CINCINNATI — With his National League team trailing 1-0 towards the end of the 2010 All-Star Game, Scott Rolen hit a singles hit and then tied for first through third with a singles hit by Matt Holliday.
Rolen’s then-Reds teammate, Brandon Phillips, wore a microphone during the broadcast and was heard saying, “We’ll do that in Cincinnati.” We’re going from first place to third place.”
Rolen, who was acquired at the close last year, was blamed for this team’s aggressive base running. Rolen wasn’t the fastest player, but he was tenacious and smart.
Phillips, Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, all the young Reds of that era spoke then and in hindsight that Rolen was the missing piece of this side, the one who taught a young, talented side how to be winners.
Rolen, who was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday, has also influenced another young, talented Reds team more than a decade after his last game.
Reds manager David Bell followed Rolen’s press conference following his election in January and part stood out. Speaking about his style of play, Rolen said the Phillies emphasized defense and baserunning when he played in the minor leagues.
“They used to say baserunning is your character, it’s who you are,” Rolen said. “That’s the character of who you are as a person on the field and I was very proud of that.”
That stuck with first-year coach Collin Cowgill, who oversees the team’s baserunning.
“DB said it at the first spring training meeting and obviously I really liked it,” Cowgill said. “I asked him where he heard it and he sent me a link.”
At the beginning of spring, each coach gave a presentation to the entire team. Pitching coach Derek Johnson explained the team’s pitching philosophy, not just to the pitchers and catchers, but to the entire team.
Cowgill showed the players Rolen’s clip.
“What is being forgotten is base running,” said midfielder TJ Friedl. “People forget how the extra 90 feet affects the game until you see it. Like a ball in the dirt in San Diego in a one-run game, I had to put myself in goal position. Those are the little things that this team have done so well this year.”
At the start of Sunday, the Reds were fifth in baseball with a 47 percent odds. In 2010, the Reds topped the league with 46 percent and led the National League in runs per game (4.88).
Bruce said he remembered Rolen coming up to him before every game and quietly telling him, “Bruce, I need you in third place today.” It was something Bruce did a lot that year when he finished second in baseball with a 66 percent odds.
“He’s right, it’s the character. It doesn’t take talent to run from first to third, it doesn’t. It takes anticipation, you have to understand the players outfield, understand the score,” said Bruce. “When you do that, you have a better understanding of the game and where it is at the moment and what to do. That’s what makes a better baseball player because you’re more consistent.”
Bell never played with Rolen, but he succeeded him as the Phillies’ third baseman after Rolen left for St. Louis. Bell was the Reds’ minor league manager during Rolen’s tenure in Cincinnati and was able to witness the influence of the future Hall of Famer first hand.
“If you’re focused and your only goal is to win a baseball game, find a way to be a good baserunner,” Bell said. “It’s a great way to play the game and I think he summed it up really well.”
refresher days
With Christian Encarnacion-Strand in the big leagues, the Reds have ten positional players for everyday attacking and just nine spots.
In the first week of Encarnacion Beach, Bell introduced a day off each day for one of these players.
Spencer Steer had a day off Monday followed by Encarnacion Beach the next day. Wednesday was Jonathan India’s first day off of the season, followed by Tyler Stephenson on Thursday, TJ Friedl on Friday, Elly De La Cruz on Saturday and Joey Votto on Sunday.
Several times during the week, the player who was not in the starting XI came into play as a substitute. Encarnacion Beach hit his first career hit, a home run, as a pinch hitter on Tuesday. On Saturday, Elly De La Cruz came into play as a pinch runner at third base and grounded a safe run to first base.
De La Cruz opened Sunday’s game with a home run.
“The difficult part is that we have to give someone a day off, someone who’s good every day,” Bell said. “Our guys did a great job of that, using the day to stay ready but also to work on things, just things that you can’t do at the beginning of a game.”
Bell said there’s a mental difference between a day off for a team and one for a player. Although a day away from the constellation means less work and can be less mentally taxing than being in the constellation, there is still physical work to be done.
“A day off can be really refreshing,” Bell said of De La Cruz. “This is what he looked like today.”
He’s not alone. All six regulars who had days off this week scored and scored in their next game. De La Cruz and Friedl both had a goal and the group went 9 to 23 (.391) in their first game after a bad day.
signing deadline
The deadline for signing draft picks is Tuesday. So far, the Reds have signed their first 17 picks, with only three junior college picks and one high school pick remaining unsigned.
Surprise might not be the best word, but the biggest signing was high school right-hander Cole Schoenwetter, who was selected in the fourth round. Schoenwetter signed a $1.9 million bonus. The slot value for the pick was $640,300, showing what the Reds thought of Schoenwetter.
The Athletic’s Keith Law had named Schoenwetter as the No. 69 pick in the draft, noting that his “fastball and curveball project will end up positively and the switch isn’t that far behind.”
Schoenwetter was an engagement of UC Santa Barbara. In 2013, the Reds selected Tyler Mahle in the seventh round and gave him a $250,000 bonus, almost $100,000 over the slot, to steer him away from his involvement with UC Santa Barbara. It worked for the gauchos, however, as Mahle’s absence left a gap for a walk-on named Shane Bieber.
The Reds have already surpassed their draft pool cap, but they could still spend some money and just take fines without losing draft picks.
Perdomo’s gesture
Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo asked his manager ahead of Friday’s series opener if he could take out the lineup card for the pregame exchange so he could say something to Bell.
Perdomo, 23, signed with the Diamondbacks in 2016 as a 16-year-old from the Dominican Republic and was close to Bell’s brother Mike Bell, who served as the Diamondbacks’ player development director from 2011-2019. Mike Bell, who rose to the big leagues as a Reds player in 2000, died in 2021.
The fact that Perdomo, who has developed a relationship with the rest of the Bell family, wanted to do so touched David Bell.
“He has developed into a great player, but what a great person,” Bell said of Perdomo. “He’s been great at keeping in touch with our family. Mike made a huge difference in his life and career and he definitely hasn’t forgotten it. He’s kept in touch and we’ve developed a really special relationship without seeing him often. He did that to our whole family.”
The week that was
The Reds dropped their first two games of the week, extending their losing streak to six games. The team ended the week on a five-game winning streak, sharing the streak with the Giants and then beating the Diamondbacks. While the Reds are just a half-game behind the Brewers in National League Central standings, they lead in wildcard standings, a half-game ahead of the Diamondbacks and Giants.
Next week
The Reds have a chance to retake the NL Central lead with three games in Milwaukee. The Brewers have already won the season series, winning eight of the first ten games between the two clubs. The Brewers’ pitchers kept the Reds scoreless for 28 consecutive innings in the two series that ended the All-Star break. The top two teams in the division will not compete again after this week. Tuesday’s clash will be worth keeping an eye on when Reds left-hander Andrew Abbott takes on Brewers star Corbin Burnes. After a day off on Thursday, the Reds will then travel to Los Angeles for three games.
Injury updates
• RHP Tejay Antone (right elbow flexor strain) will complete a rehab assignment for the Arizona Complex League team Tuesday.
• IF Kevin Newman (gastritis) feels better and can be activated on Monday. He could also complete a rehab stint at Triple A or be given an option to Triple A.
Minor League Summary
• Triple-A Louisville (51-43) – In his first 10 games after being demoted to Triple A, SS Jose Barrero hit just 5 of 42 (.119) with 18 strikeouts. Barrero has scored in every game since then until going 2-0 and hitting base on Sunday, ending his 16-game hitting streak. During the streak, he reached .407. Of his 24 hits during the streak, 13 went for extra bases, including five home runs. He is now .282/.372/.583 in 27 games in Louisville this season.
• Double-A Chattanooga (49-40) – Rece Hinds got off to a slow start to the season, hitting .194/.231/.373 with four homers in his first 35 games of the season. He also had 61 strikeouts and just six walks in 143 plate appearances during that span. In the 35 games since then, including Saturday’s three-hit game, he hit .349/.423/.721 with 10 home runs (and 26 extra base hits) with 45 strikeouts and 14 walks over 149 plate appearances.
• High-A Dayton (45-45) – C Cade Hunter, a fifth-round pick from Virginia Tech last year, had a nice debut in his first week in High A. Hunter was 5 of 17 (.294) in five games with the Dragons and hit two home runs Wednesday. He started three games behind plate, one as DH and then in left field on Sunday.
• Class A Daytona (40-47) – Carlos Jorge batted for the cycle on Friday by hitting a triple in the first inning, a home run in the third, a double in the fifth and a single in the eighth. Friday night was his first start of the season in midfield. He’s played mostly at second base this season. The 19-year-old found himself in a bit of a slump this month, notching just .171 in 11 games before Friday. During that stretch, he had more walks (eight) than strikeouts (seven). After Friday’s game, Jorge was still hitting .288/.390/.474 with eight home runs and 29 stolen bases this season.
(Top photo of Scott Rolen rounding second base on opening day 2011: John Grieshop/MLB via Getty Images)