Cincinnati Reds or Cincinnati Bengals: Who wins a championship first?

CINCINNATI, OH - SEPTEMBER 22: Jay Bruce #32 and Aroldis Chapman #54 of the Cincinnati Reds celebrate a National League Central Division Championship during the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Great American Ball Park on September 22, 2012 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Reds defeated the Dodgers 6-0. (Photo by John Grieshop/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - SEPTEMBER 22: Jay Bruce #32 and Aroldis Chapman #54 of the Cincinnati Reds celebrate a National League Central Division Championship during the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Great American Ball Park on September 22, 2012 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Reds defeated the Dodgers 6-0. (Photo by John Grieshop/Getty Images)
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A.J. Green
CINCINNATI, OH – SEPTEMBER 29: A.J. Green #18 of the Cincinnati Bengals (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Reds hitting vs. Bengals offense

When you start comparing baseball to football, you’re really comparing apples to oranges. There are three phases to the game of football; offense, defense and special teams. In baseball, you’ve got hitting and pitching. For argument’s sake, let’s compare the Reds hitting to the Bengals offense.

This becomes the story of what is and what could be. Both the Cincinnati Reds hitting and the Cincinnati Bengals offense were dreadful last year. It seemed as though the Reds couldn’t get a clutch-hit and the Bengals were constantly behind the eight ball, clawing and fighting to score points. I think we can agree that it’s a draw when comparing both clubs outputs last season.

Now, looking forward, there’s reason for optimism on both fronts. For the Reds, they’ve added the likes of Mike Moustakas, Nick Castellanos and Shogo Akiyama this winter. All three players are expected to be major contributors and key pieces in helping elevate the Reds from 12th among all National League teams in runs scored last season.

For the Bengals, the future is bit more murky, as their star wide receiver is a free agent. A.J. Green, who’s been among the best wideouts in the game over his career, missed all of the 2019 season and is a free agent. There is speculation that the Bengals will use the franchise tag in order to keep Green heading into next year. The Georgia product may not like the idea, but it keeps Green in a Bengals uniform.

Then there’s prospect of adding the presumptive No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow. Burrow helped lead the LSU Tigers to the College Football Championship, and Bengals fans are hoping for him to do the same for Cincinnati. The Bengals offense also has one of the premier running backs in all of football, Joe Mixon. Don’t sleep on the Bengals offense heading into next season.

This one is a bit more difficult, as we’re basing a lot of this on potential. The Reds lineup looks fierce heading into next season, but the success of the team may hinge on Joey Votto’s ability to return to form. The same could be said for the Bengals, who’ll need a healthy offensive line and a healthy A.J. Green to put up points in 2020.

Advantage: Reds (but only slightly)

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