The ovation was not thunderous but still thrilling. It made the perfunctory exchange of lineup cards into one of those moments suitable for framing.

        Tony Perez raised his cap to the crowd to acknowledge the cheers, but the spectators had been slow to take their seats. There were whole rows of blue seats still empty behind the dugouts, and the event might have passed unnoticed had Reds spokesman Rob Butcher not asked John Walton to introduce the participants on the public address system.

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Tony Perez acknowledges cheers. (Jeff Swinger photo) 600 | 800 | 1024

        “I thought that ceremony was worth a little pomp and circumstance,” Butcher explained.

        At the mention of Perez's name, no more prompting was necessary. The Big Dog will never evoke the same passion that attends Pete Rose's every appearance in Cincinnati, but he's about as automatic as an “applause” sign.

        Perez was cheered Friday night as he reviewed the ground rules. He was cheered when he changed pitchers. He was cheered by children too young to have seen him play and by grownups who still tingle at the thought of October 1975. The Hall of Fame slugger has worn many uniforms and now manages the Florida Marlins, but the roots of his royalty are here.

        “It's another three games (on the schedule), but it's special when I come back to Cincinnati, no matter what,” Perez said before Friday's game at Cinergy Field. “Being in this city and being in this stadium — so many memories ... To me, it's still Riverfront. It's got another name, but to me it's still Riverfront Stadium.”

Perez signs autographs. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        It's tough to recognize the old place these days. The left-field seats where Perez launched the ballpark's first red-seat homer on Aug. 11, 1970 — a grand slam — have been removed to facilitate construction on The Great American Ballpark. His retired No. 24 has been relocated to a narrow vertical strip adjacent to the left-field foul pole. Instead of the vacuum created by a bowl-shaped stadium, there is now a view.

        “I can see my old apartment,” Perez marveled, gazing toward One Lytle Place.

        Standing beside the visitors dugout Friday afternoon, Perez could peer through the gap in right-center field and see river traffic and Kentucky's riverfront development. It was a little disorienting for Perez, almost disturbing, as if he had returned to a favorite fishing hole to find it the site of a strip mine.

Call from Marge
        Eight years have passed since Perez last managed a game in Cincinnati, and the hard feelings of getting fired after 44 games have largely subsided. When asked, Perez does not disguise his sense of injustice about the events of 1993, but he does so with more detachment and less emotion. When he reached his hotel room Thursday night, a message was waiting from former Reds owner Marge Schott. When he walked to home plate Friday, he carried no grudges.

        “As a manager, I don't have to prove anything,” he said. “Ninety-three is over for me. When I took the job, I never thought about coming back here and showing anybody.”

        With the possible exception of Reds general manager Jim Bowden, no one in Cincinnati needs further proof about Tony Perez. He will be cheered here so long as men have lungs. His players, however, are on their own.

        “They might like me,” Perez said of Friday's crowd. “They might pull for me. But they're Reds fans.”

        E-mail tsullivan@enquirer.com. Past columns at Enquirer.com/columns/sullivan.

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