By Mike Ball
Enquirer staff writer

The Reds will be well-represented in the All-Star Game Tuesday night at Houston.

Ken Griffey Jr. (voted in by fans), Barry Larkin, Sean Casey and Danny Graves are the biggest contingent of Reds to be named NL All-Stars since 1995.

That season, Larkin, outfielders Ron Gant and Reggie Sanders, and pitcher John Smiley were named.

This season is the first since 2000 (Griffey, Graves and Larkin) the Reds have had more than one representative: Casey (2001), Dunn (2002) and Aaron Boone (2003).

Stuff those ballots

The most Reds ever in the All-Star Game?

Well, the record would have been in 1957. Reds fans stuffed the ballots and elected all eight starters.

Commissioner Ford Frick intervened because Cincinnati accounted for more than half the votes cast. Frick subbed three fairly decent outfielders - Stan Musial, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron - for Reds outfielders Gus Bell and Wally Post and first baseman George Crow.

Frick let five starters remain - second baseman Johnny Temple, shortstop Roy McMillan, third baseman Don Hoak, left fielder Frank Robinson and catcher Ed Bailey. He reasoned they were either leading or in contention in nationwide balloting.

Trivia question

What Red made the All-Star team but appeared in the game as a Los Angeles Dodger?

The magnificent seven

And what might have been the most impressive Reds All-Star contingent?

Not surprisingly, 1976. Johnny Bench, Dave Concepcion, George Foster, Ken Griffey, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez and Pete Rose represented the Big Red Machine in all its glory.

How impressive was this array of talent? A look:

• From 1967-85, those seven players made 58 All-Star Game appearances.

• Bench was selected to play in 14 games, Rose 12, Concepcion nine, Morgan eight, Perez seven, Foster five and Griffey three.

How dominant?

Beginning in 1967, when Perez hit a game-winning homer, and ending in 1982, when Concepcion was voted MVP, the Reds came as close to dominating the All-Star Game as any team ever:

• 1967: Perez, in his first All-Star Game, was named MVP after homering off Catfish Hunter in the 15th inning.

• 1969: Bench hit one home run and was robbed of another on a great catch by Carl Yastrzemski.

• 1970: Rose won the game in Riverfront Stadium by running over Indians catcher Ray Fosse.

• 1972: Morgan was MVP, driving in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning.

• 1976: Foster was MVP, driving in a run with a groundout and homering with Morgan off Hunter.

• 1980: Griffey was MVP, singling and also homering off Tommy John.

• 1982: Concepcion was MVP, erasing a 1-0 deficit with a two-run homer off Dennis Eckersley.

Junior, too

Griffey Jr. joined his father as an All-Star Game MVP in 1992.

Junior, in his third All-Star Game, went 3-for-3 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored.

Junior, by the way, is a career .435 hitter in the game, going 10-for-23 with two doubles, the home run and five RBI. He also walked twice and stole a base.

Trivia answer

Jeff Shaw.

Shaw was 2-4 with 23 saves in 39 games for the Reds in 1998.

But on July 4, Shaw was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for first baseman Paul Konerko and pitcher Dennys Reyes.

Shaw pitched for the Dodgers in the game, allowing one run and three hits in one inning pitched.