1975 Cincinnati Reds season

The 1975 Cincinnati Reds season was the 106th season for the franchise in Major League Baseball, and their 6th and 5th full season at Riverfront Stadium. The Reds dominated the league all season, and won the National League West Division with a record of 108 wins and 54 losses, the best record in MLB and finished 20 games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Reds went on to win the [1975 National League (baseball)|National League Championship Series|NLCS] by defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates in three straight games, and the World Series in seven games over the Boston Red Sox. The Reds were managed by Sparky Anderson and played their home games at Riverfront Stadium. It was the first World Series championship for Cincinnati since 1940. The 1975 Reds are one of the few teams to consistently challenge the 1927 New York Yankees for the title of the best team in major league history. The Reds went 64–17 at home in 1975, which remains the best home record ever by a National League team. It is currently the second-best home record in MLB history, behind the 1961 Yankees, who went 65-16.

Offseason

October 25, 1974: Andy Kosco was released by the Reds.
October 25, 1974: Phil Gagliano was released by the Reds.
January 2, 1975: Joe Henderson was purchased by the Reds from the Chicago White Sox.

Regular season

The 1975 Reds clinched a playoff appearance on September 7, the earliest clinch date of any MLB team in a 162-game season.
Joe Morgan was the National League's Most Valuable Player in 1975.

Notable transactions

April 8, 1975: Roger Freed was purchased from the Reds by the Sultanes de Monterrey.
May 6, 1975: Doug Corbett was signed as a free agent by the Reds.

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C		142	530	150	.283	28	110
1B		137	511	144	.282	20	109
2B		146	498	163	.327	17	94
3B		162	662	210	.317	7	74
SS		140	507	139	.274	5	49
LF		134	463	139	.300	23	78
CF		148	501	129	.257	6	53
RF		132	463	141	.305	4	46

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
	88	210	59	.281	7	38
	93	188	45	.239	2	19
	71	160	35	.219	2	26
	65	159	29	.182	1	19
	89	127	34	.268	1	20
	66	71	19	.268	1	11
	59	65	12	.185	0	2
	31	38	8	.211	0	2
	7	8	1	.125	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
	32	210.2	15	9	3.16	74
	33	208.0	15	10	4.11	79
	34	188.0	12	4	3.73	119
	22	159.2	15	4	2.42	98
	27	130.2	11	5	3.58	46
	26	110.2	10	6	4.72	48

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
	12	47.0	4	1	4.98	14

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
	58	5	3	22	2.60	61
	70	5	2	15	2.47	48
	67	9	5	5	2.95	29
	56	7	5	7	2.62	44
	2	0	0	0	0.00	3

Postseason

National League Championship Series

Game One

October 4, Riverfront Stadium

Game Two

October 5, Riverfront Stadium

Game Three

October 7, Three Rivers Stadium

Awards and honors

Sparky Anderson, Associated Press NL Manager of the Year
Johnny Bench, Lou Gehrig Award
Gary Nolan, Hutch Award
Pete Rose, World Series Most Valuable Player
Joe Morgan, NL MVP

All-Stars

All-Star Game

Johnny Bench, catcher, starter
Dave Concepción, shortstop, starter
Joe Morgan, second baseman, starter
Pete Rose, right fielder, starter
Tony Pérez, reserve

Farm system

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