It was one hell of a season for the Cincinnati Reds. Just one year removed from a third-place, 79-83 campaign -- quite a letdown after their title-winning 2010 -- the Reds came back in 2012 and finished in first place again, this time with 97 victories, second-most in the majors. And they did it with their best player -- and arguably the league’s best hitter -- missing a significant chunk of time. Winning all those games was, of course, a team effort. But which particular player best symbolizes the Reds’ 2012, which ended with a stunning, come-from-ahead loss to the Giants in their Division Series?
2012 Player of the Year: Cincinnati Reds
There was no single key to the Reds’ 97-win season, and their best player was out for a long spell. But which Red best symbolizes a campaign that ended abruptly with a Division Series loss?
John Grieshop
For me, the 2012 Cincinnati Reds were Mat Latos.
Let me explain ...
Blogger Perspective: Red Reporter
by Joshua Shreve
If we're going strictly by player value, the Reds "Player of the Year" is Joey Votto ... all the more impressive given that he missed over six weeks.
But there's nothing specific to the 2012 Reds when you say Joey Votto. He's been this team's most valuable player for the last four years. I'm tempted to go with Aroldis Chapman, who was the most thrilling single player to watch, for my money. But he'll be around for a while too.
One of the defining narratives of this season is how the team played without Votto, who was recovering from knee surgery from July 16 through September 4. During that stretch, Ryan Ludwick was the best fit for the Votto mantle as he monster-mashed a .340/.404/.647 line. It was a surprise not only how well the team played without Votto, but how well Ludwick played over the season. A lot of us greeted him as a bargain-bin signing last winter. He left as a conqueror, turning down a $5-million mutual option.
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The Reds play in one of Major League Baseball’s smallest markets. Depending on how you count these things, the Cincinnati market is either the third- or fourth-smallest by population in the majors, essentially the same as Cleveland and Kansas City, and comfortably larger than Milwaukee.
And where other small-market franchises hoard young players and eschew big contracts, Jocketty's Reds have taken a different tack. Last April, the club got Joey Votto's signature on a 10-year, $225-million contract extension. This came six months after Jocketty traded four players -- including prospects Yonder Alonso and Yasmani Grandal -- to the San Diego Padres for starting pitcher Mat Latos.
Granted, Latos earned just a pittance of salary in 2012. But he’s about to become expensive and the Reds traded those two promising youngsters to get him. Signing Votto to the huge extension and trading for Latos was a clear signal that the Reds were going all-in for 2012 ... and probably for some years afterward.
And so far, it’s working. Mat Latos wasn’t the Reds’ ace this year -- Cy Young candidate Johnny Cueto earned that label -- but Latos did go 14-4 with a pitching staff that led the National League in ERA. Which was all the more impressive considering Great American Ballpark was, as usual, quite a friendly yard for hitters.
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