Top 5 Cincinnati Reds killers since 1970: The hitters edition

Since 1970, these five hitters have given Reds pitchers and fans more sleepless nights than they care to remember.

How many times have Cincinnati Reds fans uttered a collective sigh when St. Louis’ Yadier Molina or Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun stepped to the plate with runners on base in a pressure situation? Let me answer that question for you—way too many to mention.

Inevitably, Molina or Braun would offer a crushing blow to the Reds, leaving fans to shake their heads in disgust while the seemingly never-ending nightmare awaited their nights’ sleep. Frequently we’re left wondering if Molina and Braun do this to every team, or is it just our beloved Redlegs they appear to take such pleasure in torturing.

With the opening of Riverfront Stadium in 1970 as a starting point, we’re going to look at the past 50 years to determine just who ranks as Cincinnati’s greatest nemesis. What you’ll find are familiar names and players with plaques in Cooperstown and others with unequaled resumés.

Even though Molina and Braun failed to crack the Top Five, shocking I know, they deserve dishonorable mention for the trail of broken hearts they’ve left in their wake. So without further ado, here are the opponents who made a living demolishing Cincinnati Reds pitching.

5. Mike Schmidt feasted on Reds pitching during his Hall of Fame career.

He’s arguably the best third baseman to ever play the game, but Philadelphia Phillies great Mike Schmidt took delight in pulverizing the team just southwest of his hometown. A Dayton, Ohio native, Schmidt was a second-round draft pick of the Phillies in the 1971 MLB draft out of Ohio University.

To add salt to the wound, the Reds selected shortstop Mike Miley, who played a grand total of 84 games in his career with the California Angels, in the first-round instead of the young slugger just up I-75.

Schmitty wasted no time in reaching the majors. Making his debut in 1972, Schmidt was in Philadelphia to stay beginning in 1973 and made the first of his dozen All-Star appearances during the 1974 campaign.

Playing parts of 18 seasons in the City of Brotherly Love, Schmidt would collect 10 Gold Glove awards, six Silver Slugger trophies, three MVPs, and a World Series MVP for good measure.

However, there’s little Schmidt enjoyed more than visiting his home state. In 88 games at Riverfront Stadium, he hit 29 homers, his second-most in a visiting ballpark, while slashing .282/.396/.601 with 68 RBIs. For his career, Schmidt would take the Reds deep 55 times and compiled an impressive 1.010 OPS.

A frequent victim of Schmidt’s devastation was Reds left-hander Fred Norman. Facing the diminutive southpaw 43 times, Schmidt would reach base an astonishing 23 times. Compiling a slash line of .387/.558/.1.097 with six homers and a ridiculous 1.655 OPS, it’s little wonder why Reds manager Sparky Anderson had a head full of grey hair.

4. Larry Walker eclipsed 100 RBIs against the Reds in his 17-year career.

Regardless of the uniform he was wearing or the country he was playing in, Larry Walker was a mountain of trouble for the Cincinnati Reds. The Hall of Fame left-handed-hitting slugger clobbered Reds pitching throughout a 17-year major league career.

The Canadien made his big league debut in 1989 with the Montreal Expos before spending a decade with the Colorado Rockies and finally finishing his career in St. Louis as a member of the Cardinals.

During those 17 years, Walker was a seven-time Gold Glove recipient, made five All-Star appearances, won three batting titles and Silver Slugger awards in addition to being the 1997 NL MVP.

During his career, Walker amassed a .338/.420/.623 slash line against Redleg pitching. Blasting 31 homers with 102 RBIs and an eye-popping 1.043 OPS in 137 games, Walker left the Cincinnati Reds pitching staff in ruins. However, there were two former Redleg hurlers he took particular pleasure in tormenting.

Right-hander Pete Harnisch was an integral part of the 1999 Reds team that won 96 games, but he was hapless when attempting to retire Larry Walker. Over 45 at-bats, Walker took Harnish deep five times with a .378 average and a 1.240 OPS. One of Walker’s round-trippers against Harnisch included an inside the parker in the cavernous Colorado outfield.

As for Pete Schourek, Walker was even more of a headache. Naturally, this lefty on lefty matchup did not work to the Reds advantage. Facing each other 31 times, Walker would reach base 17 times with five homers and two doubles. His slash line of .444/.516/.1.074 tells you all you need to know about who won these battles.

Throughout his career, Larry Walker never hit more than five home runs off a single pitcher. He achieved this feat five times, and two of those victims are the Cincinnati Reds hurlers, as mentioned above.

3. Albert Pujols owned the Reds during his time in St. Louis.

For the better part of a decade as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, Albert Pujols was the best player in the National League, and it wasn’t close. Pujols led the league in homers, doubles, RBIs, hits, runs, and batting average during his time in the senior circuit.

Playing in the shadow of the Arch, The Machine made nine All-Star teams, won six Silver Slugger awards, three MVPs, two Gold Gloves, Rookie of the Year, and a batting title. He’s arguably the greatest right-handed hitter in baseball history.

As fate would have it, the Reds rolled out one of the worst pitching staffs in the NL during much of Pujols’ time in St. Louis, and he took full advantage. Pujols has launched 47 round-trippers against Reds pitching while slashing .344/.424/.629 with a 147 RBI in 180 contests.

One pitcher who failed spectacularly against Pujols was former Reds reliever, David Weathers. Squaring off against each other 23 times, Pujols would slash .550/.609/1.300 with four homers, including a walk-off and a grand slam. Only once did Weathers issue an intentional pass, and it just happened to be sandwiched between Pujols homers.

Since joining the Los Angeles Angels before the 2012 season, the Reds and Pujols’ paths have, thankfully, rarely crossed. However, in eight games against the Reds with the Angels, The Machine took Dan Straily deep in 2016 for old time’s sake. Oh, the memories.

1. Barry Bonds was a nightmare for Reds pitching, especially Tom Browning.

He’s the man you love to hate, and no one could have disliked Barry Bonds more than the Cincinnati Reds. Long before his assault upon just about every offensive category in the record books, the left-handed slugger was already pounding Cincinnati Reds pitching into submission.

First, the numbers. Over the past half-century, no player has more home runs, scored more runs, or received as many free passes against the Reds as Bonds. The mercurial left fielder walked 166 times, including a whopping 37 intentional passes, in just 177 games versus the Redlegs.

Long before he made his way to the Bay Area, Bonds was dismantling Reds pitching as a member of the Pittsburg Pirates. The Bucs first-round pick of the 1985 MLB Draft wasted little time introducing himself to Cincinnati. Between 1987-1992 Bonds would hit 17 homers while driving in 54 runs and stealing 21 bases in 23 attempts.

For his career, Bonds would slash a ridiculous .322/.471/.713 with an otherworldly 1.184 OPS against Reds hurlers. Routinely, Bonds victimized countless Cincinnati pitchers over the years and even though we could pick on poor Pete Schourek again we’ll instead turn our attention to Reds hero Tom Browning.

The Reds lefty had a ton of success in Cincinnati, but Barry Bonds refused to be rattled by Browning’s assortment of breaking pitches and quick pace on the mound. In 42 at-bats, Bonds would collect 14 hits, including five home runs and four doubles.

Bonds would also draw nearly twice as many walks (12) as strikeouts (7) against the southpaw.  Compiling a slash line of .333/.481/.786 there’s little doubt who was the victor in this contest.

At some point, new villains will emerge and earn the scorn of Reds Country. A few names who may find themselves on the list of Cincinnati’s most wanted include Ian Happ, Bryce Harper, and Cody Bellinger. Don’t say you weren’t warned.