The most memorable catch in Reds postseason history at Riverfront Stadium/Cinergy Field was by Glenn Braggs. It was the second-to-last out in Game 6 of the 1990 National League Championship Series, won that night over the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-1.

        Anybody who saw it will never forget it.

        The 6-foot-3 Braggs drifted back to the right-field wall and leaped, going above the wall to make the catch and rob the Pirates of a game-tying home run.

        (But, you might not remember who hit the ball or who pitched it. The answers to those trivia questions are at the end of this story.)

        Braggs, known best for his “pipes,” a.k.a. massive biceps, entered the game in the eighth inning as a substitute, even though he wasn't a great fielder.

        Reds manager Lou Piniella called upon Braggs because regular right fielder Paul O'Neill was on the bench. Piniella pinch hit for O'Neill in the bottom of the seventh — a move that created another hero, Luis Quinones, who smacked a 3-2 Zane Smith pitch into right field to break a 1-1 tie. The hit scored Ronnie Oester, who led off the inning with a single and advanced to third on Billy Hatcher's one-out single.

        Everything Piniella touched that night turned into playoff gold. He inserted Oester as part of a double switch in the seventh (reliever Norm Charlton for starter Danny Jackson). Neither Oester nor Quinones had a hit in the NLCS until they combined on the game-winning run.

        Piniella said it was fitting that three non-regulars played such critical roles in the NLCS clincher.

        “That's the way we've been all season,” Piniella said. “We've used all 25 guys, and when we've called on guys in tough situations, they've come through.”

        After the game, Braggs called his catch “the kind you dream about making in a big game like this.” He said he “never would have made the catch” had he not been playing deeper than normal to prevent an extra-base hit.

        “He smoked that ball,” Braggs said. “My heart stopped when he first hit it. Then all I thought was, "Get back as fast as you can and jump as high as you can.”'

        Said Piniella: “When he first hit it, I didn't think it was out. Then I said, "My God, come down.”'

        The Reds headed to their first World Series since 1976 and shocked the powerful Oakland A's in four games.

        The answers to the trivia questions: The Pirate who hit the ball that Braggs caught was Carmelo Martinez. The Reds pitcher was Randy Myers.

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