Redleg Nation · Apr 8, 2019
After Big Trades, The 1999 Reds Opening Day Meltdown
After a sensational– but ultimately disappointing– 1995 season, the Cincinnati Reds were mired in three years of mediocrity.
They were 81-81 in 1996 and that was followed with a 76-86 record in 1997. The 1998 season showed a one-game improvement at 77-85 and the Reds had to win 8 of their last 10 to achieve that. At one point, they were 30-49.
1998 featured losing streaks of 11 and 8 games. The Reds were weak on pitching, weak in the bullpen and there wasn’t a lot of promise.
Then General Manager Jim Bowden liked to make headlines and was flashy. So he did the thing he always did– pulled the trigger on some major trades in the off season