Reds make playoff push

Look at the Redlegs go. Our hometown team, that has battled to stay near .500 for this virus-shortened season, is three games away from potentially making the playoffs, and there couldn’t be more excitement from fans all around.

Since making the playoffs in 2013, the Reds have not returned after having many mediocre and losing seasons. But this is our year, as long as the boys get it done against the Minnesota Twins, they will be in the playoffs.

The Reds’ front office has done the work to get the Reds back into contention. Since Dusty Baker and the Reds parted ways after the Wild Card loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2013, the Reds have had three managers.

The first, Bryan Price, never led the Reds to a winning season in the four years he was the manager. He was fired after the team’s abysmal 3-15 start to the 2018 season.

The following interim manager, Jim Riggleman, led the team to a 64-80 record. After this, the team hired David Bell, who is the current manager.

With David Bell brought some new fire to the team, and even though the Reds didn’t make the playoffs last year, towards the end of August, there were talks about them making a push and having a chance in 2019 before they fell apart in September.

Leading up to this year, the moves and trades the Reds have made have put them in the position they are today.

Last year, they acquired pitching ace Trevor Bauer. On July 20, 2019, the Reds participated in a three team trade with the Cleveland Indians and San Diego Padres that sent Yasiel Puig and Scott Moss to the Indians in return for Bauer.

This season, Bauer is arguably the front runner for the National League Cy Young Award. With a league-best 1.73 ERA and also a league-best 100 strikeouts, he’s made his case for that award.

The Reds also acquired three new hitters: Shogo Akiyama, Mike Moustakas, and Nicholas Castellanos.

These three hitters have used their power, along with the fan favorites of Joey Votto and Eugenio Suarez, to make big hits in big moments. 

With just a series against the Twins remaining, one can’t help but get excited at the thought that Reds baseball might be playing in October for the first time in years.