On Saturday, April 25, former Cincinnati Reds outfielder Reggie Sanders remembered his late father giving him his first baseball glove in 1974.
Former Reds pitcher Aaron Harang was efficient as usual, calling Cincinnati “home.”
Brandon Phillips, to no surprise, was charismatic and all smiles as he recalled Eric Davis suggesting he use a 35-inch bat during a slump one season.
Former Reds manager Lou Piniella played all the hits, reminiscing on the team’s sweep of the heavily favored Oakland Athletics in the 1990 World Series and the “Nasty Boys” that helped Cincinnati go wire-to-wire.
Sanders, Harang, Phillips and Piniella make up the 2026 Reds Hall of Fame Class. The four new members delivered speeches during an on-field ceremony Saturday before the Reds played the Tigers at Great American Ball Park.
“I was at home in 2006. I had no job. I was waiting for another opportunity to provide for my family and show this world I could play this game that I love,” Phillips said. “Wayne Krivsky, Jerry Narron and the Castellini family, you told me to the best the best player I could, and it was written.”
What was written was an illustrious career for Phillips as he joins some of the all-time greats in Reds history. The four new members of the Reds Hall of Fame represented winning on the same field that hasn’t hosted a playoff series in 14 years.
Sanders was an All-Star on the last Reds team to win a postseason series in 1995. Harang was the ace of the staff during a transitional period in Reds’ history leading up to a division title in 2010. Phillips was on three playoff clubs, including a pair of NL Central champions. Piniella, of course, authored the club’s World Series title in 1990.
“These kids hit the ball. It started with Eric Davis’ home run off of Dave Stewart (in the World Series). Then, Jose Rijo on the mound did the rest. When he got tired, I had the Nasty Boys. What a thrill they were,” Piniella said. “They were competitors. They were winners is what they were.”
This year’s club has done a lot of winning, too, which has been an April rarity in year’s past. At 17-9, the Reds are off to their best start since going 18-8 in 2006, when Harang led the National League in complete games and strikeouts.
“To the players in the dugout, not everyone gets a chance to wear this uniform,” Harang said. “What you have here is special. Don’t take it for granted. Play for each other, play for this city and understand what it means to wear the Reds logo on the front of your chest.”
The Reds, fresh off a dramatic 9-8 comeback, walk-off victory over the Tigers one day earlier, watched from the dugout as the franchise celebrated its new legends.
Phillips watched the game from a suite at Great American Ball Park and held a Q&A with Jim Day during the rain delay. While fans greeted “Dat Dude” with a giant round of applause, he knew the real show was on deck.
“I’m gonna keep this short because, as a player, I know you’re watching everyone come up and do their speeches. You’re ready for the game and I know you’re ready to see some baseball,” he said. “Especially with the way the team is playing right now.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Sanders, Harang, Phillips, Piniella give Reds Hall of Fame speeches
Reporting by Shelby Dermer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
