Cincinnati Reds: Who is most likely to have their jersey retired next?

The Cincinnati Reds have one of the most storied histories in all of baseball. Who’ll be the next player to have their jersey retired?

Perhaps the greatest dynasty in baseball history, The Big Red Machine, ruled the diamond in the 1970s. Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, Joe Morgan and Davey Concepcion have all been honored for their efforts during that time by having their jersey numbers retired. Who’ll be the next Cincinnati Reds great to receive that distinction?

Rose, Bench, Perez, Morgan and Concepcion are not the only Reds Hall of Famers to have their jersey numbers hanging high above the field at Great American Ball Park. Barry Larkin, Ted Kluszewski, Frank Robinson, Fred Hutchinson and manager Sparky Anderson all had the privilege of their jersey being retired by the Reds franchise as well.

Being inducted into Cooperstown is not a prerequisite for finding one’s jersey number side-by-side with Morgan and Perez. Of the 10 numbers retired by the Cincinnati Reds, four (Rose, Concepcion, Kluszewski and Hutchinson) have yet to receive the call to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Of course we can’t forget Jackie Robinson’s No. 42, which hangs above the field at every major league ballpark throughout North America. But which Reds great will be the next to find their number high above home plate at GABP? Let’s look at the most likely candidates to be immortalized alongside Bench, Larkin and others.