$Cincinnati Reds\' 8 Best Position Players From The 1980s$

Cincinnati Reds' 8 Best Position Players From The 1980s

By Illya Harrell

8 Best 1980s Cincinnati Reds' Position Players

Marge Schott Reds — Marge Schott owned the Cincinnati Reds from 1984 until 1999. Around the year she bought controlling interest of the team was when I fell in love with the Reds. Schott was a despicable individual. She spewed racial and homophobic epithets, praised Hitler and owned Nazi memorabilia. If alive today she would make Donald Sterling look like a leading civil rights advocate. Here are, by position, the top Reds of the 1980.

8. Ron Oester, 2B

Ron Oester

8. Ron Oester, 2B

Ron Oester — In Dan Epstein's modern day classic baseball book, "Big Hair and Plastic Grass," the "golden age of baseball" is described as the time when an individual falls in love with the game. For me, it was around 1984, and Ron Oester was the team's second baseman. A light hitter and reliable defender, he is the only player on the list to play the entire decade in a Reds uniform. Oester would bat in the eight-hole for my imaginary team.

7. Bo Diaz, C

Bo Diaz

7. Bo Diaz, C

Bo Diaz — Johnny Bench was in the twilight of his career during the beginning of the decade, and his numbers showed it. Bo Diaz caught more games than any other catcher during the 80s and was a fairly decent hitter, earning an All-Star appearance in 1987. He had a solid arm behind the dish and in 1988 caught 40 percent of base stealers. Unfortunately, Diaz died in 1990 when adjusting a home satellite dish that fell and broke his neck. He would bat sixth.

6. Dan Driessen, 1B

Dan Driessen

6. Dan Driessen, 1B

Dan Driessen — Dan Driessen never got the Reds love he deserved as he was the guy who took over first base after Tony Perez was traded to the Montreal Expos. Reds fans were heartbroken to see Perez leave, and Driessen was the unfortunate guy to take over for the Hall of Famer. He consistently hit around .270 and had some pop. He's batting in the five-hole on my 80s team.

5. Buddy Bell, 3B

Buddy Bell

5. Buddy Bell, 3B

Buddy Bell — Six-time Gold Glove winner Buddy Bell played for the Reds in the mid-80s. Not only was he one of the best fielders in the game, but he hit with passable average and some power. His relatively high OBP, before sabermetrics were taken into account, has him batting second in my all-time 80s lineup.

4. Kal Daniels, LF

Kal Daniels

4. Kal Daniels, LF

Kal Daniels — When Kal Daniels burst onto the scene in 1986, I was convinced he'd have a stellar Reds career and was a surefire future Hall of Famer. Daniels was a regular on my snail-mail fantasy baseball teams. In 1987, he hit .334/.429/.617 with 26 bombs, a 1.046 OPS and 26 stolen bases. My prediction fell short, way short. He was traded to the Dodgers and had a couple of good seasons before he fizzled. He's my lead-off hitter.

3. Dave Concepcion, SS

Dave Concepcion

3. Dave Concepcion, SS

Dave Concepcion — Barry Larkin or Davey Concepcion, this was my toughest decision. Larkin had one full season with the Reds during the 80s, while Concepcion -- a light hitter -- manned shortstop for the majority of the decade. Concepcion made up for a weak arm with his patented one hoppers to first. Not in-between one hoppers, he'd bounce them about six feet in front of the first baseman, making them easy to catch. He'd bat in the seven-hole.

2. Dave Parker, RF

Dave Parker

2. Dave Parker, RF

Dave Parker — In four seasons with the Reds, Parker put together two All-Star appearances and in 1985 was second in the MVP balloting. During those four seasons, he hit 107 home runs and drove in 432 runs. Parker led the league in 1985 and set a career best with 125 RBIs. He's a no-brainer for the clean-up spot.

1. Eric Davis, CF

Eric Davis

1. Eric Davis, CF

Eric Davis — Eric the Red was the most exciting player of my "golden age." He would have been a true five-tool player if his center field arm were a bit stronger. During the 80s he led all Reds with 177 home runs, 532 RBIs and 247 stolen bases. Amazingly he was caught stealing only 37 times, an 87 percent success rate. During those years, to me, Davis was the most exciting baseball player in the majors. He's batting third in my fantasy 80s lineup.

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Cincinnati Reds

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