By John Erardi
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Best player, career: Johnny Bench

Best player, short-term: Joe Morgan (1975-76)

Biggest icon: Pete Rose

Best team: 1976 Reds

Best pitcher: Mario Soto

Most popular: Tony Perez

Best manager: Sparky Anderson

Best-fielding outfielder: Cesar Geronimo

Best-fielding infielder: Davey Concepcion

Best right-field arm: Paul O'Neill

Best crazed helmet-throwing and helmet-kicking: Paul O'Neill

Best nickname: Lee "The Big Bopper" May

Best ballpark nickname: "The Land of Ahs," by Enquirer Reds beat writer in the 1970s, Bob Hertzel

Best food: Mett with sauerkraut

Best beverage/manager's office: "Red pop" for the players' kids/Sparky Anderson's cooler

Best vendor expression (the early years, a holdover from Crosley Field): "Get Moody with Hudy!"

Best off-field antic: Jose Rijo on hot days with super-soaker squirt gun

Best on-field antic: Incredible Hulk facial expressions/mannerisms of Brad "The Animal" Lesley

Best home-run trot: "The Thing" by Dave Parker (extra-wide loop by first-base dugout)

Best base-running signature: Head-first slide by Pete Rose

Best first-to-second: Joe Morgan

Best first-to-third: Pete Rose

Best first-to-home: Barry Larkin

Best home to second: Pete Rose

Best anywhere: Eric Davis

Best at-bat signature: Back-arm chicken flap of Joe Morgan

Best at-bat feet: Dancing padoggies of Hal Morris

Best bat grip: Pizza dough-kneading hands of Tony Perez

Most entertaining base-running philosophy: Chris Sabo's run till you're out

Best lead off first base: "One foot on the carpet" by Joe Morgan

Best lead off third base: Dave Parker, starting deep in foul territory, then running hard toward the third-base line and slamming on the brakes

Best on-base acknowledgment: "Boo!" gestures of Dmitri Young toward his teammates after getting a big hit

Best collision: Pete Rose over Ray Fosse, 1970 All-Star Game

Best collision by a pitcher: Norm Charlton over Mike Scioscia, 1990

Best home-plate celebrations: "The Bounce," the pogo-sticking embrace of the '99 Reds on walk-off wins

Best walk to the mound by manager: Sparky Anderson, skipping over first-base line

Best managerial antic: First-base toss by Lou Piniella

Best use of Astroturf: Bounce throw from shortstop by Dave Concepcion

Best fielding move by a pitcher: Jose Rijo catching hot smashes up middle, miraculously, by snaring them with his glove behind his back

Best infielder's eyewear: Chris Sabo's goggles

Best catcher's eyewear: Sun-tinted shades of backup receiver Bill Plummer, which earned him the nickname of "Bronson" (after the actor)

Best use of a kitchen device: Meat thermometer being inserted into the Astroturf to measure temperature on sultry, midsummer days

Best people-watching activity: Foul-ball catching by the fans (made possible by cantilevered decks, which greatly increased the opportunities)

Best can-he-do-it-again buzz at ballpark: Pete Rose, during games 41-43, vs. the Phillies, during his 44-game hitting streak

Best "throwback": Players wearing cabbage leaves soaked in ammonia inside their caps on scorching hot days, a secret elixir that clubhouse man Bernie Stowe learned from Chesty Evans back in the Crosley Field days

Best things we'd pay to see again: Bench on a popup; Bench on a one-handed, short-hop sweep tag; Bench's throw to second to nail Bert Campaneris after Joe Morgan signaled Bench not to bother, Oct.21, 1972; third baseman Pete Rose defiantly spiking the ball after the Reds defense gets the third out in an inning; Rose playing Yankee speedster Mickey Rivers so close in the '76 World Series he could smell his after-shave; reed-thin rookie Davey Concepcion in 1970; Big Klu, holding court as the Reds hitting instructor in the 1970s; Eric Davis above the wall; Davis hitting for the cycle, with a triple on his last-at-bat, June 2, 1989; Norm Charlton, blond mane flowing, as he roars around third base and through the stop sign of coach Sam Perlozzo; Rob Dibble's follow-through.

Best things we'd pay double face-value to see again: Tom Browning showering the fans behind home plate with a bottle of shaken-up champagne after his perfect game; Kevin "Mitch Man" Mitchell homering to the red seats, then yellow on back-to-back at-bats, May 13, 1993; 50 grand in the stands three days in a row against the Dodgers in the 1970s; Bench vs. Giusti, Oct.11, 1972; Hal King, July 1, 1973; Bench and Foster, back to back, Oct.12, 1976; Ron Robinson, May 2, 1988, and let us signal the pitch we want you to throw to Wallace Johnson; Jose Rijo's slider, 1990; Glenn Braggs, Oct.12, 1990; Eric Davis, first inning, Oct.16, 1990; the ovation for Ken Griffey Jr. on Opening Day, 2000.

Best official promotion: Farmer's Night.

Best unofficial promotion: Marty Brennaman and Joe Nuxhall doing a broadcast from the red seats.

- John Erardi