BY JOHN ERARDI
The Cincinnati Enquirer
It was old home week again Sunday at Convention Center, as the other half of the 1976 Big Red Machine came together. About 3,000 people paid for autographs from some or all of the players.
The consensus among the players and memorabilia collectors is that there will never again be a team of such marquee value.
''Free agency,'' explained former Reds slugger Tony Perez. ''There will be other great teams with great winning percentages, but to have a team full of All-Stars and future Hall of Famers? No, I don't think so.''
The 1975-76 Big Red Ma-chine is widely regarded as having the best starting eight in baseball history. Here is the batting order: Pete Rose, 3B; Ken Griffey Sr., RF; Joe Morgan, 2B; Tony Perez, 1B; Johnny Bench, C; George Foster, LF; Davey Concepcion, SS, and Cesar Geronimo, CF. Up the middle - catcher, shortstop, second base and center field - the Reds won every Gold Glove for defensive excellence from 1974-77.
Morgan and Bench were both first-ballot Hall of Famers; Rose will be if he ever gets reinstated to baseball; Perez figures to make it this year or next; Davey Concepcion has a remote shot but needs to ''pull a Phil Rizzuto'' and continue to grow in support so the veteran's committee can elect him.
For a player to have his name forwarded to the veterans committee, he must receive at least 60 percent of the votes cast by the baseball writers in any of the 15 years he is eligible.
Concepcion has steadily - if slowly - grown in support, from 35 votes his first year, to 45 in his second, to 65 last year (when a total of 441 votes were cast, giving Concepcion 14.7 percent).
''There have been 10 shortstops elected to the Hall of Fame, and my numbers are better than several of them,'' Concepcion said. ''My numbers are better than Pee Wee Reese's. I hope I'll be elected, but I know that a lot of writers are going to have to be given a reason to vote for me if it's going into happen. Right now, for the writers, I'm kind of hidden.''
For six years (1974-79), Concepcion was the game's best all-around shortstop. Through 1979, he had won five Gold Gloves. In 1980, Ozzie Smith won his first of 14 straight Gold Gloves. From 1974-80, Concepcion averaged 10 HRs, 28 doubles, four triples and 70 RBI - excellent numbers for a shortstop.
Smith's defensive dominance hurts Concepcion's chances for the Hall, as did the coming of such offensive-minded shortstops as Robin Yount (3,000-hit club) and Cal Ripken. Concepcion was also overshadowed by ''The Big Four.''
''Because of Rose, Bench, Morgan and Perez, Davey is being crucified,'' former Reds manager Sparky Anderson said. ''No matter how good David's English was, it still wasn't good enough to be a great salesman. You have to be able to sell, or no one's going to buy. Tony (Perez) has been hurt by that, too.''
Not many people know it, Anderson said, but on the Big Red Machine, the hitter with the highest success ratio with runners in scoring position was Concepcion.
''And as good as Ozzie Smith was defensively, Davey doesn't take a back seat to anybody,'' 
Anderson said. ''Davey had a superb arm, and great, great range. And pop-ups? Oh my goodness. He loved to catch pop-ups. I told (former Reds coach) Alex Grammas, 'One of these days they are going to open the gate out in left field and Davey's going to run past the left-fielder and catch one.' He could jump higher than any man I've ever seen.''
Show promoter Charles Sotto said he will do another full-scale 1976 Big Red Machine reunion show, but not before 2001 - the 25th anniversary.
''This is the last of the great teams,'' Sotto said. ''People would die to have access to the '61 Yankees, but Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris are gone. The '76 Reds are special, but I don't want to flood the market with Big Red Machine signatures every year.''
Published Nov. 25, 1996.
