On this day in 1950, former Red Ross Grimsley was born in Topeka, KS.
On this day in 1971, former Red Bobby Tolan tore his Achilles tendon while playing basketball. He would never regain the promising form he showed in 1969 and '70, and the Reds would trade him to San Diego in November of 1973.
On this day in 1983, former Red Edwin Encarnacion was born in La Romana, Dominican Republic. Some might say that the Reds gave up too quickly on Encarnacion. While I think there is some truth to that statement, I don't think it's entirely fair to Cincinnati. Encarnacion was a butcher at third base. Even if the Reds thought he would end up being a 140-150 OPS+ type of player, where were they going to play him? The team already had Joey Votto at first base, and I can't imagine Encarnacion stumbling around in left field. There was no room for Encarnacion. Regardless, Encarnacion didn't blossom until the Blue Jays moved him to first base/designated hitter a majority of the time. We'll never know how much the position shift had to do with him taking a leap forward, but I'd wager it certainly didn't hurt his development as a hitter.
On this day in 2002, the Reds signed Jose Rijo. After making an unlikely comeback in 2001, Rijo would appear in 31 more games in 2002 before calling it a career.
On this day in 2009, the Reds signed Jerry Hairston, Jr. While with Cincinnati in 2008, Hairston had one of the best seasons of his career. He was not able to replicate that success in 2009, and the Reds traded him to the Yankees at the deadline. His OPS+ was a robust 125 in 2008, and he hasn't come close to matching that mark in any of the past five seasons.
The finest muffins earned the point last Wednesday.
In 2008, Edwin Encarnacion hit 26 home runs, which is the ninth highest total by a Cincinnati third baseman. Tony Perez holds the first two spots with seasons of 40 and 37 round-trippers. Who is third with 32 shots?