Sept. 4, 1999 – Cincinnati Reds at Philadelphia Phillies
Players-only meetings to get past problems are as common to Major League Baseball teams as batting practice.
Rarely do they work as well as the meeting convened before Cincinnati’s game at Philadelphia on Sept. 4, 1999.
The Reds had lost three straight and five out of six, slowing their surprising bid for a postseason berth. Veterans Greg Vaughn, Barry Larkin and Denny Neagle got the team together in the visitors’ clubhouse at Veterans Stadium.
“They more or less said to play the game and have fun with it, and whatever happens, happens,” outfielder Jeffrey Hammonds said.