FanPost

25 For 25: Cincinnati Reds 1920-1944

I am back with another set of 25 For 25 teams, this time for the years 1920-1944. This is the fourth set that I have published this cycle, starting with 1995-2019 and continuing through 1970-1994 & 1945-1969 (I will post squads for 1895-1919 after I get done with these); if you are interested in those, you can view them here.

Basically the same rules as before: 25 players, 25 seasons, one player from each season, no more or less; each player can be chosen for a team once (not multiple times in a single era or multiple eras as listed above); the player will be chosen at the position that he played the most that season (outfielders use combined outfield games; starting pitchers have as many or more starts as relief appearances); two players each for C/1B/2B/3B/SS, six outfielders, six starters, & three relievers (pitcher distribution is a departure from later eras (5S/4R), as it was less common for staffs to have multiple (or even one) dedicated relievers and pitchers were moved to the rotation quickly when they showed signs of quality). I use Fangraphs' fWAR and Baseball-Reference's bWAR & Win-Loss% w/avg team (waaWL%, basically bWAR as a rate stat, centered around a .500 W%). I have included pitcher's hitting WAR contributions if they are positive; I also included rate, counting stats, & accolades where appropriate. Finally, I added in a quick blurb about the player, whether it is biographical information, historical context, or just a fun fact.

As is the nature of these lists, I will not be able to take all of the best players/seasons, there is no intention to denote one player at a position as the "starter" & the other as the "backup", and I am going to stick to the rules & see where the numbers take me. Sometimes I will have to choose between two worthy options & have to make do with the next best for the "loser"; sometimes I will have to take a lesser season out of need instead of a better one; sometimes I will be stuck with a "bad" year because all the good ones were ruled out.

I hope you have a chance to look over this list (and the others to come), learn something about your team's history, and maybe challenge me on my picks. I look forward to hearing from you. [NOTE: For those players with names in bold, the links are to the SABR Biography Project. Please visit the site and read up on these players.]

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1920 - Edd Roush OF - 149 G/650 PA, 6.0 fWAR/5.9 bWAR, .526 waaWL%, .339/.386/.453, 16 3B/36 SB, 90 RBI/196 H, 8 Rfield, HOF (when he won the batting crown in 1919 at .321, it was his lowest season batting average between 1917 & 1926)

1921 - Fritz Coumbe RP - 28 G/6 GS/86.2 IP, 0.4 fWAR/1.1* bWAR, .507 waaWL%, 3-4 W-L, 1/1 SvOpp, 3.22 ERA/3.89 FIP *(including batting) (while not a good hitter in the majors, he did quite well in the PCL; in 1925, he played 144 games at 1B (152 overall), hitting .331 with 71 XBH, before eventually moving back to the mound)

1922 - Jake Daubert 1B - 156 G/700PA, 4.5 fWAR/4.0 bWAR, .512 waaWL%, .336/.395/.492, 22 3B, 114 R/205 H (it was a different world back then - Daubert, a .305 lifetime hitter at 1B, holds the NL career record for sacrifice bunts with 392, with seven seasons of 30+)

1923 - Dolf Luque SP - 41 G/37 GS/322 IP, 6.9* fWAR/10.9* bWAR, .696 waaWL%, 27-8 W-L, 2/2 SvOpp, 1.93 ERA/2.94 FIP *(including batting) (with 194 victories, he was the first great Cuban pitcher, but his impact may have been greater in both the Cuban winter leagues (as pitcher, hitter, & manager) and coaching/scouting players like Sal Maglie, Bobby Avila, & Camilo Pascual)

1924 - Babe Pinelli 3B - 144 G/580 PA, 3.1 fWAR/2.8 bWAR, .508 waaWL%, .306/.353/.365, 23 SB, 10 Rfield, 13th-MVP (a journeyman third baseman, he was part of one of the most famous games in history - he was the home plate umpire for Don Larsen's perfect game)

1925 - Pete Donohue SP - 42 G/38 GS/301 IP, 7.0* fWAR/6.9* bWAR, .588 waaWL%, 21-14 W-L, 2/2 SvOpp, 3.08 ERA/3.23 FIP, 1.5 BB/9, 15th-MVP *(including batting) (he was brilliant his first six years in Cincy, going 103-67 with three 20-win campaigns, but he was spiked on a play, which caused him to favor the injured leg and alter his throwing motion, which led to diminished performance his last six seasons)

1926 - Bubbles Hargrave C - 105 G/366 PA, 4.0 fWAR/3.6 bWAR, .524 waaWL%, .353/.406/.525, 6th-MVP (after three early seasons with the Cubs, he was a leading hitter for the 1920 St. Paul Saints, who won the American Association by 28.5 games with a 115-49 record and had 16 of 22 players make the big leagues)

1927 - Chuck Dressen 3B - 135 G/571 PA, 4.7 fWAR/4.3 bWAR, .517 waaWL%, .291/.355/.361 (he had a relatively short playing career and later managed the Reds, Braves, Tigers, & notably the Dodgers, but he also was a quarterback with the Decatur Staleys (under George Halas) & the Racine Legion of the American Professional Football Association)

1928 - Eppa Rixey SP - 43 G/37 GS/291.1 IP, 4.8 fWAR/4.3 bWAR, .547 waaWL%, 19-18 W-L, 2/2 SvOpp, 3.48 ERA/3.45 FIP, HOF (busting the stereotype of the Southern hick baseball player, he graduated from U of VA with a bachelor's degree in chemistry and later achieved master's degrees in chemistry & Latin)

1929 - Red Lucas SP - 32 GS/270 IP, 5.3* fWAR/6.1* bWAR, .595 waaWL%, 19-12 W-L, 3.60 ERA/3.96 FIP, 1.9 BB/9, 6th-MVP *(including batting) (on 8/7/31, he was pulled seven batters into a start (0.1 IP, 6 ER); on 7/15/32 in the 10th-inning, after 250.1 IP and 27 consecutive complete games, he was relieved again)

1930 - Harry Heilmann OF - 142 G/539 PA, 4.7 fWAR/4.5 bWAR, .521 waaWL%, .333/.416/.577, 43 2B, 91 RBI, 6 Rfield, HOF (he was the first former player to ever become a play-by-play broadcaster, starting after his retirement in 1932 and ending in 1951 when he died from lung cancer at 56yo)

1931 - Tony Cuccinello 2B - 154 G/639 PA, 4.6 fWAR/4.9 bWAR, .519 waaWL%, .315/.374/.431, 39 2B/11 3B, 93 RBI/181 H, 6 Rfield, 25th-MVP (his 93 RBI that season set the club record for a second baseman, later broken by Joe Morgan in 1975)

1932 - Babe Herman OF - 148 G/642 PA, 6.6 fWAR/6.4 bWAR, .529 waaWL%, .326/.389/.541, 38 2B/19 3B, 188 H, 12 Rfield, 12th-MVP (the 16 home runs he hit in 1932 were the 2nd-highest total by a Reds player up to that point, with Heilmann (1930) & Bug Holliday (1889) hitting 19 each)

1933 - Bob Smith RP - 16 G/6 GS/73.2 IP, 0.8 fWAR/1.4* bWAR, .550 waaWL%, 4-4 W-L, 1 Hold, 2.20 ERA/3.29 FIP *(including batting) (he signed his first professional contract when he was nearly 26; he was one of four players traded from the Cubs for Babe Herman after the '32 season)

1934 - Paul Derringer SP - 47 G/31 GS/261 IP, 4.8 fWAR/3.9* bWAR, .537 waaWL%, 15-21 W-L, 4/4 SvOpp, 3.59 ERA/3.31 FIP *(including batting) (he was nicknamed "Dude" or "Duke" due to his tendency to make as many as five changes of clothes in a day)

1935 - Ernie Lombardi C - 120 G/352 PA, 3.3 fWAR/3.7 bWAR, .522 waaWL%, .343/.379/.539, HOF (Johnny Bench is famous for holding seven baseballs in one hand, but The Schnozz did it back in his day as well)

1936 - Kiki Cuyler OF - 144 G/623 PA, 3.8 fWAR/4.1 bWAR, .514 waaWL%, .326/.380/.453, 11 3B, 96 R/185 H, HOF (he was the oldest starting regular in the NL in '37, when he led the Reds in Hits, XBH, Runs, & RBI)

1937 - Gene Schott RP - 37 G/16 GS/154.1 IP, 2.1 fWAR/2.2 bWAR, .524 waaWL%, 4-13 W-L, 1/5 SvOpp, 2.97 ERA/3.44 FIP (his W-L record is deceiving, as his ERA was 8th-best in the NL and he went for a 1.49 ERA in 54.1 IP over the final 3.5 weeks of the season; this was also the year of the Ohio River flood & the infamous picture of him in a boat floating over Crosley Field)

1938 - Ival Goodman OF - 145 G/648 PA, 5.7 fWAR/6.2 bWAR, .529 waaWL%, .292/.368/.533, 10 3B/30 HR, 103 R/92 RBI, 8 Rfield (his 30 HR was the first time a Reds player had even hit 20, which he had eclipsed by the All-Star Game, played that year in Cincinnati)

1939 - Billy Myers SS - 151 G/602 PA, 5.3 fWAR/5.7 bWAR, .525 waaWL%, .281/.369/.393, 18 Rfield, 14th-MVP (he was named the team's captain in 1935 as a rookie, something that didn't help his fragile nerves and didn't endear him to the fans; he kept the role through the Championship season in 1940)

1940 - Lonny Frey 2B - 150 G/663 PA, 6.2 fWAR/6.8 bWAR, .531 waaWL%, .266/.361/.371, 22 SB, 102 R/80 BB, 25 Rfield (he went from being a shortstop in Brooklyn who committed 14 errors in the first 27 games of 1936, to the best defensive second baseman in baseball on the World Champion Reds in '40)

1941 - Bucky Walters SP - 37 G/35 GS/302 IP, 5.4 fWAR/7.0* bWAR, .608 waaWL%, 19-15 W-L, 2/2 SvOpp, 2.83 ERA/3.13 FIP, All-Star, 28th-MVP *(including batting) (his '39 & '40 seasons are more impressive by traditional standards, and 1939 is his best according to B-Ref, but his pitching fWAR in '41 is the highest of the bunch)

1942 - Eddie Joost SS - 142 G/636 PA, 2.7 fWAR/2.7 bWAR, .506 waaWL%, .224/.307/.320, 6 Rfield (he tied a ML record on 5/7/41 when he successfully fielded 19 chances (plus one error), including double plays in each of the first four innings and at least one putout or assist in every frame)

1943 - Eric Tipton OF - 140 G/586 PA, 4.4 fWAR/4.2 bWAR, .517 waaWL%, .288/.395/.424, 85 BB (he is a member of the College Football HOF; famous for crashing through an outfield fence in Rochester in 1940, emerging seemingly unscathed)

1944 - Frank McCormick 1B - 153 G/645 PA, 6.0 fWAR/5.7 bWAR, .524 waaWL%, .305/.371/.482, 37 2B/20 HR, 102 RBI/177 H, 13 Rfield, All-Star, 13th-MVP (in 1939, 1941, & 1944, he hit more home runs than he amassed strikeouts (respectively, 18 HR/16 K, 17/13, & 20/17))

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C - Bubbles Hargrave 1926, Ernie Lombardi 1935

1B - Jake Daubert 1922, Frank McCormick 1944

2B - Tony Cuccinello 1931, Lonny Frey 1940

3B - Babe Pinelli 1924, Charlie Dressen 1927

SS - Billy Myers 1939, Eddie Joost 1942

OF - Edd Roush 1920, Harry Heilmann 1930, Babe Herman 1932, Kiki Cuyler 1936, Ival Goodman 1938, Eric Tipton 1943

SP - Dolf Luque 1923, Pete Donohue 1925, Eppa Rixey 1928, Red Lucas 1929, Paul Derringer 1934, Bucky Walters 1941

RP - Fritz Coumbe 1921, Bob Smith 1933, Gene Schott 1937