If you don't see the Dodgers by April 5, you'll never see those arch-rivals from the 1970s in 1998.
The Mets will be here once and gone by daylight-saving time. Something called the Diamondbacks will play more games in Cinergy Field in 1998 than the Giants.
Early start to lure families
With night games starting 30 minutes earlier at 7:05, the club can see a baby boom of sorts.
When marketing consultant Cal Levy was in Pittsburgh, where they had 7:05 starts last year in April and September, he saw an influx of families with children take advantage.
''Around 9, 9:30, you saw a lot of people start to head home,'' Levy said of Cincinnati. ''Whether they had to get the kids to bed or be at work in the morning. This way, they stay two to two and a half hours, and you can feel good about it.''
|
Such is life for the Cincinnati Reds in the new and slightly unbalanced schedule of the 16-team National League.
But it's not such a bad life. Especially when from Aug. 31 on you play all but six games against teams in your Central Division.
''I like that. If you come into the last month five, six games behind, you've got a lot of games to try and win it,'' said Reds General Manager Jim Bowden, chairman of last month's meeting of Major League Baseball GMs.
''That's good for the game,'' Bowden said. ''We're in the biggest division (six teams), and that ought to build more rivalries.''
MLB answered the call for more intradivision play down the stretch, as well as more overall games in the division. The Reds play Central rivals 11 or 12 times in four series, two each home and away. They play one West team in four series, the San Diego Padres.
Against all other NL clubs, the Reds play three series. Against some of those teams, like the Dodgers, they play once at home and twice on the road, and twice at home and once on the road against teams like the Braves. Which means the Dodgers should be here twice and the Braves once in 1999.
Even though the Dodgers - along with the Braves and Cubs - are the Reds' traditional big draw, Reds marketing consultant Cal Levy doesn't see disaster because the Dodgers are here only the weekend of April 3-5.
''Traditionally, the Dodgers are in here for a weekend series and it just happens to be the first weekend,'' Levy said.
The five-year-old Rockies, who have become a Cincinnati favorite, are here just once in '98. The biggest Cinergy Field draws last year were the Braves (an average of 27,296), Dodgers (24,786) and the Rockies (24,140). The Braves (52,567 on Aug. 6, 1994) and the Rockies (49,697 on May 15, 1993) are two of the biggest midseason crowds in Cinergy history.
'98 SCHEDULE
TICKETS GO ON SALES DEC. 13
OFFSEASON STORIES
REDS PAGE