Sports Radio Service


		Interleague play continues for A's By Jerry Feitelberg June 21, 2010

	The oldest team in professional baseball starts a 3 game set with the A's tonight. The Cincinnati Reds, formed in 1869, arrives here in Oakland sporting a record of 37-33.The Reds has not fared well in interleague play with the A’s. In the 9 games the two teams have played since interleague started, the A's have held the upper hand with 8 wins against one loss. The current version of the Reds has improved under the leadership of their manager, Dusty Baker. Bay area fans remember that Baker led the San Francisco Giants for 10 seasons and took the Giants to a World Series berth in 2002 before leaving to manage the Chicago Cubs and now, the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds have a long history but the Big Red Machine of the 1970's was pretty close to a dynasty. The teams of that era featured Hall of Famers Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and Tony Perez. They were managed by the legendary "Sparky"Anderson.The Reds won pennants in 1970, 1972, 1975 and 1976. The Reds were heavily favored in 1970 but lost to the Baltimore Orioles and, in 1972 the Oakland Athletics. They defeated the Boston Red Sox in 1975 in one of the best World Series ever and then swept the New York Yankees 4 straight in 1976. The Reds last appearance in a World Series was in 1990 against the heavily favored Oakland Athletics. The Reds led by Manager Lou Piniella, swept the A's. In recent years, the Reds have fallen on tough times but they moved into a new ballpark a couple of years ago and under Baker their fortunes have improved and they are currently in second place in the National League's Central Division. Former A's Orlando Cabrera, Ramon Hernandez, Arthur Rhodes and Aaron Harang have key roles for the Reds. There's so much tradition and history as these two teams play each other. The Reds go back to 1869 and the Athletics are an original member of the American League. The A's began their baseball life in Philadelphia in 1901 and were managed and owned by Connie Mack. Mack Retired after the 1950 season and the A's moved to Kansas City in 1955.