Kirkendall Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Sparky Anderson has won three World Series titles. He is in the Baseball Hall of Fame. He's won more games than all but two managers in major league history. But he ranks his latest honor - the Reds will retire his No. 10 uniform next May - as the sweetest of them all. "The No. 10 in red and white will disappear," he said. "This is the most beautiful thing in the world. It's forever. Every person who goes in that ballpark gets to see it. And the numbers that are up there ..." Anderson's number is the seventh the Reds have retired. The others: Fred Hutchinson's (1); Johnny Bench's (5); Joe Morgan's (8); Ted Kluszewski's (18); Frank Robinson's (20); and Tony Perez's (24). Jackie Robinson's 42 is also retired, as it is for every team. Anderson, 70, managed the Reds from 1970-78, the heyday of the Big Red Machine. He led the Reds to an 863-586 (.596) record, five National League West Division titles, four NL titles and two World Series titles. His 1975 and 1976 teams combined to go 210-114 (.629) and were considered among baseball's great teams of all time. Anderson was fired by general manager Dick Wagner after going 92-69 and finishing second in 1978. "I never wanted to leave there," Anderson said. "You can't blame them. It was stubbornness on both parts. I always wanted to come back. It took a while, but I made it." The exact date of the ceremony has not been set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Brew Man Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Good deal, he deserves it.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
semiotter Posted September 5, 2004 Report Share Posted September 5, 2004 Sparky was da man!!! Im happy they are doing this, they should have done it a long time ago!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalszoneBilly Posted September 5, 2004 Report Share Posted September 5, 2004 Any man great enough to pilot the "Big Red Machine" to all the success that they had truly deserves this honor! It's overdue IMHO!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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