The 1988 Cincinnati Reds season was the 119th season for the franchise in Major League Baseball, and their 19th and 18th full season at Riverfront Stadium. It marked the last of four consecutive winning seasons for the Reds, all of which resulted in second place finishes in the National League West. Led by manager Pete Rose, the Reds finished with the best record of these four seasons at 87 wins and 74 losses, but finished seven games back of the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. The 1988 season would be Pete Rose's last full season as Reds's manager.

Offseason November 6, 1987: Danny Jackson was acquired from the Kansas City Royals along with Angel Salazar for Ted Power and Kurt Stillwell. December 8, 1987: Dave Parker was traded by the Reds to the Oakland Athletics for José Rijo and Tim Birtsas.Dave Parker page at Baseball Reference

Regular season Danny Jackson became the last pitcher to win at least 20 games in one season for the Reds in the 20th Century. The 1988 season also marked the final season for the shortstop, Dave Concepción, an integral member of the Big Red Machine of the 1970s in which he played the last of 19 years with the club.Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.98, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York,

Suspension of Pete Rose The stage was set in a dramatic end of a home game on April 30 against the New York Mets, in which the score was tied 5–5 leading into the ninth inning. The game had been contentious throughout, with two hit batsman and a bench-clearing brawl in the seventh inning that resulted in the ejections of both Tom Browning and Darryl Strawberry. With the Mets batting with two outs in the top of the ninth, Mookie Wilson hit a ground ball to shortstop Barry Larkin, whose throw to first base was wide and pulled first baseman Nick Esasky's foot from the bag. First-base umpire Dave Pallone, who'd long been seen as unfair by the Reds, hesitated before making a delayed safe call. Esasky, waiting for the call, failed to make a throw to the plate on Howard Johnson's attempt to score from second base. Johnson's bold baserunning proved to be the difference and stood as the game-winning run for the Mets. A furious Pete Rose rushed from the dugout, vehemently arguing the call. Rose later claimed that Pallone hit him in the cheek with his finger, prompting Rose to shove Pallone twice with his shoulder and forearm knocking him backward. Rose was then ejected and had to be restrained by his own coaches. At the same time, fans in the stadium began showering the field with debris, at which time Pallone left the field with the players retreating to the dugouts.

After a nearly 15-minute suspension of play, the game was resumed with the remaining three umpires. National League president A. Bartlett Giamatti suspended Rose for thirty days, which was the longest suspension ever levied for an on-field incident involving a manager. Rose was also fined. In addition, Reds radio announcers Marty Brennaman and Joe Nuxhall were criticized for inciting the fan response with what were characterized by "inflammatory and completely irresponsible remarks". At the time, especially given Brennaman's and Nuxhall's iconic status in Cincinnati, it was common for spectators at ballparks to listen to their teams' radio broadcasts using portable radios.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions March 29, 1988: Guy Hoffman was released by the Reds.Guy Hoffman page at Baseball Reference May 14, 1988: Skeeter Barnes was signed as a free agent by the Reds.Skeeter Barnes page at Baseball Reference June 1, 1988: Paul Byrd was drafted by the Reds in the 13th round of the 1988 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign.Paul Byrd page at Baseball Reference June 20, 1988: Mario Soto was released by the Reds.Mario Soto page at Baseball Reference July 11, 1988: Max Venable was signed as a free agent by the Reds.Max Venable page at Baseball Reference July 13, 1988: Tracy Jones and Pat Pacillo were traded by the Reds to the Montreal Expos for Jeff Reed, Herm Winningham, and Randy St. Claire.Tracy Jones page at Baseball Reference August 2, 1988: Ken Griffey, Sr. was signed as a free agent by the Reds.Ken Griffey page at Baseball Reference

Roster 1988 Cincinnati Reds Roster Pitchers Catchers

Infielders Outfielders Manager

Coaches

All-Star Game The 1988 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 59th playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 12, 1988, at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, the home of the Cincinnati Reds of the National League. The game resulted in the American League defeating the National League 2-1.

The Perfect Game

Tom Browning pitched a perfect game on September 16, 1988 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Scorecard September 16, 1988, Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio Team123456789RHELos Angeles 000000000001Cincinnati00000100X130W: Tom Browning (16-5)  L: Tim Belcher (10-5)  Attendance: 16,591, Time: 1:51

Batting Los Angeles Dodgers ABRHRBICincinnati RedsABRHRBIGriffin, ss3000Larkin, ss3110Hatcher, 1b3000Sabo, 3b3010Gibson, lf3000Daniels, lf3000Gonzalez, lf0000Davis, cf2000Marshall, rf3000O'Neill, rf3000Shelby, cf3000 Esasky, 1b3000Hamilton, 3b3000Reed, c3000Dempsey, c3000Oester, 2b3010Sax, 2b3000Browning, p3000Belcher, p2000None0000Woodson, ph1000None0000Totals27000Totals26130

Pitching Los Angeles DodgersIPHRERBBSOCincinnati RedsIPHRERBBSOBelcher, L (10-5)8.031017Browning, W (16-5)9.000007

Player stats

= Indicates team leader 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 92 315 69 .219 10 35 1B 122 391 95 .243 15 62 2B 103 301 76 .252 2 23 SS 151 588 174 .296 12 56 3B 137 538 146 .271 11 44 LF 140 495 144 .291 18 64 CF 135 472 129 .273 26 93 RF 145 485 122 .252 16 73

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 Dave Concepción 84 197 39 .198 0 8 Dave Collins 99 174 41 .236 0 14 Ron Oester 54 150 42 .280 0 10 Jeff Reed 49 142 33 .232 1 7 Lloyd McClendon 72 137 30 .219 3 14 Herm Winningham 53 113 26 .230 0 15 Terry McGriff 35 96 19 .198 1 4 Tracy Jones 37 83 19 .229 1 9 Buddy Bell 21 54 10 .185 0 3 Luis Quiñones 23 52 12 .231 1 11 Leon Durham 21 51 11 .216 1 2 Eddie Milner 23 51 9 .176 0 2 Ken Griffey Sr. 25 50 14 .280 2 4 Lenny Harris 16 43 16 .372 0 8 Ron Roenicke 14 37 5 .135 0 5 Leo García 23 28 4 .143 0 0 Van Snider 11 28 6 .214 1 6 Marty Brown 10 16 3 .188 0 2

Pitching = Indicates league leader 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 Danny Jackson 35 261.0 23* 8 2.73 161 Tom Browning 36 250.2 18 5 3.41 124 Mario Soto 14 87.0 3 7 4.66 34 Ron Robinson 17 78.2 3 7 4.12 38 Jack Armstrong 14 65.1 4 7 5.79 45 Norm Charlton 10 61.1 4 5 3.96 39 Dennis Rasmussen 11 56.1 2 6 5.75 27 Tied with Orel Hershiser (LAD) for league lead

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 José Rijo 49 162.0 13 8 2.39 160 Keith Brown 4 16.1 2 1 2.76 6

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 John Franco 70 6 6 39 1.57 46 Rob Murphy 76 0 6 3 3.08 74 Frank Williams 60 3 2 1 2.59 43 Rob Dibble 37 1 1 0 1.82 59 Tim Birtsas 36 1 3 0 4.20 38 Pat Perry 12 2 2 0 5.66 11 Randy St. Claire 10 1 0 0 2.63 8 Pat Pacillo 6 1 0 0 5.06 11 Jeff Gray 5 0 0 0 3.86 5 Candy Sierra 1 0 0 0 4.50 4 Dave Concepción 1 0 0 0 0.00 1

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Chattanooga, Cedar RapidsJohnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007

Awards and honors

Ron Oester, Hutch Award Chris Sabo, NL Rookie of the Year

All-Star Game

Danny Jackson, Pitcher, Reserve Barry Larkin, SS, Reserve Chris Sabo, 3B, Reserve

References

1988 Cincinnati Reds season at Baseball Reference 1988 Cincinnati Reds season at Baseball Almanac