All the pubs were full and there were even some celebrations in the streets around Reds Ballpark. The Reds are the talk of the town in every barber shop, grocery store, high school and pretty much every establishment in the area. They must have won the LBL Championship you say? No, no, they simply made the playoffs…but making the playoffs was a massive accomplishment for this team and for a fan base that had endured season after season of mediocrity. 15 seasons had past since they last basked in the glory of postseason baseball. 15 seasons that more often then not their hated rivals, the crosstown Beavers finished higher than them in the standings. The same Beavers that had made the LBL championships on three occasions. Mercifully for the Red fans, the Beavers didn’t win on any of those 3 chances as that would have been unbearable to most.
On many occasions over the past 15 seasons the Reds have managed to stay in the hunt until around the mid season mark and then inevitably everything would fall apart. So you couldn’t blame the fans for not really getting excited until the final 2 weeks of this year, most thought that impending doom was just around the corner.
It was really an unexpectedly successful season. 73-47 was the 2nd best record in the LBL and by far the best winning percentage in franchise history. A plus 138 run differential was astronomically higher than anything produced by this franchise before. The 2nd best ERA in the league and the 2nd best batting average.
They accomplished all this with a rag tag makeshift starting rotation.
After struggling last season veteran Herman Robinson was banished to the oblivion of the bullpen. He was a longshot to make the rotation this season, but he did and believe it or not he won 23 games.
Roy Cooper couldn’t even crack Brooklyn’s starting rotation. After injuries decimated the Reds rotation, Cooper was brought in a desperate measure and he was lights out down the stretch. He won 11 of his last 13 starts – one of which was a no hitter.
Charles Mason was a never has been that was once a top prospect. He was a whipping boy for the fan base, an extremely talented player with zero work ethic. He was the poster boy for the Reds mediocrity. He seemingly had permanently lost his spot in the Reds rotation and had fallen all the way to the 3rd option in the bullpen which pretty much is of the equivalent importance to a bullpen catcher.
Again out of sheer necessity Mason was back in the rotation on July 15 and even he found that fountain of improbability going 9-2 down the stretch for the Reds.
On offense the Reds were a hitting machine. 3 of the top 4 spots in the league for hits are occupied by Red players. One isn’t a surprise – Golden Reeves tied for the top spot with 154 hits. He is the slight favorite to win his 4th most valuable player award. One of his biggest challengers will come from a rookie teammate who was a longshot to make the team this season. Frank Butler took the league by storm. He tied Reeves for most hits (154), while leading the league in doubles (29) and total bases (216). He was also 2nd in runs scored (80).
First baseman Okey Sibthorp was a cast-off from the Richmond Rifles – all he did was end up 4th in the league in hits with 150. And of course we would be remiss if we didn’t mention that 39 year old rookie catcher Ike Lain led the league in homers with 8 and chipped in with 47 Rbi.
Can this group of castaways and misfits make any noise in the playoffs and bring a much needed championship to the Western League and St. Louis??
They will be the underdogs when they visit Pittsburgh but they will be tough to bet against.
