October 7, 2026
October 7, 2026
1990 Cincinnati Reds: The Nasty Boys
Around the late 1980s and early 1990s, Major League Baseball produced a fun bunch of reliable bullpen arms who were rowdy, charismatic, and above all else, “nasty.” Randy Myers, Norm Charlton, and Rob Dibble were known as the Nasty Boys because of how dominant they were on the mound late in ballgames, and the 1990 Cincinnati Reds Nasty Boys bullpen remains one of the most feared relief units in baseball history.
The Cincinnati Reds went 91-71 in the 1990 season, winning the National League West by 5 games over the Los Angeles Dodgers and 6 games over the San Francisco Giants. The Reds went 9-9 against the Dodgers and 7-11 against the Giants in head-to-head play, finishing 46-35 at home and 45-36 on the road.
Second baseman Mariano Duncan batted .306 with 10 home runs, 133 hits, 22 doubles, 11 triples, and 13 stolen bases. Shortstop Barry Larkin batted .301 with 185 hits, 25 doubles, 6 triples, and 30 stolen bases. First baseman Hal Morris batted .340 with 105 hits and 22 doubles. Left fielder Billy Hatcher batted .276 with 139 hits, 28 doubles, 5 triples, and 30 stolen bases. Third baseman Chris Sabo batted .270 with 25 home runs and 71 RBIs off 153 hits, 38 doubles, and 25 stolen bases. Right fielder Paul O’Neill batted .270 with 16 home runs and 78 RBIs off 136 hits, 28 doubles, and 13 stolen bases. Center fielder Eric Davis had 24 home runs and 86 RBIs off 118 hits, 26 doubles, and 21 stolen bases. First baseman Todd Benzinger had 95 hits and 14 doubles, and catcher Joe Oliver had 84 hits and 23 doubles.
Though the bullpen got most of the attention, the starting rotation was strong in its own right. Tom Browning went 15-9 with 99 strikeouts and a 3.80 ERA, recording 2 complete games and 1 shutout. Jose Rijo went 14-8 with 152 strikeouts and a 2.70 ERA, recording 7 complete games and 1 shutout. Jack Armstrong went 12-9 with 110 strikeouts and a 3.42 ERA, recording 2 complete games and 1 shutout, and Danny Jackson went 6-6 with a 3.61 ERA.
The bullpen that gave the 1990 Cincinnati Reds Nasty Boys their name overwhelmed hitters late into games all season long. Randy Myers had 31 saves, 98 strikeouts, and a 2.08 ERA. Norm Charlton went 12-9 with 2 saves, 117 strikeouts, and a 2.74 ERA. Rob Dibble went 8-3 with 11 saves, 136 strikeouts, and a 1.74 ERA. Rick Mahler went 7-6 with 4 saves. According to Dibble himself, Tim Layana and Tim Birtsas were also considered honorary members of the group. Layana went 5-3 with 2 saves and a 3.49 ERA, while Birtsas had a 3.86 ERA in 29 games.
The Reds faced the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League Championship Series.
In Game 1 on October 4 at Riverfront Stadium, the Pirates beat the Reds 4-3. In the bottom of the 1st inning, Hal Morris had an RBI single, and Eric Davis and Paul O’Neill both followed with RBI doubles. In the top of the 3rd, second baseman Jose Lind had an RBI triple, and in the top of the 4th, first baseman Sid Bream belted a 2-run home run. In the top of the 7th, center fielder Andy Van Slyke added an RBI ground-rule double.
In Game 2 on October 5, the Reds won 2-1. Tom Browning pitched 6 innings and gave up 6 hits, 3 walks, and 1 run while recording 3 strikeouts. Rob Dibble recorded a hold, and Randy Myers earned the save. In the bottom of the 1st inning, O’Neill had an RBI single, and Lind tied the game in the top of the 5th with a solo home run before O’Neill answered with an RBI double in the bottom half of the inning.
In Game 3 on October 8 at Three Rivers Stadium, the Reds won 6-3. Dibble, Norm Charlton, and Myers all pitched at least an inning late in the game. In the top of the 2nd inning, Billy Hatcher clubbed a 2-run home run. The Pirates responded with an RBI single from right fielder Bobby Bonilla in the bottom of the 4th, followed by an RBI double from first baseman Carmelo Martinez. In the top of the 5th, Mariano Duncan launched a 3-run home run, and after Lind’s RBI groundout in the bottom of the 8th, Duncan added an RBI single in the top of the 9th.
In Game 4 on October 9, the Reds won 5-3. Myers recorded a hold, and Dibble picked up the save. In the bottom of the 1st inning, Van Slyke had an RBI groundout. In the top of the 4th, O’Neill hit a solo home run, and Sabo followed with a sacrifice fly before launching a 2-run home run in the top of the 7th. In the bottom of the 8th, shortstop Jay Bell hit a solo home run, and in the top of the 9th, pinch hitter Luis Quinones added a sacrifice fly.
The Pirates won Game 5 on October 10 by a score of 3-2. In the top of the 1st inning, center fielder Herm Winningham had a sacrifice fly, and in the bottom of the 1st, Van Slyke had an RBI triple before left fielder Barry Bonds grounded into a forceout at second base to score another run. In the bottom of the 4th, catcher Don Slaught had a sacrifice fly, and Barry Larkin’s RBI double in the top of the 8th wasn’t enough for the Reds.
The Reds closed out the Pirates with a 2-1 win in Game 6 on October 12 at Riverfront Stadium. Danny Jackson pitched 6 innings and gave up 1 hit, 4 walks, and 1 run while recording 4 strikeouts. Charlton picked up the win, and Myers recorded his 3rd postseason save. In the bottom of the 1st inning, Davis grounded into a forceout at second base to score Larkin, and in the top of the 5th, Martinez had an RBI double. In the bottom of the 7th, Quinones had an RBI single to send the Reds to the World Series.
The Cincinnati Reds advanced to face the American League champion Oakland Athletics in the 1990 World Series, and many baseball experts and reporters predicted an easy series victory for Oakland, which featured the “Bash Brothers,” Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire.
In Game 1 on October 16 at Riverfront Stadium, the Reds blanked the Athletics 7-0. In the bottom of the 1st inning, Davis belted a 2-run home run, and in the bottom of the 3rd, Hatcher had an RBI double, followed by an RBI groundout from O’Neill. In the bottom of the 5th, Davis had an RBI single, and Sabo followed with a 2-run single.
In Game 2 on October 17, the Reds won 5-4. Right fielder Jose Canseco had an RBI groundout in the top of the 1st inning, and in the bottom of the 1st, Hatcher had an RBI double before Davis added an RBI groundout. In the top of the 3rd, Canseco hit a solo home run, catcher Ron Hassey had a sacrifice fly, and shortstop Mike Gallego had an RBI single. In the bottom of the 4th, pinch-hitting infielder Ron Oester had an RBI single. In the bottom of the 8th, pinch-hitting outfielder Glenn Braggs had an RBI groundout, and in the bottom of the 10th, Joe Oliver delivered a walk-off RBI single.
In Game 3 on October 19 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, the Reds won 8-3. In the top of the 2nd inning, Sabo hit a solo home run, and in the bottom of the 2nd, designated hitter Harold Baines crushed a 2-run home run. In the top of the 3rd, Davis had an RBI single, Morris had an RBI groundout, Sabo clubbed a 2-run home run, Oliver had an RBI double, Duncan had an RBI single, and Larkin capped the inning with an RBI triple. Left fielder Rickey Henderson’s solo home run in the bottom of the 3rd didn’t spark any offensive rally for Oakland.
With a 2-1 win in Game 4 on October 20, the Reds completed a 4-game sweep that few had expected, pulling off a stunning upset. Jose Rijo pitched 8.1 innings, allowing 2 hits, 3 walks, and 1 run while recording 9 strikeouts. In the bottom of the 1st inning, third baseman Carney Lansford had an RBI single, but in the top of the 8th, the Reds seized control. Glenn Braggs grounded into a forceout at second base to score Barry Larkin, and Hal Morris added a sacrifice fly to score Herm Winningham. Randy Myers recorded the final two outs to earn his 4th save of the postseason, fittingly enough. Rijo was named World Series Most Valuable Player.
Throughout the 1990 World Series, the Nasty Boys trio of Myers, Charlton, and Dibble pitched 8.2 innings and gave up only 6 hits without surrendering a single earned run — a fitting exclamation point on a dominant postseason. Not to be overshadowed, manager Lou Piniella guided the Reds through their remarkable 1990 campaign, serving as Cincinnati’s skipper from 1990 to 1992. More than three decades later, the 1990 Cincinnati Reds Nasty Boys are still remembered as the gold standard for shutdown bullpens in October.
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