On this day in 1934, Reds Hall of Famer Frank McCormick made his major league debut. McCormick went 0 for 1 in a pinch-hit appearance for the Reds as Cincinnati lost to Brooklyn at Ebbets Field, 5-2. McCormick later became the "Wildcat" in the 1939-40 Reds’ "Jungle Cat Infield". McCormick had one of his best seasons in the 1940, winning the NL MVP and leading Cincinnati to the World Series title. He slashed .309/.367/.482, good for a 131 wRC+. McCormick also produced 4.3 oWAR and saved 13 runs in the field at first base that season.
---
On this day in 1946, Johnny Vander Meer hurled 15 innings of shutout ball for the Reds in Brooklyn. Unfortunately, the Reds fared as poorly as the Dodgers at the plate. The game was called after the 19th inning with the score still tied, 0-0. Vander Meer posted an absolutely ludicrous game score of 115. For reference, the highest score in a nine inning game is 105 by Kerry Wood in his 20 strikeout masterpiece in 1998. The game lasted "only" 4:40. (Last night’s Pirates-Reds match-up lasted 5:22 over 14 innings.) This is still the longest game ending in a scoreless tie.
---
On this day in 1983, former Red Danny Jackson made his major league debut. He would lead the NL in wins in 1988 with 23 for the Reds.
---
On this day in 1985, Pete Rose harpooned his white whale broke the all-time major league record for career hits when he singled off San Diego’s Eric Show in the first inning in Cincinnati. While Rose officially broke the MLB record on this day, he may have actually broken Ty Cobb’s record three days earlier in Chicago. There is some question as to whether two of Cobb’s hits were double counted, leaving him with a revised total of 4189 according to some sources (Baseball-Reference.com being one).
---
On this day in 1998, former Red Jerry Hairston, Jr. made his major league debut.
---
On this day in 2010, the Reds beat the Pirates in an extra inning dandy on Joey Votto’s walk off home run (video via MLB.com). Edinson Volquez pitched seven shutout innings while striking out 10 and walking one. He allowed only one hit. The final score was 5-4. Also on this day, Pete Rose made his first second* on-field appearance at a major league game since 1989. The Reds honored Rose and the 25th anniversary of his record breaking hit before the game.
*EDIT: As -ManBearPig points out in the comments, Rose was honored before Game 2 of the 1999 World Series at Turner Field as a member of the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. The author regrets the error.