The 1996 Cincinnati Reds season was the 127th season for the franchise in Major League Baseball, and their 27th and 26th full season at Cinergy Field. The Reds failed to improve on their record of 85–59 from 1995 and defend their National League Central title, finishing the season at 81–81 and a third place finish.

Offseason

  • December 7, 1995: Chris Sabo was signed as a free agent with the Cincinnati Reds.[1]
  • January 2, 1996: Eric Davis was signed as a free agent with the Cincinnati Reds.[2]
  • January 9, 1996: Mike Kelly was traded by the Atlanta Braves to the Cincinnati Reds for a player to be named later and Chad Fox. The Cincinnati Reds sent Ray King (June 11, 1996) to the Atlanta Braves to complete the trade.[3]
  • January 20, 1996: Vince Coleman signed as a free agent with the Cincinnati Reds.[4]
  • February 26, 1996: Joe Oliver was signed as a free agent with the Cincinnati Reds.[5]
  • February 26, 1996: Damon Berryhill was released by the Cincinnati Reds.[6]

Regular season

  • Opening Day (April 1) – Seven pitches into the first game of the season, at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, home plate umpire John McSherry collapses on the field and dies of a massive heart attack.[7] The game between the Reds and Montreal Expos is postponed. Reds owner Marge Schott later comes under fire for wanting the game in Cincinnati to continue despite the tragedy (and against the wishes of the players on both teams), saying that she felt "cheated" when it was canceled.

Opening Day lineup

Note: the two lineups have multiple differences, as the Expos had scheduled right-hander Pedro Martínez to start on April 1; he was replaced by left-hander Jeff Fassero for the April 2 game.

Season standings

NL Central
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
St. Louis Cardinals 8874 .543 — 48‍–‍33 40‍–‍41
Houston Astros 8280 .506 6 48‍–‍33 34‍–‍47
Cincinnati Reds 8181 .500 7 46‍–‍35 35‍–‍46
Chicago Cubs 7686 .469 12 43‍–‍38 33‍–‍48
Pittsburgh Pirates 7389 .451 15 36‍–‍44 37‍–‍45

Record vs. opponents

1996 National League record
Source: MLB Standings Grid – 1996
Team ATL CHC CIN COL FLA HOU LAD MON NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL
Atlanta —7–57–55–76–76–65–710–37–69–49–39–47–59–4
Chicago 5–7—5–85–76–65–88–56–67–57–64–96–67–55–8
Cincinnati 5–78–5—7–63–97–64–83–96–610–25–89–39–45–8
Colorado 7–57–56–7—5–88–56–73–97–56–67–58–55–88–4
Florida 7–66–69–38–5—7–56–75–87–66–75–73–95–76–6
Houston 6–68–56–75–85–7—6–64–98–410–28–56–68–42–11
Los Angeles 7–55–88–47–67–66–6—9–38–47–66–65–87–68–4
Montreal 3–106–69–39–38–59–43–9—7–66–77–54–89–48–4
New York 6–75–76–65–76–74–84–86–7—7–68–53–106–65–7
Philadelphia 4–96–72–106–67–62–106–77–66–7—7–54–86–64–8
Pittsburgh 3–99–48–55–77–55–86–65–75–85–7—4–98–43–10
San Diego 4–96–63–95–89–36–68–58–410–38–49–4—11–24–8
San Francisco 5–75–74–98–57–54–86–74–96–66–64–82–11—7–6
St. Louis 4–98–58–54–86–611–24–84–87–58–410–38–46–7—

Game log

1996 Game Log: 81–81 (Home: 46–35; Away: 35–46)
April: 9–16 (Home: 5–8; Away: 4–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 2Expos4–1Schourek (1–0)FasseroMoore (1)53,1361–0
2April 3Expos4–8VeresShaw (0–1)—19,1041–1
3April 4Expos2–10PaniaguaBurba (0–1)—17,0671–2
4April 5@ Phillies6–5 (10)Shaw (1–1)BorlandMoore (2)17,3182–2
5April 6@ Phillies8–4Salkeld (1–0)Hunter—17,9583–2
6April 8Mets7–6Schourek (2–0)JonesBrantley (1)17,6234–2
7April 9Mets5–12IsringhausenSmiley (0–1)Franco15,9584–3
8April 10Mets9–7Pugh (1–0)MacdonaldBrantley (2)16,7755–3
9April 11Astros4–9ReynoldsPortugal (0–1)—18,9465–4
10April 12Astros8–10 (10)JonesMoore (0–1)Tabaka24,9605–5
11April 14Astros5–3Schourek (3–0)HamptonBrantley (3)—6–5
12April 14Astros9–8Shaw (2–1)YoungBrantley (4)21,5527–5
13April 15@ Cubs3–2 (10)Moore (1–1)PattersonBrantley (5)20,3958–5
14April 16@ Cubs3–6TrachselPortugal (0–2)—11,4648–6
15April 17@ Cubs6–8 (10)WendellRuffin (0–1)—13,0238–7
16April 19@ Astros5–13BrocailSchourek (3–1)—22,7288–8
17April 20@ Astros6–1Smiley (1–1)Drabek—34,0989–8
18April 21@ Astros5–7JonesBrantley (0–1)—27,8459–9
19April 22@ Mets1–5WilsonPortugal (0–3)—14,5689–10
20April 23@ Mets6–8 (10)HenryShaw (2–2)—14,3579–11
21April 24@ Expos6–7 (10)DyerMoore (1–2)—10,1269–12
22April 25@ Expos4–8MartinezSmiley (1–2)—13,0679–13
23April 26Phillies0–2GraceBurba (0–2)Bottalico21,8429–14
24April 27Phillies2–3LeiperPortugal (0–4)Bottalico22,5559–15
25April 30Pirates7–10NeagleSmiley (1–3)Cordova16,2439–16
May: 10–12 (Home: 5–6; Away: 5–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
26May 1Pirates3–4HopeBurba (0–3)Plesac18,1979–17
27May 3@ Giants5–3McElroy (1–0)CreekBrantley (6)12,88410–17
28May 4@ Giants9–7Moore (2–2)LeiterBrantley (7)18,98911–17
29May 5@ Giants12–6Smiley (2–3)VanLandingham—18,05212–17
30May 7Dodgers3–2 (12)Moore (3–2)Worrell—18,14713–17
31May 8Dodgers5–0Schourek (4–1)ParkShaw (1)17,82014–17
32May 10Padres8–6McElroy (2–0)FlorieBrantley (8)22,50815–17
33May 11Padres1–0Smiley (3–3)HamiltonBrantley (9)24,98316–17
34May 12Padres0–5TewksburyBurba (0–4)—22,78616–18
35May 14Rockies3–5ReedSchourek (4–2)Ruffin20,53516–19
36May 17@ Braves2–8MadduxSmiley (3–4)—40,61216–20
37May 18@ Braves1–2ClontzRuffin (0–2)Wohlers49,55316–21
38May 19@ Braves5–9SmoltzSchourek (4–3)Wohlers41,15316–22
39May 20Marlins3–5RappBurba (0–5)Nen18,02316–23
40May 21Marlins2–3WeathersSalkeld (1–1)Mathews19,53416–24
41May 22Marlins4–1Smiley (4–4)LeiterBrantley (10)22,05517–24
42May 23@ Rockies7–5Carrasco (1–0)RuffinBrantley (11)48,04018–24
43May 24@ Rockies11–9Ruffin (1–2)Thompson—48,01919–24
44May 25@ Rockies5–7LeskanicMoore (3–3)—48,01219–25
45May 27@ Marlins2–6LeiterSmiley (4–5)—15,91919–26
46May 28@ Marlins2–6BrownBurba (0–6)Mathews14,05219–27
47May 31Braves1–9AverySchourek (4–4)—33,45519–28
June: 17–11 (Home: 9–6; Away: 8–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
48June 1Braves3–2Portugal (1–4)MadduxBrantley (12)34,02320–28
49June 2Braves2–6GlavineSmiley (4–6)—23,48220–29
50June 3Giants3–6VanLandinghamBurba (0–7)—20,02820–30
51June 4Giants4–1Salkeld (2–1)WatsonBrantley (13)28,54921–30
52June 5Giants4–15GardnerJarvis (0–1)—21,88121–31
53June 7@ Dodgers2–1Smiley (5–6)ValdezBrantley (14)35,19722–31
54June 8@ Dodgers4–5 (10)WorrellCarrasco (1–1)—44,57522–32
55June 9@ Dodgers2–3NomoSmith (0–1)Worrell47,84722–33
56June 10@ Padres6–3Smith (1–1)BochtlerBrantley (15)41,12023–33
57June 11@ Padres4–1Jarvis (1–1)ValenzuelaBrantley (16)12,02924–33
58June 12@ Padres9–4Smiley (6–6)Florie—11,41125–33
59June 14Expos1–6MartinezPortugal (1–5)—26,69125–34
60June 15Expos5–6RueterBurba (0–8)Rojas32,83325–35
61June 16Expos7–0Salkeld (3–1)Cormier—25,65726–35
62June 17@ Astros4–5YoungShaw (2–3)Jones24,97726–36
63June 18@ Astros6–4 (10)Brantley (1–1)Hernandez—20,50527–36
64June 19@ Astros10–7Portugal (2–5)HamptonBrantley (17)38,21828–36
65June 20@ Mets5–3Burba (1–8)JonesShaw (2)16,99429–36
66June 21@ Mets4–9DipotoSalkeld (3–2)Mlicki19,43229–37
67June 22@ Mets2–5ClarkSchourek (4–5)Franco24,58929–38
68June 23@ Mets2–1Smiley (7–6)PersonBrantley (18)18,59330–38
69June 24Phillies7–0Portugal (3–5)Schilling—20,83531–38
70June 25Phillies9–1Burba (2–8)Quirico——32–38
71June 25Phillies3–1Jarvis (2–1)MimbsSmith (1)23,36933–38
72June 26Phillies4–2Salkeld (4–2)WilliamsBrantley (19)32,28634–38
73June 28Cubs7–4Smiley (8–6)CastilloSmith (2)27,86435–38
74June 29Cubs9–5Portugal (4–5)Bullinger—32,27336–38
75June 30Cubs0–6TrachselBurba (2–9)—30,35236–39
July: 16–12 (Home: 7–6; Away: 9–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
76July 1@ Cardinals8–5Carrasco (2–1)BenesBrantley (20)27,22137–39
77July 2@ Cardinals3–4HoneycuttSmith (1–2)Eckersley29,07437–40
78July 3@ Cardinals0–4OsborneSmiley (8–7)—32,65837–41
79July 4@ Cubs2–1Portugal (5–5)BullingerBrantley (21)38,04738–41
80July 5@ Cubs3–0Burba (3–9)TrachselBrantley (22)40,74339–41
81July 6@ Cubs2–6PattersonCarrasco (2–2)—38,69039–42
82July 7@ Cubs6–7 (13)SturtzeRuffin (1–3)—36,35239–43
83July 11Pirates3–5NeagleSmiley (8–8)Plesac24,67039–44
84July 12Pirates5–2Portugal (6–5)DarwinBrantley (23)27,70840–44
85July 13Pirates3–0Jarvis (3–1)Lieber—32,11941–44
86July 14Pirates7–6Burba (4–9)WagnerBrantley (24)26,61942–44
87July 15Cardinals3–8MorganSalkeld (4–3)—38,45042–45
88July 16Cardinals4–5OsborneShaw (2–4)Eckersley23,37042–46
89July 17Cardinals4–6BenesPortugal (6–6)Eckersley28,87942–47
90July 18@ Pirates3–8LieberJarvis (3–2)—12,66942–48
91July 19@ Pirates11–3Burba (5–9)Wagner—17,15343–48
92July 20@ Pirates9–3Salkeld (5–3)Miceli—26,37844–48
93July 21@ Pirates4–6NeagleSmiley (8–9)Plesac23,11744–49
94July 22@ Phillies5–2Portugal (7–6)MulhollandBrantley (25)—45–49
95July 22@ Phillies5–3Smith (2–2)RyanBrantley (26)22,80846–49
96July 23@ Phillies5–3Jarvis (4–2)Mimbs—23,10047–49
97July 24@ Phillies3–1Burba (6–9)WilliamsBrantley (27)27,35248–49
98July 26Mets7–4Smiley (9–9)Wilson—30,01149–49
99July 27Mets7–5Service (1–0)ClarkBrantley (28)26,88050–49
100July 28Mets1–7JonesJarvis (4–3)—25,09450–50
101July 29Astros1–2HamptonPortugal (7–7)Wagner22,16350–51
102July 30Astros5–4 (10)Shaw (3–4)Clark—27,01551–51
103July 31Astros10–0Smiley (10–9)Wall—26,08252–51
August: 15–17 (Home: 8–6; Away: 7–11)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
104August 1@ Expos9–7Shaw (4–4)DyerBrantley (29)13,72553–51
105August 2@ Expos1–11MartinezJarvis (4–4)—12,98853–52
106August 3@ Expos2–6CormierPortugal (7–8)Rojas17,18453–53
107August 4@ Expos3–7UrbinaBurba (6–10)Rojas15,40853–54
108August 5@ Giants4–3Salkeld (6–3)VanLandinghamBrantley (30)12,27754–54
109August 6@ Giants3–2Carrasco (3–2)BeckBrantley (31)12,43455–54
110August 7@ Giants2–9GardnerJarvis (4–5)—15,82955–55
111August 9Dodgers9–4Portugal (8–8)Valdez—34,00456–55
112August 10Dodgers5–7NomoBurba (6–11)Worrell33,83056–56
113August 11Dodgers5–10OsunaCarrasco (3–3)—27,89756–57
114August 12Dodgers5–6MartinezSmiley (10–10)Worrell21,67756–58
115August 13Padres10–4Jarvis (5–5)Hamilton—20,20557–58
116August 14Padres2–1 (13)Smith (3–2)Bergman—20,98358–58
117August 15Padres3–2Burba (7–11)TewksburyBrantley (32)23,14359–58
118August 16Rockies4–8ReynosoSalkeld (6–4)—28,87859–59
119August 17Rockies5–3Smiley (11–10)MunozBrantley (33)—60–59
120August 17Rockies9–5Shaw (5–4)Reed—34,22561–59
121August 18Rockies9–4Jarvis (6–5)RitzShaw (3)24,88362–59
122August 19Rockies3–6ThompsonPortugal (8–9)—22,67062–60
123August 20@ Braves1–4GlavineBurba (7–12)Wohlers32,65862–61
124August 21@ Braves3–4BorbonBrantley (1–2)—29,21362–62
125August 22@ Braves3–2 (13)Carrasco (4–3)BorowskiBrantley (34)31,72963–62
126August 23@ Marlins6–5Carrara (1–0)ValdesBrantley (35)—64–62
127August 23@ Marlins3–8LeiterJarvis (6–6)—21,49764–63
128August 24@ Marlins3–5BrownBurba (7–13)Nen33,88364–64
129August 25@ Marlins5–6NenSmith (3–3)—27,37264–65
130August 26@ Rockies5–9 (7)SwiftJarvis (6–7)Bailey48,09364–66
131August 27@ Rockies4–3Smiley (12–10)ReynosoBrantley (36)50,04665–66
132August 28@ Rockies9–10RuffinShaw (5–5)—48,05765–67
133August 29@ Rockies18–7Burba (8–13)Thompson—48,02966–67
134August 30Marlins1–3BrownRemlinger (0–1)—22,48566–68
135August 31Marlins22–8Jarvis (7–7)Miller—25,19667–68
September: 14–13 (Home: 12–3; Away: 2–10)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
136September 1Marlins1–6HuttonSmiley (12–11)—25,52167–69
137September 2Braves7–6Shaw (6–5)McMichaelBrantley (37)20,87968–69
138September 3Braves5–1Burba (9–13)BieleckiShaw (4)18,84469–69
139September 4Braves12–6Salkeld (7–4)Glavine—19,53270–69
140September 6Giants0–2FernandezSmiley (12–12)Beck—70–70
141September 6Giants14–1Morgan (1–0)Bourgeois—23,09171–70
142September 7Giants7–5Salkeld (8–4)ScottBrantley (38)22,79072–70
143September 8Giants8–3Shaw (7–5)Bautista—20,83873–70
144September 9@ Dodgers2–7MartinezJarvis (7–8)—29,08173–71
145September 10@ Dodgers4–5CandiottiSalkeld (8–5)Worrell28,23773–72
146September 11@ Dodgers2–3ValdezSmiley (12–13)Worrell27,52773–73
147September 13@ Padres3–1Morgan (2–0)AshbyBrantley (39)26,52474–73
148September 14@ Padres2–3 (12)VerasSmith (3–4)—25,23174–74
149September 15@ Padres0–8HamiltonJarvis (7–9)Blair29,00574–75
150September 17@ Pirates3–5CordovaSmiley (12–14)Ericks7,55174–76
151September 18@ Pirates3–5SchmidtMorgan (2–1)Plesac7,92474–77
152September 19@ Pirates4–6PetersPugh (1–1)Ericks10,18874–78
153September 20Cardinals4–2Burba (10–13)BenesBrantley (40)23,49675–78
154September 22Cardinals6–3Shaw (8–5)MathewsBrantley (41)—76–78
155September 22Cardinals6–0Smiley (13–14)Jackson—38,22577–78
156September 23Cardinals2–3StottlemyreMorgan (2–2)Eckersley17,31377–79
157September 24Cubs6–3Lyons (1–0)NavarroBrantley (42)18,58478–79
158September 25Cubs4–3Burba (11–13)FosterBrantley (43)18,50679–79
159September 26Cubs12–4Jarvis (8–9)Swartzbaugh—20,77780–79
160September 27@ Cardinals1–2 (11)BatchelorShaw (8–6)—39,73080–80
161September 28@ Cardinals2–5JacksonMorgan (2–3)Honeycutt52,87680–81
162September 29@ Cardinals6–3Lyons (2–0)LudwickBrantley (44)51,37981–81
Legend:        = Win        = Loss
Bold = Reds team member

Detailed records

Notable transactions

  • April 2, 1996: Scott Service was signed as a free agent with the Cincinnati Reds.[10]
  • May 27, 1996: Lee Smith was traded by the California Angels to the Cincinnati Reds for Chuck McElroy.[11]
  • June 18, 1996: Vince Coleman was released by the Cincinnati Reds.[4]
  • July 30, 1996: Kevin Mitchell was traded by the Boston Red Sox to the Cincinnati Reds for Roberto Mejía and Brad Tweedie (minors).[12]
  • July 30, 1996: Eric Anthony was purchased by the Colorado Rockies from the Cincinnati Reds.[13]

Draft picks

  • June 4, 1996: Buddy Carlyle was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2nd round of the 1996 amateur draft. Player signed June 21, 1996.[14]

Roster

1996 Cincinnati Reds
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
CJoe Oliver10628970.2421146
1BHal Morris142528165.3131680
2BBret Boone142520121.2331269
SSBarry Larkin152517154.2983389
3BWillie Greene11528770.2441963
LFEric Owens8820541.20009
CFEric Davis129415119.2872683
RFReggie Sanders8128772.2511433

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
Thomas Howard12136098.272642
Ed Taubensee10832795.2911248
Jeff Branson12931176.244937
Lenny Harris12530286.285532
Curtis Goodwin4913631.22805
Chris Sabo5412532.256316
Eric Anthony4712330.244813
Kevin Mitchell3711437.325626
Vince Coleman338413.15514
Chad Mottola357917.21536
Mike Kelly19499.18417
Eduardo Pérez18368.22235
Keith Mitchell11154.26713
Tim Belk7153.20000
Brook Fordyce472.28601
Steve Gibralter220.00000

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
John Smiley35217.113143.64171
Dave Burba34195.011133.83148
Mark Portugal27156.0893.9893
Kevin Jarvis24120.1895.9863
Pete Schourek1267.1456.0154
Mike Morgan527.1232.3019
Curt Lyons316.0204.5014

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Roger Salkeld29116.0855.2082
Giovanni Carrara823.0105.8713

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Jeff Brantley6612442.4176
Jeff Shaw788642.4969
Héctor Carrasco564303.7559
Johnny Ruffin491305.4969
Lee Smith433424.0635
Scott Service341003.9446
Marcus Moore233325.8127
Mike Remlinger190105.6019
Chuck McElroy122006.5713
Tim Pugh1011011.499
Scott Sullivan70002.253
Derek Lilliquist50007.361
Pedro Martínez40006.003
Xavier Hernandez300013.503
Jerry Spradlin10000.000

Farm system

Level Team League Manager
AAA Indianapolis Indians American Association Dave Miley
AA Chattanooga Lookouts Southern League Mark Berry
A Winston-Salem Warthogs Carolina League Phillip Wellman
A Charleston Alley Cats South Atlantic League Tommy Thompson and Donnie Scott
Rookie Princeton Reds Appalachian League Mark Wagner
Rookie Billings Mustangs Pioneer League Matt Martin

[15]

References

  1. ↑ "Chris Sabo Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Eric Davis Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Mike Kelly Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  4. 1 2 Vince Coleman Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  5. ↑ "Joe Oliver Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Damon Berryhill Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  7. ↑ www.baseball-almanac.com Obituary of John McSherry
  8. ↑ Hobson, Geoff (April 1, 1996). "Sabo's back, and he hopes it holds up, too". The Cincinnati Enquirer. p. 26. Retrieved April 30, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Cincinnati Reds 4, Montreal Expos 1". Retrosheet. April 2, 1996. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  10. ↑ Scott Service Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  11. ↑ Lee Smith Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  12. ↑ Kevin Mitchell Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  13. ↑ "Eric Anthony Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Buddy Carlyle Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  15. ↑ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Cincinnati_Reds_season