Growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, it was a blessing to be a fan of the Cincinnati Reds during the Big Red Machine era.
Although the Reds were and are my favorite team, being a fan of many players on other teams was very easy.
This four-part series is an attempt to share my favorite players from each team during the 1970s and 1980s with the readers this site.
It’s possible for players to be listed on more than one team and in some cases the position might be different than most expect. Dave Winfield comes to mind because early in his career with the San Diego Padres he played left field, but he became an all-star playing in right.
The second group in this series is made up of the squads in the National League West Division:
Atlanta Braves
1B – Hank Aaron (Jumped around the living room when he hit 714)
2B – Glenn Hubbard
3B – Darrell Evans
SS – Darrel Chaney (Former Cincinnati player from Big Red Machine era)
LF – Dusty Baker
CF – Dale Murphy
RF – Gary Matthews
C – Biff Pocoroba (Every team needs a guy named Biff)
P – Phil Niekro (Loved watching people swing and miss his knuckle ball)
MGR – Bobby Cox
Cincinnati Reds
1B – Tony Perez (Favorite all-time player no matter what team)
2B – Joe Morgan
3B – Pete Rose
SS – Dave Concepcion (Wish he could be in the Hall of Fame someday)
LF – George Foster (Reds gave out black bats in 1978 at the stadium in honor of his MVP season, I still have mine)
CF – Eric Davis (You have to be good to replace Cesar Geronimo on my list)
RF – Paul O’Neill
C – Johnny Bench (Got to stand next to him as we watching batting practice on an opening day in 1998)
P – Pedro Borbon (He has to be in my dugout just in case there’s a fight)
MGR – Sparky Anderson (I’m not sure anyone else could have managed the Big Red Machine)
Houston Astros
1B – Bob Watson (Scored baseball’s one millionth run)
2B – Tommy Helms (Former Cininnati Red, but they Joe Morgan)
3B – Enos Cabell
SS – Roger Metzger
LF – Jose Cruz (Always seemed to do great things)
CF – Cesar Cedeno
RF – Jim Wynn (The Toy Cannon!! May he RIP)
C – Alan Ashby
P – J.R. Richard (This dude was special)
MGR – Bill Virdon
Los Angeles Dodgers
1B – Wes Parker (I’m a fan if you are on the Brady Bunch)
2B – Davey Lopes
3B – Ron Cey
SS – Alfredo Griffin
LF – Dusty Baker (Liked him with the Braves)
CF – Rick Monday (Saved the flag and responsible for Blue Monday in Montreal)
RF – Reggie Smith (Great switch-hitter)
C – Mike Scioscia
P – Fernando Valenzuela (His rookie year was amazing, and I hate the Dodgers LOL)
MGR – Tom Lasorda (Funny all the time)
San Diego Padres
1B – Willie McCovey (Always was weird to see him with San Diego)
2B – Tim Flannery
3B – Kurt Bevacqua (Topps 1976 bubble gum championship card was one of the best ever)
SS – Ozzie Smith (Was a little shocked when he got traded, but that probably made his rookie card more valuable)
LF – Dave Winfield (Always nice to have his 1974 rookie card)
CF – Cito Gaston
RF – Tony Gwynn
C – Benito Santiago
P – Randy Jones (I had a Randy Jones baseball mitt, I’m right handed, didn’t pitch, but it was the best glove)
MGR – Dick Williams
San Francisco Giants
1B – Willie McCovey (This is where he was supposed to be, great comeback year
2B – Bill Madlock
3B – Darrell Evans
SS – Chris Speier
LF – Kevin Mitchell
CF – Willie Mays (Wish I could have watched him in his prime)
RF – Bobby Bonds
C – Bob Brenly
P – Juan Marichal (Like Mays, watching this guy in the 1960s would have been great)
MGR – Frank Robinson