After him is a trio of now largely-forgotten hurlers from many years ago: Bucky Walters (1938-1948 with the Reds), Dolf Luque (1918-1929) and Frank Dwyer (1892-1899). They have, in order, 36.6, 36.2 and 35.1 bWAR, meaning they were all of more or less similar value. Walters was the only one of the three to wear a number, so his case is slightly better, I suppose. Even then, though, his case rests almost entirely on three to four good years, and not a ton else.

As a whole, I would say this group probably has odds lower than even Noodle Hahn’s chances.

I really only covered those three players so that I could get to the sixth pitcher on the list, Jose Rijo. Rijo is the only pitcher left on the list that I can see with a reasonable chance. His career was recent enough that he’s still well-remembered. Rijo pitched with the team from 1988 to 1995, with a two-year comeback in 2001 and 2002. That time frame saw pretty much all of his career value, with 34.8 bWAR.

It’s worth noting that, although he’s sixth among Reds pitchers, he also has over 500 fewer innings than anyone above him, meaning his time with the team was that much more valuable. Add in his 1990 World Series heroics and you have a very interesting candidate. I would say Rijo’s case is comparable in likeliness to Foster’s, at least, maybe even a little better since his career is fresher in everyone’s memory.

There were a few other batters I figured I should at least bring up before I move on. Ken Griffey, Sr. spent twelve years in Cincinnati (1973-1981, 1988-1990) and was above average while there (23.9 bWAR, 27 fWAR). I don’t think being a member of the Big Red Machine will hurt, either. I do think that, with Foster and Rose still unretired, Griffey is, at best, third in line just in players from the ‘70s.

As mentioned, those two would make seven retired numbers from the run in the ‘70s. Is there room for an eighth from those teams? I’m not exactly convinced.

On the subject, Eric Davis was above average for the 1990 Reds, and in his nine years on the team, totaled 28.8 bWAR and 30 fWAR. Those are sort of borderline numbers, but I think that Larkin and Rijo would be honored before him. A third person from that era would need a lot of fan support to get his case seriously considered, I guess. That’s the only thing I can think of for him. 

In a similar position is Adam Dunn. I associated him with the Reds for a long time, so I figured I should include him. B-R doesn’t like him (particularly his fielding), giving him 14.8 bWAR for his eight years. Fangraphs, meanwhile, has him at 23 fWAR for that time (while losing something like 7 WAR for his awful defense).

I know defense counts, but it’s not totally his fault he was playing out-of-position for all that time. If Dunn makes a run at 500 or even 600 home runs, we may start discussing his Hall chances. That could make things interesting at least, although there’s a big “if” or two in there.

To make things even more interesting, Dunn shared his number (44) with Eric Davis.

Also, I feel like I should bring up Ken Griffey, Jr. He will definitely make the Hall, and he will definitely get his number retired in Seattle. He did also spend a rather long time in Cincinnati (2000-2008). Will that be enough to see him be honored? I really doubt it. I figured it was worth mentioning, though. His return to his dad’s team was very hyped up, and retired numbers sometimes are driven more by sentiment and hometown ties than actual performance (see Nolan Ryan in Texas, or Wade Boggs in Tampa). Still, I just can’t see this one happening. Junior’s time as a Red was worth 11.3 bWAR and 12 fWAR.