The Cincinnati Reds haven't won a playoff series in 31 years. They've made the playoffs just five times over that span and have had 21 losing seasons. This year's Reds team is currently 72-84 and destined to finish last in the NL Central as the regular season creeps to its end.
Long-suffering Reds fans have had enough, and so has Barry Larkin, a Hall of Fame shortstop who spent his entire MLB career in Cincinnati and was part of the team's last World Series team. Now a team broadcaster, Larkin offered a blunt assessment on the state of his former team following a recent loss. "I think these last three weeks of baseball, playing against some of the better teams that are going to be going to the postseason, really illustrates how far we are behind at this big league level, and change has to happen," Larkin said.
"This city deserves better than that, and I know every player down there feels that. But something has to give. We have to get better because we are so, so far behind." Barry Larkin following today's Reds loss:"...change has to happen.
This city deserves better than that, and I know every player down there feels that. But something has to give..."h/t @HeyGingersaurus pic.twitter.com/8kPtabIB2a Larkin's comments were supported on X by Joey Votto, another franchise icon who recently used his broadcast platform to discuss his former team's current plight. "Cincinnati is among the smallest cities in all Major League Baseball, but we're also the very first major league team," Votto said.
We have the Big Red Machine. Some of the greatest players in the history of the sport wore our uniform. Cincinnati needs to be a centerpiece place in Major League Baseball." “The city has charm.
We have icons - some of the greatest players in the history of the sport wore our uniform. It's an issue that's shared by every small market team that can't compete with some of the larger markets in terms of salary. "Unfortunately, we can't afford him," Votto said when asked about Cincinnati All-Star shortstop Elly De La Cruz and his future with the team.
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