The 1928

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

season was a season in American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

. The team finished fifth in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

with a record of 78–74, 16 games behind the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

Off-season

On March 13, the Reds lost outfielder

Rube Bressler Raymond Bloom "Rube" Bressler (October 23, 1894 – November 7, 1966) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1914 to 1916 and Cincinnati Reds from 1917 to 1920, before being converted to an ...

, as he was selected by the

Brooklyn Robins The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californi ...

off waivers.

Regular season

Cincinnati had a very solid start to the season, winning 19 of their first 30 games, and was leading the

by one game over the second place

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

. The Reds continued to play excellent baseball, and following a 20-12 victory over the

Boston Braves The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...

on June 2, the team had increased their lead for the pennant to 3.5 games with a 32-17 record. Throughout the remainder of June, the club struggled, winning only seven of their next 23 games, quickly falling to fifth place in the league. At the end of June, Cincinnati had a 39-33 record and was seven games behind the first place

. In July, the Reds won eight of their first nine games to climb back into the pennant race, as they were in second place, cutting the Cardinals lead to 4.5 games. Cincinnati remained hot throughout the month, and by the end of July, the team remained in second place, but they could not close the gap on St. Louis, as they were five games behind. The Reds struggled to a poor 11-14 record in August, falling back into fifth place by the end of the month, with a record of 70-56, seven games out of first place. The struggles continued into September, as Cincinnati finished the season in fifth place with a 78-74 record, 16 games behind the Cardinals. The Reds 78 victories represented an increase of three from the previous season, and the club finished over .500 for the 10th time over the past 12 seasons. Attendance improved to 490,490 for the season, an increase of nearly 50,000 from the 1927 season. Outfielder

Ethan Allen Ethan Allen ( – February 12, 1789) was an American farmer, businessman, land speculator, philosopher, writer, lay theologian, American Revolutionary War patriot, and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of Vermont and for ...

led the Reds in batting average, as he hit .305 with a home run and 62 RBI in 129 games. Catcher

Val Picinich Valentine John Picinich (September 8, 1896 – December 5, 1942) was an American professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1916 to 1933 for the Philadelphia Athletics, Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox, Cinc ...

led the club in home runs, as he hit seven, while batting .302 in 96 games. Outfielder

Curt Walker William Curtis Walker (July 3, 1896 – December 9, 1955), was a professional baseball player who played outfield in the Major Leagues from 1919 to 1930. He played for the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds, and New York Gian ...

batted .279 with six home runs and a team best 73 RBI and 19 stolen bases. Second baseman

Hughie Critz Hugh Melville Critz (September 17, 1900 – January 10, 1980) was an American second baseman in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Reds in the 1920s and the New York Giants in the 1930s. Career overview Critz was born in Starkville, Missis ...

led Cincinnati with 95 runs scored, as he finished the season with a .296 batting average with five home runs and 52 RBI, while adding 18 stolen bases. As a team, the Reds stole an NL high 83 bases.

Eppa Rixey Eppa Rixey Jr. (May 3, 1891 – February 28, 1963), nicknamed "Jephtha", was an American baseball player who played 21 seasons for the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds in Major League Baseball from 1912 to 1933 as a left-handed pi ...

led the Reds pitching staff, as he finished the season with a 19-18 record with a 3.43 ERA in 43 games. Rixey led the Reds with 291.1 innings pitched and 17 complete games.

Ray Kolp Raymond Carl Kolp (October 1, 1894 – July 29, 1967) was a professional baseball pitcher. Kolp played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball between 1921 and 1934, playing in 1921-24 for the St. Louis Browns and 1927-34 for the Cincinnati Reds. Ca ...

had the best ERA on the club at 3.13, as he finished the season with a 13-10 record in 44 games.

Red Lucas Charles Fred "Red" Lucas (April 28, 1902 – July 9, 1986) was an American professional baseball pitcher and pinch hitter. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1923 to 1938 for the New York Giants, Boston Braves, Cincinnati Reds, and P ...

had a solid season, going 13-9 with a 3.39 ERA in 27 games.

Dolf Luque Adolfo Domingo De Guzmán "Dolf" Luque (August 4, 1890 – July 3, 1957) was a Cuban starting pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to . Luque was enshrined in the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 1957 and the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in ...

led the team with 72 strikeouts, while earning a record of 11-10 with a 3.57 ERA in 33 games.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Roster

Player stats

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''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Other pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Relief pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Farm system

Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition''. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007

Notes

References

1928 Cincinnati Reds season at Baseball Reference
{{Cincinnati Reds Cincinnati Reds seasons Cincinnati Reds season