It’s been almost two years since we’ve seen Johnny Cueto on the mound in a Reds uniform at Great American Ball Park. The date was July 19, 2015, a Sunday afternoon like today, and it felt like walking the Green Mile. Cueto only made it through four innings. That’s what happens when you pitch while your heart is breaking. As fans, we fought back the tears and felt emptiness that comes with inevitable loss. Not the loss of a game, but the passing of a joyful era.
Our enduring affection for Cueto is due in no small part to how his trajectory of success tracked that of the club itself.