The Reds Franchise Deep Six

Back for another Deep Six, this time for a franchise that was frustrating to compile. The lower levels of several of these positions were so mediocre that trying to pick the right guys was tough. I hate it when it's a close call.

	P	C	1B	2B	3B	SS	LF	CF	RF
1st	Noodles Hahn	Johnny Bench	Joey Votto	Joe Morgan	Heinie Groh	Barry Larkin	George Foster	Vada Pinson	Frank Robinson
2nd	Jim Maloney	Ernie Lombardi	Ted Kluszewski	Bid McPhee	Tony Perez	Dave Concepcion	Pete Rose	Eric Davis	Ken Griffey
3rd	Bucky Walters	Ed Bailey	John Reilly	Lonny Frey	Chris Sabo	Roy McMillan	Bob Bescher	Edd Roush	Ival Goodman
4th	Jose Rijo	Bubbles Hargrave	Jake Beckley	Brandon Phillips	Todd Frazier	Leo Cardenas	Kal Daniels	Cy Seymour	Reggie Sanders
5th	Frank Dwyer	Johnny Edwards	Frank McCormick	Miller Huggins	Hans Lobert	Buck Herzog	Charley Jones	Bobby Tolan	Curt Walker
6th	Eppa Rixey	Larry McLean	Lee May	Johnny Temple	Arlie Latham	Frank Fennelly	Adam Dunn	Bug Holliday	Jay Bruce

Yes, friends, Joey Votto is already the greatest Reds first baseman of all time. First base was a strong position for this franchise, with lots of very good players but few great ones. You have to love the consistency of it. Just missing the cut was "the Mayor," Sean Casey.

Did you realize the Reds haven't had that many dominant pitchers in their history? Now you do. They've never had a Cy Young winner either.

Tony Perez is better known as a first baseman, but his greatest years while playing third base forced me to put him there. Also at the hot corner, Todd Frazier is quickly working his way up the list. Appreciate what you're seeing, Cincy fans. He's a special one.

The most disappointing part of this was Pete Rose. He played all over the field, and I felt that his best years were in left. However, if you rank him purely as a left fielder, he comes in behind George Foster. There was no way he was going to beat out Votto, Morgan, Groh, or Robinson at their positions either. While he may be the ultimate Cincinnati Red, there wasn't a way to get him on the 1st Team. But I suppose Rose has some experience with being excluded.