of today’s player until late in their career.

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Having said that, it is weird that none of the players live in the city where they work.  It could be sign a of the youth of the team. Cincinnati’s a great place to raise a family, but may not have the “it” factor for young professional athletes.