Tag: Cincinnati Reds

Pete Rose dies: Baseball world reacts to the death of Cincinnati Reds legend

Pete Rose has died at the age of 83.

Pete Rose, one of the most recognizable figures in professional baseball during the 20th century, has died at the age of 83.

TMZ shared a confirmation from Rose’s agent, Ryan Fiterman, late Monday afternoon that the 17-time MLB All-Star and iconic Cincinnati Reds player and manager had died at his home in Las Vegas.

The franchise later confirmed Rose’s death to USA TODAY.

With 4,256 hits to his name, Rose still leads the MLB in all-time hits for a player. He won two World Series titles with the Reds in 1975 and 1976 before winning another with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980.

Rose returned to Cincinnati to manage the franchise as a player from 1984 to 1986 before retiring from baseball and working solely as the Reds manager through 1989.

Of course, Rose’s baseball career will forever be marked by a historic gambling scandal that ended his managing career in 1989 and followed his reputation within the baseball community.

Rose confessed in 2004 after years of denial to betting on baseball and the Reds in particular while he was part of the franchise. He has not been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame because of these infractions.

Rose also was accused of engaging in a sexual relationship with a minor during the 1970s. In 2017, an unidentified woman accused Rose of statutory rape as the two allegedly had a sexual relationship before she turned 16, which was the age of consent in Ohio.

With news of Rose’s death, here’s how the sports world reacted to the passing of a towering figure in baseball history.

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Joey Votto announcing his retirement from the MLB after 17 seasons inspired adoring tributes from fans

One of the great baseball players of his generation has retired.

Cincinnati Reds legend Joey Votto officially retired after 17 seasons on Wednesday evening, closing the book on one of the great MLB careers of his generation.

“Cincinnati, I’ve only played for you,” Votto said in an Instagram post announcing his retirement. “I love you.”

After joining the franchise in 2007, Votto made six MLB All-Star Games and was named the NL MVP in 2010. He also earned the Hank Aaron Award for the NL in 2010 and a Gold Glove Award in 2011.

Votto will go down as one of the great Cincinnati baseball players, and fans paid tribute to the Reds great as he leaves the baseball diamond for good.

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The Reds’ Spencer Steer hit a Little League home run after the Braves laughably botched a relay throw

Perhaps the worst relay throw ever.

Injuries are part of sports. Over the course of a 162-game series, every team is going to deal with injuries. But the Atlanta Braves are truly having a nightmarish injury situation this season, and we saw just how it can impact a team defensively on Wednesday.

During the opening game of the Braves’ doubleheader against the Reds, Spencer Steer hit an opposite-field fly ball to right that was out of a diving Adam Duvall’s range. Steer — who runs well — was likely going to have an easy triple, but Braves backup infielder Zack Short made the situation worse by *attempting* a relay throw to third.

And when I say “attempting,” I’m putting it kindly. His throw looked like this:

I’m not sure what exactly happened on that throw, but the ball slipped out of Short’s hand and went sideways towards shallow center field. Mind you, Short was playing second this game because both Ozzie Albies and newly signed Whit Merrifield are hurt.

After that botched relay, Steer got up and continued to home for a Little League home run (scored a triple and an error).

Fans certainly had plenty of thoughts on that relay.

This was how Twitter/X reacted

https://twitter.com/og_yungdilly/status/1816156425086816353

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LSU pitcher Luke Holman signs underslot deal with Cincinnati Reds

Former LSU pitcher Luke Holman has signed an offer to play with the Cincinnati Reds.

Former LSU pitcher [autotag]Luke Holman[/autotag] has signed an offer to play with the Cincinnati Reds.

Holman was selected with the 71st pick of the draft, during the supplemental part of the second round, and his slot value was worth $1,110,600. Holman signed with the Reds for only $997,500. The Reds can now use that money to try to sign a prep player for over their slot value.

Holman finished his only season with the Tigers with a 9-4 record and a 2.75 ERA. He struck out 127 hitters and only walked 33 over 91.2 innings of work. He became the Saturday starter for the Tigers and he was as advertised.

The Reds picked up [autotag]Ty Floyd[/autotag] in the 2023 MLB draft after he pitched a gem for LSU at Omaha. The Reds liked Floyd’s potential so much that they went back to the LSU well to grab Holman. Holman will start out in the minor leagues and look to work his way to Cincinnati sooner than later.

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

The nonsense Nick Castellanos’ eerily-timed home runs meme is unfunny and lost the plot

The Nick Castellanos meme doesn’t make any sense!

Fans know that Philadelphia Phillies’ Nick Castellanos seems to hit a home run whenever a major news story breaks.

But this meme could use a break.

Remember: Castellanos originally caught attention for hitting a home run during an apology from former Reds broadcaster Thom Brennaman in 2020. As memes tend to do, though, this trend has evolved over the years as Castellanos has only continued to hit it out of the park during serious moments.

This meme had yet another absurd moment in the sun this weekend.

Not long after President Joe Biden announced he would withdraw from the 2024 U.S. presidential election on Sunday afternoon, Castellanos managed to predictably hit a home run. It was silly and a lot of bettors made some money on the coincidental dinger:

Fans love this absurdity but there is one major problem that they seem to forget.

This meme started because Castellanos interrupted a serious moment on TV after Brennaman apologized for making offensive and homophobic remarks. That isn’t historic. It’s just a very hateful use of an awful slur and the reason that the announcer was out of a job for several years.

Now, this meme has become something completely different and, consequently, far less funny. In Castellanos’ own words, as he told Pitcher List: “It’s like, terrible moments.”

It is hardly connected to the original incident of when Castellanos hit a home run while something significant happened during the broadcast.

To his credit: Castellanos has also hit home runs during an homage to fallen veterans and while the broadcasting booth mentioned that former Phillies manager Charlie Manuel suffered a stroke. Those were wild and extremely unlikely examples of the meme coming to life.

A home run on the same day that Biden announced that he won’t seek re-election, however, is hardly the same thing.

Sure, it is eerie how often Castellanos seems to go yard on the same day as a historic event. But if you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it endlessly: We live in strange and uncertain times. As his wife tweeted in 2021:

“PSA to all Nick Castellanos joke tweets: something [expletive] happens everyday in the world find a new joke”

Major news is literally happening around us all the time. Perhaps it isn’t the hardest challenge to find a pro athlete able to accomplish something on their field of play on the same day that something else significant happens. We are trying to fit a round peg into a round hole and then act surprised when it fits.

If the broadcasters on the call were talking about Biden’s decision exactly before Castellanos hit a home run, then we would have a more interesting story.

Otherwise, this is just confirmation bias of something that has just become a bit of gibberish copypasta.

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Jimmy Romano becomes fifth Duke baseball player taken in 2024 MLB draft

The Blue Devils bullpen continued its hot streak in the 2024 MLB draft on Tuesday with Jimmy Romano, the fifth Duke pitcher off the board.

The MLB infatuation with the Duke bullpen continued on Tuesday when the Cincinnati Reds selected Jimmy Romano in the 16th round of the 2024 MLB draft.

Romano, a New Jersey native, made 45 relief appearances for the Blue Devils over the last two seasons. He finished with a career ERA of 4.58, including a personal-best 3.91 this past season, with a combined 2-2 record with one save.

Across his 37.1 innings in a Duke uniform, Romano struck out 47 batters with 36 hits and 18 walks. He took a major step forward in 2024, increasing his strikeouts per nine innings from 9.75 to 12.09 and lowering his WHIP (wins and hits per innings pitched) from 1.83 to 1.26. He even trimmed his opposing batting average from .286 to .242.

Romano became the fifth Duke pitcher taken in the 2024 draft. Jonathan Santucci, Duke’s left-handed ace, went to the New York Mets in the second round and All-ACC closer Charlie Beilenson went to the Seattle Mariners in the fifth round.

Nick Conte and Fran Oschell III also got picked, going to the Kansas City Royals and the Los Angeles Angels in the eighth and 12th rounds, respectively.

MLB fans loved Elly De La Cruz’s wholesome reaction to meeting Derek Jeter at All-Star workout day

It’s so easy to root for Elly.

There aren’t many MLB stars who are easier to roof for than Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz. He just exudes a love for the game that is clear whenever he speaks.

And on Monday, he got a chance to meet his favorite player … Derek Jeter.

De La Cruz joined the Fox pregame show during MLB All-Star workouts in Arlington. He was asked about the players who inspired him growing up, and that was when he said that he was always a fan of Jeter. He said so with Jeter sitting a few feet away from him.

It’s safe to say that the reaction could not have been more wholesome.

De La Cruz said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” And then reached out to shake Jeter’s hand.

There was something so cool about that moment, and it gave MLB fans just another reason to root for Elly.

This was how Twitter/X reacted

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LSU pitcher Luke Holman drafted by Cincinnati Reds in competitive balance rounds

LSU’s Saturday starter became the second Tiger off the board in the draft.

With the 71st pick of the 2024 MLB draft, the [autotag]Cincinnati Reds[/autotag] selected [autotag]Luke Holman[/autotag], a right-handed pitcher from LSU.

Finally, after a long night of waiting Holman hears his name called in the MLB draft as the Cincinnati Reds have taken him in the competitive balance portion of the second round.

Holman transferred to LSU after spending two seasons at Alabama. He became the Saturday starter for the Tigers and pitched very well. He finished the season with a 9-4 record and a 2.75 ERA. He struck out 127 hitters and walked 33 over 91.2 innings of work.

The Reds drafted [autotag]Ty Floyd[/autotag] out of LSU last season so they have returned to the LSU pipeline by picking Holman. The Junior pitcher has a chance to return to LSU if he would like, but the draft slot value for the No. 71 pick is $1,110,600.

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‘DESTROYED!’ Reds rookie Rece Hinds is out here obliterating baseballs with 450-foot home runs

Rece Hinds is out her hitting BOMBS.

If you don’t know the name Rece Hinds yet, you should.

The 2019 Cincinnati Reds second-rounder has been hitting dingers in the minors, even if his batting average isn’t great, and after the big league team called him up, he’s hit two MONSTER home runs, and it’s made everyone (including announcers) excited.

His first dinger earlier in the week went 449 feet, as you’ll see below. His second? A 458-foot bomb that had the play-by-play man John Sadak screaming “OH MY GOODNESS! DESTROYED!”

Rightfully so. This is the same Hinds who hit one 494 feet in the minors, as you can watch below:

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Elly De La Cruz waited so long for a Rockies’ catcher to toss the ball back for an epic delayed steal

Elly De La Cruz is SO FAST.

You want to know how fast Elly De La Cruz is? Well, you already know given how he’s scored from second on an errant pick-off attempt or the myriad of steals we’ve seen or the Little League home run that wowed us.

But, sure, here you go: this is how fast the Cincinnati Reds phenom is.

While facing the Colorado Rockies on Monday, he waited and waited for the catcher to toss the ball back to the pitcher BEFORE taking off for second. That’s when hurler Ryan Feltner threw to second and it wasn’t even close.

Check this out. WOW!

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