1990 Cincinnati Reds: Nasty Boys

1990 Cincinnati Reds: Nasty Boys

[paypal_donation_button]1990 Cincinnati Reds: Nasty Boys

Around the time of the late 1980’s and early 1990’s there came 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” in part because of how amazing they were on the pitcher’s mound late in ballgames, making up one of the best bullpens in Major League Baseball history.

The Cincinnati Reds went 91-71 in the 1990 MLB season, winning the National League West division 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. The Reds went 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 RBI’s off 153 hits, 38 doubles and 25 stolen bases. Right fielder Paul O’Neill batted .270 with 16 home runs and 78 RBI’s off 136 hits, 28 doubles and 13 stolen bases. Center fielder Eric Davis had 24 home runs and 86 RBI’s off 118 hits, 26 doubles and 21 stolen bases. First baseman Todd Benzinger had 95 hits and 14 doubles. Catcher Joe Oliver had 84 hits and 23 doubles.

Though the bullpen got a lot of attention, the starting rotation was pretty good as well. Starting pitcher 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. Danny Jackson went 6-6 with a 3,.61 ERA.

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 Rob Dibble himself, Tim Layana and Tim Birtsas were also considered honorary members of the Nasty Boys. 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, and 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 then Eric Davis and Paul O’Neill both had 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 had 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, but recorded 3 strikeouts. Rob Dibble recorded a hold and Randy Myers recorded the save. In the bottom of the 1st inning O’Neill had an RBI single, and then Lind tied the game up in the top of the 5th with a solo home run. O’Neill then had an RBI double in the bottom of the 5th.

In Game 3 on October 8 at Three Rivers Stadium, the Reds won 6-3. Dibble, Norm Charlton and Myers all pitched at least 1 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 by right fielder Bobby Bonilla in the bottom of the 4th, and an RBI double by 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 had 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 recorded 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. Sabo came back to launch 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 had a sacrifice fly.

The Pirates won Game 5 on October 10 by the 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. Left fielder Barry Bonds followed by grounding 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 while 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.

The Cincinnati Reds advanced to play against the American League Champion Oakland Athletics in the 1990 World Series, and many baseball experts and reporters had predicted an easy series victory for Oakland, which featured the “Bash Brothers” in 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, with O’Neill having an RBI groundout afterward. 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. Davis followed with 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 middle 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 had 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 topped things off with an RBI triple. Left fielder Rickey Henderson’s solo home run in the bottom of the 3rd didn’t spark any future offensive rally for Oakland.

With a 2-1 win in Game 4 on October 20, the Reds completed a 4-game sweep that many didn’t expect to see, pulling off the upset. Jose Rijo pitched 8.1 innings, giving 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 stole the game from the Athletics. Glenn Braggs grounded into a forceout at second base to score Barry Larkin, and then Hal Morris had a sacrifice fly to score Herm Winningham. Randy Myers recorded the final 2 outs to get his 4th save of the postseason, fittingly enough. Jose Rijo would be named the World Series Most Valuable Player.

Throughout the 1990 World Series, the Nasty Boys trio of Myers, Charlton and Dibbe pitched 8.2 innings and gave up only 6 hits while not surrendering a single earned run. The Nasty Boys were the prime example of reliable flamethrowers. Not to be overshadowed, manager Lou Piniella had guided the Reds through the successful 1990 campaign as he served as Cincinnati’s skipper from 1990 to 1992.