Chess openings are a sequence of moves, which will help a player build up his position and prepare for the middle game. Openings are often designed protect the king, and create a strong pawn structure.
November (and October, prior to the tiered divisional playoffs) is the beginning of the baseball business season, each Major League Baseball off-season is equal to a chess game as each team in the game studies the moves of others as well as their own. We as fans and students of the game should assume that each move is tethered to a future move or strategy that was thought out prior. Sometimes you can’t see where the move is originating from and sometimes it is as plain as the nose on your face. Often the move isn’t the biggest of the season, and sometimes it shouts out that the team is heading in a different direction. Baseball expanded in the 1960’s and despite recent down seasons and the infamous 100-loss season in 1982 the Reds can look back on the last 45 years as being the most successful in team history. So in honor of the next three months of no baseball and the imminent daily scanning of the transaction wires we’re going to kick some of the Reds immediate or most shocking moves that were made after each season since 1961, one caveat in this display, only deals made prior to Christmas, and if possible the deal should be early in the off-season.
1960-1969
October 10, 1961
Gus Bell selected by the New York Mets in the 1961 expansion draft.
1961 was the Reds year to surprise, and it was the year that Gus Bell ran out of gas as one of the Reds regulars. Appearing in only 75 games in the outfield and finishing the season with a .298 on-base percentage it was a no brainer to not protect him in the leagues first expansion draft.
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