1990: Reds get nasty to sweep
the defending world champions
Who's afraid of the Big, Bad A's?

BY JOHN FAY
The Cincinnati Enquirer

In terms of time, 1990 was not all that long ago. In terms of baseball time, it was eons ago.

Back in 1990 a small-market team could wait for the homegrown talent to ripen, add some low-rung free agents and a few players through trades, and compete for the World Series title.

The Reds did just that. The homegrown talent all ripened at once. Five of the eight position players had been drafted and developed by the Reds: Barry Larkin at shortstop, Chris Sabo at third, Paul O'Neill in right, Eric Davis in left, Joe Oliver at catcher.

So were two of the starters (Tom Browning and Jack Armstrong) and one of the top relievers (Rob Dibble). Another reliever, Norm Charlton, learned to play in the Reds' farm system.

A new manager, Lou Pinella, had been brought in to straighten things out after Pete Rose's banishment from baseball.

Jose Rijo, Randy Myers, Hal Morris, Todd Benzinger and Billy Hatcher had been added through trades. General Manager Bob Quinn would be named executive of the year for putting the team together.

Left fielder Eric Davis lacerated his kidney while diving for a ball during Game 4 of the World Series. (Enquirer file)

Growing your own

But the heart of the team had come from down on the farm and had come at a cheap price. The top 12 players on that team made a combined $11 million. The total team payroll was $15 million, which is what the Los Angeles Dodgers are paying pitcher Kevin Brown this year.

In 1990, $15 million was enough to finance a team that would go wire-to-wire to win the National League West, then beat the favored Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League Championship Series, then sweep the defending World Champion Oakland A's in the World Series.

There's not a homegrown team anywhere in baseball that's considered a World Series contender this year.

"It hasn't been done since (1990) by anybody," Reds General Manager Jim Bowden said. "That was before the salaries skyrocketed and teams could buy players and dominate. The game's changed. Montreal tried to build with homegrown talent, and they couldn't afford to keep their players."

The Reds were able to do that in '90. But the price of keeping Davis, the one big money player, was $9 million -- for three years.

Some of the players on the 1990 team were top picks: Dibble in 1983, Larkin in 1985, Armstrong in 1987. The Reds got Oliver and Sabo in the second round of the 1983 draft.

O'Neill was the No. 4 pick in 1981.

Others, the Reds got lucky on: Davis was a No. 8 pick in 1980, Browning a No. 9 pick in 1982.

Marty Brather, of Springfield, Mo., holds up a sign at Riverfront during Game 1. (Enquirer file)

Talent was there

Before the Rose scandal blew the 1989 season apart, the team had shown great potential. The Reds had finished second each year from 1985-88.

"The team obviously had talent," Morris said. "They did a good job going out and getting Randy Myers and a couple of other guys."

But, with a young team and new manager, it was essential to get off to a good start.

The season was delayed until April 9, a week later than scheduled, by a lockout. That may have helped the Reds.

"We were a young, aggressive team," Morris said. "When the season started, we were ready to go. We came out playing well and got off to a good start."

But the Reds didn't just get off to a good start. They got off to the best start in team history, opening the season with nine straight victories. By May 15, they were 23-7 and had an 8 1/2-game lead.

"Things fell in place for us," Larkin said. "You have to be lucky and good. A lot of things went right for us that year."

Barry Larkin, who grew up in Cincinnati, jumps to celebrate the Reds sweeping the Oakland A's to win the franchise's fifth World Championship. (Enquirer file)

Quick start was key

Particularly at the start. Armstrong, for example, was 5-0 with a 1.08 ERA in his first five starts.

That great start basically won the NL West. The Reds played only two games above .500 after the 23-7 start.

"But we had enough of a cushion to ride it out," Morris said.

Things got close in August. The Giants cut the lead to 4 1/2 games and came to Cincinnati for a four-game series, but the Reds took three of four.

The lead shrank back to 3 1/2 games once in September, but again the Reds responded. They won the West over the Los Angeles Dodgers by 5 1/2 games.

Don't have a chance

Many thought the season would end in the National League Championship Series. The Pirates, who had won 95 games to win the National League East, awaited. Their outfield of Barry Bonds, Andy Van Slyke and Bobby Bonilla was considered the best in baseball.

But the Reds were a team made for the postseason. They hit for average (they led NL by hitting .265). They were excellent defensively (they led the NL in fielding percentage at .983). They were fundementally sound.

Reds statistics
Player	r	hr	rbi	sb	avg.
Doran	10	1	5	5	.373
Morris	50	7	36	9	.340
Duncan	67	10	55	13	.306
Larkin	85	7	67	30	.301
Oester	10	0	13	1	.299
Braggs	22	6	28	3	.299
Hatcher	68	5	25	30	.276
Sabo	95	25	71	25	.270
O'Neill	59	16	78	13	.270
Davis	84	24	86	21	.260
Winningham	20	3	17	6	.256
Benzinger	35	5	46	3	.253
Reed	12	3	16	0	.251
Quinones	10	2	17	1	.241
Oliver	34	8	52	1	.231
Roomes	6	2	8	0	.227
Griffey	6	1	8	2	.206
Totals	693	125	644	166	.265
Pitcher	w	l	so	bb	era
Dibble	8	3	136	34	1.74
Myers	4	6	98	38	2.70
Rijo	14	8	152	78	2.70
Charlton	12	9	117	70	2.74
Armstrong	12	9	110	59	3.42
Layana	5	3	53	44	3.49
Jackson	6	6	76	40	3.61
Browning	15	9	99	52	3.80
Birtsas	1	3	41	24	3.86
Mahler	7	6	68	39	4.28
Scudder	5	5	42	30	4.90
Totals	91	71	1029	543	3.39

But the biggest advantage was the Nasty Boys bullpen. The bullpen made it a six-inning game, i.e., if the game went to bullpen with the Reds leading, it was usually over.

"I remember looking up in the fifth inning," Morris said. "We'd have a one-run lead, and I think, 'This game is over.' That may have been the best bullpen ever assembled."

It failed only once in the postseason. Pittsburgh got a run off Norm Charlton in sixth inning to win Game 1, 4-3.

But the Reds won Games 2, 3 and 4.

After Pittsburgh won Game 5, the Reds clinched by winning 2-1 in Cincinnati.

Bashing the A's

The Oakland A's with the Bash Brothers, Mark McGwire and Jose Canesco, awaited in the World Series.

"We were confident," Larkin said. "We knew we had a good team."

Eric Davis set the tone for the series by bashing a two-run home run off the facing of the green seats in left field in the first inning of Game 1. Rijo pitched seven scoreless innings before turning it over to Charlton and Myers to close a 7-0 win.

The second game probably was the clincher. The Reds came back twice to tie it at 4-4, then beat A's ace closer Dennis Eckersley in 10th for a 5-4 victory. Hatcher was 4-for-4, setting a World Series record by getting seven straight hits.

The Reds wrapped up Game 3 by scoring seven runs in the third inning of an 8-3 win.

In Game 4 in Oakland, Rijo gave up a run in the first then got on a roll. He would retire the last 20 batters he faced. The Reds scored two runs without the benefit of a hit in the eighth.

Myers retired the last two batters to save it, and the Reds had swept the mighty A's to win their first World Series in 24 years.

"The regular season and the postseason are two different things," Morris said. "With that bullpen, the team was built for the postseason."

And built on the farm.

That doesn't happen anymore.

"Times change," Larkin said. "That's the way it is with free agency."