1975 Big Red Machine...greatest lineup ever? New book

[DrJay]

Article in SI this week, excerpts from a book due out in September:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/w ... index.html

The lineup:

1. Pete Rose, 3B
2. Ken Griffey, RF
3. Joe Morgan, 2B
4. Johnny Bench, C
5. Tony Perez, 1B
6. George Foster, LF
7. Davey Concepcion, SS
8. Cesar Geronimo, CF

Three Hall of Fame members including the greatest catcher ever, the all-time hits leader who would be in the Hall if he had just fessed up and been contrite, the 10th player to hit 50 or more HRs in a season (Foster), a great shortstop, 5-time Golden Glove winner just a notch below Hall of Fame caliber (Concepcion), and Ken Griffey Sr (.296 lifetime BA). The weakest link? ANY manager would take Cesar Geronimo as his 8th man, 4-time Golden Glove, .258 lifetime BA.

The 1976 team, same lineup, led the NL in EVERY offensive statistic:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CIN/1976.shtml

Greater than Murderers' Row, the Boys of Summer, any Gashouse Gang team? Maybe.

1927 NY Yankees
CF Earle Combs .356, 6 HR, 64 RBI, 231 H
SS Mark Koenig .285, 3 HR, 62 RBI
RF Babe Ruth .356, 60 HR, 164 RBI
1B Lou Gehrig .373, 47 HR, 175 RBI
LF Bob Meusel .337, 8 HR, 103 RBI, 47 2B
2B Tony Lazzeri .309, 18 HR, 102 RBI
3B Joe Dugan .269, 2 HR, 43 RBI
C Pat Collins .275, 7 HR, 36 RBI

[scottmitchell74]

I read that article. It's really hard to argue with the Big Red Machine as the best line-up ever. Just insanely good.

[jazzcyclist]

Free agency has made it impossible to ever duplicate the talent of the Big Red Machine again. It's no coincidence that the free agency era began in 1976.

[bijanc]

Lineups

mid-1920's Philadelphia A's w/ Simmons, Foxx, Collins, et al

'65 San Francisco Giants

early 2000's Yanks

Tigers of Cochrane, Gehringer, Greenberg