Coming off of the Reds first World Series in 1919, Reds fan probably had some pretty high hopes heading into the 1920s. There was just one big problemand that was the freight train resembling New York Giants. From 1921 through 1924, the Giants rattled off four straight pennants and two World Series wins. In two of those seasons the Reds were the runner up and they’d finish in second place in 1926 as well. Despite the fact that the Reds had their first winning decade of the 20th century (and it would be their only until the 1960s), they didn’t play in a single World Series.

The decade was also pretty unique for another reason Reds fan of 2005 wouldn’t quite be able to comprehend. The Reds had one of the best pitching staffs of the early 1920s. Led by rotation mainstays like Dolf Luque, Eppa Rixey and Pete Donahue, the Reds became the third team (at the times) in major league history to lead the National League in ERA. The 1923 team posted a 3.21 ERA (121 ERA+), the 1924 team finished with a 3.12 ERA (120 ERA+) and the 1925 team lead with a 3.38 ERA (122 ERA+). These three seasons were sandwiched between second place finishes in 1922 and 1926.

Unfortunately, they could never build on this success and the team went into a nose dive in 1927 when they finished in the second half of the league for the rest of the decade and in 1929, they finished next to last with 88 losses, the most in 15 years.

So which Reds ruled the roost in the 1920s? Let’s take a look

Catcher – Bubbles Hargrave was the Reds starting catcher from 1922 through 1927 and he backed up Ivey Wingo in 1921. In all of those seasons except one, he finished the season with an OPS+ over 100, and with that one exception (1925) he finished league average with a 99. In 1926, Hargrave won the batting title with a .353 batting average and finished his career with a .310 batting average and a .372 OBP. His 152 OPS+ in 1926 was second to the Phillies’ Cy Williams.

First Base – Jake Daubert was the Reds starting first baseman for the first five seasons of the decade. His best season had to have been 1922, when he hit .336, had 12 homeruns (career high) and a league leading 22 triples. The former Brooklyn Dodgers MVP and two time batting champ was traded to the Reds for right fielder Tommy Griffith in 1919.

Second Base – Hughie Critz debuted for the Reds on May 31, 1924 and was the Reds starting second base for the rest of the decades. The Reds must have had high hopes for Critz because he had a nice rookie campaign. In 102 games, he hit .322 and had his only season where he was above 100 in OPS+ (114).

And just to show you the sports writer did some wacky things with their votes back then, Critz finished second in the MVP voting in 1926 despite having an OPS+ of 87. He even finished ahead of teammate Bubbles Hargrave despite the fact that his OPS was around .250 points less. He did have a good fielding year by BP standards (59 fielding runs above replacement, around six wins) so that must have factored into things. He finished fourth in the MVP voting in 1928 with an OPS+ of 90. In early 1930, he was traded to the Giants for a right handed pitcher, Larry Benton.

Third Base – This was a tough one, but I gave the nod to Babe Pinelli. Pinelli manned the hot corner for the Reds from 1922 through 1925, and he backed up Chuck Dressen in 1926 and 1927. Pinelli hit above .300 in 1922 and 1924, but he never broke the 100 OPS+ mark mostly due to his lack of power. In 1925, he hit a career high two homeruns, and he finished his career with five. He also loved to bunt as he led the league in sacrafice hits in 1924 (33) and 1925 (34).

Shortstop – This was another tough one, more because there was no stand out. I’m going to give it to Ike Caveney, who was the starting shortstop from 1922 when he debuted on April 12 through 1925. After 1925, he never played again. 1923 was probably his best year as he set career marks in homeruns (4), batting average (.277) and OPS (.696).

Left Field – Pat Duncan was the Reds starting left fielder from 1920 through 1924. His best season was 1922 when he finished third in the league in doubles (44) and tenth in the league in hitting (.327). The oddest thing about his 1922 campaign was how persistent he was in stealing bases. In 40 tries, he was caught stealing 28 times for a pretty pathetic 30% success rate.

Center Field – Hall of Famer Edd Roush played centerfield for the Reds from 1920 through 1926 and he was the Reds’ player of the decade. His worst hitting season was .339 and he had an OPS+ of at least 124 in all of seasons with the Reds. 1923 was his best season, and he hit .351 with a league leading 41 doubles and an OPS+ of 148. Edd Roush led the team in batting average (.342), RBIs (507) and stolen bases (117) in the 1920s.

The Reds also had a little “Curse of Edd Roush” because after being traded to the Giants for George Kelly, the Reds hit the skids and never recovered for over a decade.

Right Field – Curt Walker was traded from the Phillies to the Reds on May 30, 1924 and Walker manned right field for the Reds for the rest of the decade. In every season with the Reds, Walker had at least 10 triples, and mostly because of that, he was always on the north side of league average in OPS+. Curt Walker led the Reds in homeruns in the 1920s with 35.

Pitcher – Dolf Luque had at least 22 starts in every season in the 1920s and he had a Cy Young caliber season in 1923. The Cuban led the league in wins (27), ERA (1.93) and he was second in strikeouts with 151. This was a good bounce back from a pitcher who lost 23 games in 1922. I’m not sure if a pitcher has ever led the league in losses one year, then led the league in wins the next.

Luque led the Reds in ERA (3.09) and strikeouts (904) in the 1920s and on three seperate occassions (1921, 1923, and 1925) he led the league in shutouts. He’s third on the All Time Reds list in innings pitched (2,668 2/3) and he’s second in losses with 152.

Pitcher – It’s not too often you trade for a pitcher who’s coming off of a 22 loss season and three consecutive losing seasons, but that deal paid off for the Reds in spades. Beginning in 1921, Epa Rixey went on to win 155 games in the 1920s, more then any other Reds pitcher during a golden age of Red pitching.

On three seperate occassion, Rixey won at least 20 games and in one other season he won 19. 1922 was his best season as he led the league in wins with 25 and innings pitched with 313 1/3. In every season he posted an ERA+ of least 109 and he never logged fewer then 200 innings.

Rixey is the second most winningest pitcher in Reds history with 179 and he’s second in innings pitcher (2,890 2/3) and games started 356).

Pitcher – Pete Donohue completed the Reds pitching triumvirate. While he was less durable, he pitched for the Reds from 1921 through 1929 and in three of those seasons, he won 20 games. 1925 was his best year and he finished with 21 wins and he led the league in innings pitched with 301. After leading the league in innings pitched in 1925 and 1926 (285 2/3), Donohue appeared to break down as he never had a winning since after nor did he log 200 innings.

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