Team: 1995
Seed: 6
Record: 85-59, finished 1st in 5-team National League Central. Beat the Dodgers in a 3-game sweep in the inaugural NL Division Series. Swept by the Braves in the ensuing NLCS.
Did this team matter?: Yes, but not for what happened on the field. The Reds only played 144 regular season games in 1995, as the player’s union strike that canceled the 1994 postseason lasted into early April, thereby necessitating a truncated season. The Reds were leading the NL Central division when the strike struck and they followed up in big fashion, winning the division by nine games.