Authors: Joe Posnanski
The Machine (15 page)
Johnny Bench, who won ten straight Gold Gloves for defensive excellence, going back for a foul ball. “Don’t ever embarrass anyone by comparing him to Johnny Bench,” Reds manager Sparky Anderson once said.
National Baseball Hall of Fame Library, Cooperstown, New York
From left to right: Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, and Johnny Bench strike a pose behind the batting cage before a game.
Focus on Sport/Getty Images
Johnny Bench gets ready to put a tag on Philadelphia’s Ollie Brown during a regular-season game.
Rusty Kennedy/AP Images
Pete Rose and Joe Morgan, as usual, clowning around before a game. “Pete helped make me the player that I am,” Morgan said.
Bettmann/Corbis
Dave Concepcion goes high for a throw while Houston’s Cesar Cedeno steals second. Concepcion won a Gold Glove in 1975 as the best defensive shortstop in the National League.
Bettmann/Corbis
Ken Griffey gets back to first base during the 1975 World Series. Griffey stole 16 bases in 1975, but felt like he could have stolen many more if he’d been given a real green light to run.
Bettmann/Corbis
Reds pitcher Gary Nolan came back from almost two years of inactivity and led the Reds with fifteen victories in ’75.
National Baseball Hall of Fame Library, Cooperstown, New York
Joe Morgan, who spent hours studying pitchers’ moves so he could become one of the league’s best base stealers, takes second base against the Dodgers.
National Baseball Hall of Fame Library, Cooperstown, New York
Outfielder George Foster did not say much, but he was lethal when he swung his black bat.
Natinal Baseball Hall of Fame Library, Cooperstown, New York
Don Gullett was one of the best pitchers in baseball, but it was his injury that inspired Sparky Anderson to come up with a new way to use a bullpen.
National Baseball Hall of Fame Library, Cooperstown, New York
Pete Rose happily accepts the American Motors car he won for being MVP of the 1975 World Series.
Bettmann/Corbis
Johnny Bench shows off his unique ability to hold seven baseballs in one hand, while his new bride Vickie cheers him on.
