Danny Graves says the Reds last played Pepper when Jack McKeon was the manager. That figures. Uncle Jack probably invented it. Pepper is so out of fashion, most ballparks don't even bother with the NO PEPPER signs that once adorned backstop walls. It's just assumed nobody will play.

Reds batting coach Chris Chambliss brought it back this year. Pepper teaches bat control and enhances reaction skills. This is what the players say. At least some of them.

"What do you get out of this?" I asked Graves.

"Chris Chambliss told us the other day, but I can't remember what he said. Hand-eye coordination, um, er, I don't really know what I get out of this. I just do it because we're told and everybody else does it."

Reds shortstop Barry Larkin plays a game of pepper with infielder Felipe Lopez. (Michael E. Keating photo)

Some Reds had never played Pepper. A few had never heard of it. Not that they should have. Pepper was big when baseball had players named Cap and Heinie.

Pepper is so retro, it's hip. I mean, bat control? Putting the ball in play? Hitting defensively with two strikes? Who does that? You might as well put Junior Griffey in a zoot suit.

Pepper is part of the Reds annual renewed emphasis on Fundamentals, which is ball-talk for "should have learned this a long time ago." Not a lot of professional athletes in any sport dwell on the details now. It's why basketball players can highlight-jam but can't make free throws.

"We have to do the small things," explains Sean Casey. "Guys have taken that to heart."

According to Casey, the aptly named Pepper Johnson, the former NFL linebacker, drilled the New England Patriots linebackers last season by rifling passes at them from 10 feet away. It sharpened their reaction time. "Their linebackers had a lot of interceptions," Casey allows.

Casey's glass is forever half full, so he suggests that Pepper will "help us cut down on strikeouts and maybe win us a game or two." Could be a trend. Next up, Monkey in the Middle for rundown situations. Wiffleball sessions, before games against breaking ball pitchers.

Graves feels it can't hurt.

"We led the league in worst fielding percentage last year. We led the league in worst ERA (actually second worst). We struck out a lot. We had a lot of worsts."

What does it take to be a Pepper star? What advice might one give a young ballplayer who aspires to Pepper greatness?

"Choke up and slap at it," Reggie Taylor says.

Who's the best?

Casey says Juan Castro. Taylor suggests he, Taylor, is right up there. There is no consensus. Other than this:

"(Chris) Reitsma is terrible," says Graves.

Reitsma couldn't play proper Pepper with a snow shovel and divine guidance. He claims to have a hockey player's swing.

"I need something down low. They throw it high. They're just messin' with me," Reitsma said. It's a lame excuse. He knows it.

"I use it to work on my fielding. I keep them on their toes. I might hit it to the same guy six times in a row." When he hits it.

Casey says "It's like playing ping pong. You try to go down the line. That guy, then that guy and so on. Left to right and back."

There's an art to it, then.

"Oh, yeah," Casey says.

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E-mail pdaugherty@enquirer.com

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