Heroes of the Zeros: The 25-Man Roster

After 3 weeks of voting and 10 years of suffering, we've finally come to the point where we can reveal the Cincinnati Reds All Decade Team for the two thousand and aughts.  But before we get to that, let's take a look at some numbers for the Reds in the Aughts.

The Reds finished the decade with a dismal 751-869 (.464) record.  With an average record of 75-87, they managed to have a better record than only 7 teams during the decade (Can you name all 7?). They scored 7442 runs during the decade, tied for 21st in the Majors (9th in the NL) with Kansas City.  The surrendered 8248 runs, which was the 2nd most in the NL behind Colorado and 6th most overall.  Their run differential for the decade gives them an expected pythagorean record of 732-888.  So, even with as bad as they were, they were still "lucky" for the decade.  Yeesh.

Some other numbers:

• 46,971,462 people purchased tickets to see the Reds play during the decade (at home and on the road combined).
• The Reds hit the most home runs in the NL during the decade (1909).
• They also allowed the most home runs in the Majors at 2025 - over 80 more than the next closest team.
• The Reds hit just 227 triples during the decade, the fewest in the NL.
• Only one team struck out more than the Reds' total of 11,878 and that was the Milwaukee Brewers (12,268).  Oddly enough, they were both the top two teams in reaching on catcher's interference (Brewers - 14; Reds - 11).
• The Reds had the fewest sacrifice flies in the Majors and were 9th in sacrifice hits.  It's gotta be the little things, right?
• Defensively, the Reds were a mixed bag.  They turned the 5th most double plays in the league, but also committed the 3rds most errors.
• The Reds were one of nine teams to not turn a triple play during the decade.  The did hit into 2 of them though.
• Reds pitchers finished 12th in the NL in strikeouts, 9th in walks, and 8th in hit batsmen.
• Reds catchers surrendered the most passed balls in the NL (140) and their pitchers had the 2nd most wild pitches (565).
• Winning percentage-wise, this was the second-worst (arbitrary) decade in Reds history.  The Reds were 664-866 (.434) during the 1930s, and that's even after they went a combined 179-125 in 1938-1939. 
  
• This has been the worst 10-year stretch since 1947-1956, when the Reds went 710-828 (.462).  However, it only the 19th worst 10-year period in the team's history. As bad we had it this past decade, nothing matches how bad it was from 1928-1937 when they went 629-903 (.410). 

View the 25-man roster after the jump, if you aren't throwing up in your trash can already.

Some notes on the team:

• The entire starting lineup besides Brandon Phillips played on the 2002 and 2003 Reds that went a combined 147-177.
• 4 of the 5 starting pitchers were in the Reds rotation in 2008 and 2009.
• 4 of the 5 bench players played on the 2006 squad that almost made it to .500.
• The highest percentage vote getter was Aaron Harang, who appeared on 97% of the ballots.  Bronson Arroyo was on 96% and both Francisco Cordero and Adam Dunn were on 93% at their respective positions.
• The most votes for a player not appearing on the team went to Joey Votto, who got over 90 votes (about 33% of the vote) at 1B.
• The lowest percentage of the vote for a starter was Sean Casey at 67%.  Next closest was Austin Kearns at just over 70%.
• The closest vote was for left-handed pinch hitter where Valentien won with just 33% of the vote. Jacob Cruz was a close second at 30% and Hal Morris has 21%.

So, there's your team of the decade.  Time to move on and make the tens much better than the aughts.