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.

2. Lance Berkman blasted 50-plus HRs versus the Reds.

The longtime Houston Astro may never receive a plaque in Cooperstown, but if Lance Berkman is ever enshrined in the Hall of Fame, he should have a member of the Reds pitching staff deliver his induction speech. As an NL Central rival for 14 years, Berkman’s havoc wreaked against Cincinnati pitching has reached near-legendary status.

A first-round pick of the Astros in the 1997 MLB Draft and the 16th selection overall, the Reds took Brandon Larson two spots ahead of Berkman. The Big Puma wasted little time reaching the big leagues. Making his debut in the summer of 1999, it would not be until the following season when Berkman would begin crushing Reds pitching.

Berkman hit his first of what would be an incredible 52 homers against the Reds on September 22, 2000, taking Scott Sullivan deep and putting in motion an avalanche of homers to bury the Reds in the future. For his career, he would slash .314/.431/.656 with a 144 RBIs in 174 games versus the Cincinnati Reds.

Astonishingly, the Big Puma had two seasons, 2002 and 2004, in which he hit nine homers against the Reds alone. The aforementioned 52 long balls are 13 more than he has against any other opponent. There’s one former Redleg who I’m sure holds a special place in Berkman’s heart.

Right-hander Jose Acevedo faced Berkman 13 times in his five-year career, and to call it a one-sided affair would be incredibly unfair to Berkman. The Big Puma took Acevedo deep the same number of times Acevedo actually retired Berkman, four. He would reach base nine times and finish with a slash line of .727/.692/1.818 against the overmatched Reds righty.

Berkman ranks second in OBP, OPS, and slugging for players who have faced the Cincinnati Reds at least 100 times over the last 50 years.  The only man who stands in front of him is the same man who stands in front of just about everyone else who played the game.