The Cincinnati Reds had a great month on the baseball diamond in June, winning 12 games in a row at one point.
That comes after the team was expected by most baseball experts to have a down year. But, as Dayton Daily News Sports Writer David Jablonski explained to WYSO, a collection of young players have put the Reds near the top of their division.
Transcript (edited lightly for length and clarity)
David Jablonski: The Reds got off to a typically slow start — not as bad as last year when they were 3-21 at one point — they were a lot better than that, just not contending. That’s until late May when they started to put some wins together, but nothing really showed that they could win 12 games in a row. The Reds hadn't done that since the 1950s and only once before in the 1930s, unless you go back to the 1800s when they won 14 in a row. So the streak really came out of nowhere and really changed the outlook of the season.
Chris Welter: David, I know that a group of young players have really fueled this win streak for the Reds. Can you talk about some of them?
David: Until the other day, they were 14-4 since Elly De La Cruz was promoted. Matt McLain came up a little bit earlier than that, and Andrew Abbott around the same time. So those three are all rookies making their debuts this season. They were all top prospects for the Reds. Elly De La Cruz was not only the top Reds prospect, he was the top prospect in all of minor league baseball, according to one list this year. There were high hopes about those guys turning into good players, but nobody expected the kind of success they've had so fast out of the gate. McLain has played at an all star level since he got here, De La Cruz has done the same, and Abbott didn't even give up a run in his first three starts. They have exceeded expectations in every way and have made a lot of history. De La Cruz hit for the cycle the other night, which was the first time since Eric Davis in 1989 that a Reds player had done that.
Chris: Talk more about Elly De La Cruz — a player that's taken the MLB by storm.
David: Well he's been with the Reds since he was a teenager — and he's only 21 now — so Reds' fans have been hearing about him for a while and his reputation just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Whatever level in the minor leagues he went to, he excelled. It's no surprise, really, what he's doing here based on what he did there. But nobody expected him to make this kind of history either right out of the gate. He's doing things nobody in baseball history has done as far as home runs, stolen bases, and RBIs in his first 18 or 19 games now. He's exciting to watch, and you can't look away when he's at the plate.
Chris: The Reds haven't been great in recent years. Can you kind of give some context about why fans are so excited about this win streak?
David: They had a brief period of hope when they made the playoffs in the pandemic season of 2020. They had a winning season in 2021, too. But then last year, back to the bottom again with 100 losses, and some of the comments Phil Castellini made before the season a year ago about the Reds fans having no choice, they don't have anywhere else to go, they're going to keep coming to Reds games because there's nothing else to do, or no other baseball team to cheer for ... that did not go over well. The Castellinis have been fighting that ever since and they needed a good season, too, to escape the bad graces. But I don't know if they can ever make up for it.
Chris: The Castellinis being the family who owns the Reds. Has this win streak made a difference for the team financially?
David: Yes, a big difference. They sold out the series last week against the Braves — they lost two out of three at home — but they sold out all three games. It was the highest attended regular season series in the history of Great American Ballpark, which opened just over 20 years ago. That was a pretty big deal, especially considering earlier this year they had the smallest crowd for a game in the history of the ballpark. Part of that was because of the weather and the opponent, and in early April, you're always going to have smaller crowds, especially for what was then a losing team. But, certainly, they would not have sold out those games without the winning streak. So it’s made a big, big difference and we'll see if it continues.
Chris: This is my theory: When you have so many good prospects playing with the Reds, does that kind of trickle down and affect the Dragons? Is it possible that they're not going to get as many good prospects this year because they're all up playing in the big leagues?
David: Most of these guys have played in Dayton over the years: De La Cruz, McLain, those guys spent time with the Dragons. I think the Dragons still have their share of prospects, and there are always going to be guys trying to work their way up with the Dragons to the Reds.
Also, and I'm sure it's related a little bit to the Reds performance, the Dragons have never had a lot of success from the wins and losses standpoint as a Reds' minor league team, but they do keep sending guys to the big leagues.
