If you are attending the Brewers vs. Reds game on Friday, June 14 (7:10pm) you’ll have the opportunity to purchase raffle tickets for a “Players Favorite Things” basket raffle.

12 gift baskets have been filled by the players’ wives with favorite items of the Reds players.

Items include food and gifts from their home state, gift cards to their favorite stores along with books and DVDs and four Field Box tickets to an upcoming Reds game.

Additionally, each raffle winner will receive an autographed jersey from the player.

Player baskets include: Jay Bruce, Zack Cozart, Sam LeCure, Chris Heisey, Manny Parra, Joey Votto, Logan Ondrusek, Ryan Ludwick, Mat Latos, Shin-Soo Choo, Mike Leake and Sean Marshall.

The retail value of each basket is well over $500.

What dad wouldn’t love this?

The Reds Wives will be selling raffle tickets for $5 each or three for $10 (cash only) just inside the main gates to Great American Ball Park in front of the Crosley mosaics starting when gates open at 5:40pm to the end of the 7th inning.

The winners will be drawn at random during the 8th inning. Fans do not need to be present to claim their baskets.

All proceeds go to Matthew 25: Ministries and the Oklahoma tornado victims.

Bruce’s basket

Heisey’s basket

Latos’s basket

Leake’s basket

Votto’s basket

If you missed the game last night in Chicago, the Reds and Cubs played in a serious fog – and I mean that literally. Check out the photo and video below…

With last night’s victory, the Reds have won 10 straight at Wrigley Field.  Hopefully they can make it 11 tonight.

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Congratulations to Richie DeVotie who was randomly selected as the winner of the #BORScore sesssion.  Richie gets a  Mat Latos bobblehead for heroically conquering his scorecard.

Sunday’s game wasn’t exactly the most entertaining game to scorekeep, but sometimes those things happen.  Thanks to all of you who participated!

Moving forward, we will make #BORScore a permanent fixture for every Sunday home game.  And yes, there will continue to be prizes.  However, I’m going to move the scorekeeping fun from my twitter account to –> @BORScore.

For more information on #BORScore, click HERE.

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The Reds have already signed their #1 draft pick…

Ervin

Reds Sign Top Draft Pick
OF Phillip Ervin Taken With 27th Selection Overall

CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati Reds have signed No. 1 draft pick OF Phillip Ervin (5-10, 205) from Samford University in Homewood, Alabama. He was taken with the team’s first pick (27th overall) in Thursday’s 2013 first-year player draft. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Ervin, 20, recently completed his junior year at Samford, where for the second straight season he was All-Southern Conference after hitting .337 with 11 HR, 40 RBI and 21 stolen bases. The sociology major was a pre-season All-American and his league’s pre-season Player of the Year.

He is the first baseball player to be drafted in the first round out of Samford and the highest draft pick in the school’s history in any sport. While playing just 3 seasons for the Bulldogs, Ervin ranks in the school’s Top 10 in career hits (230), hitting (.344), runs scored (157) and doubles (47).

In 2012 Ervin started all 64 games in centerfield for the Bulldogs. He led the team with 18 doubles and finished third on the team in average (.327), HR (10) and RBI (52). Following that 2012 collegiate season, he was the Most Valuable Player of the Cape Cod League.

Ervin attended Leroy High School in Leroy, Alabama.

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Yesterday marked a very special anniversary.  On June 10, 1944, 15 year-old Joe Nuxhall made his Major League debut.

From Redleg Journal by Rhodes & Snyder….

“Joe Nuxhall becomes the youngest player to appear in a Major League game in the 20th century when he pitches two-thirds of an inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Crosley Field.  Nuxhall was 15 years, 10 months, and 11 days old.  He entered the game with the Cardinals leading, 13-0, and allowed five runs on two hits and five walks to make the final tally 18-0.  Jake Eisenhardt, in what would prove to be his only big league appearance, relieved Nuxhall and retired the final two batters.

Nuxhall didn’t pitch in another big league game until 1952.  But this second call-up was for good.  He pitched in the majors for 15 seasons (with one brief stint in the minors in 1962), and retired to the Reds broadcast booth in 1967.  The youngest player in Major League history is Fred Chapman, who pitched for the Philadelphia in the American Association on July 22, 1887 at the age of 14 years, seven months, and 28 days.  It was Chapman’s only Major League game.”

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Congratulations to my colleague John “Rat” Rieder who was taken behind the woodshed during Saturday’s Hooters Wing Eating Contest on Crosley Terrace…

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And if those photos don’t make you hungry, tomorrow at noon ET we will have another Vote Reds Twitter Lunch!  

One lucky voter/eater will be randomly selected to win an Aroldis Chapman bobblehead! 

Not up to speed on the #VoteReds Twitter lunches?  CLICK HERE for more details.

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I’ll have more in a bit, including details on how to buy raffle tickets for a “Players Favorite Things’ basket.

Expect good news

Jamie

We’re having our regular scorekeeping session on Twitter for tonight’s Reds/Cardinals game!  Follow along using the hashtag #BORScore.

During tonight’s tilt with the Cards, I’ll show you how I learned to keep score of a game – the Reds Media Relations way.  I’ll tweet directions, tips and photo updates of my scorecard as the game progresses.  Remember, you need to utilize the Twitter hashtag #BORScore in order to follow along.

There’s no right or wrong way to keep score of a baseball game.  I’m simply going to show you how we do it.

As an added bonus for you scorekeepers, I’m going to give one of you lucky “pencil-pushers” a Mat Latos bobblehead for simply participating!  When the game is over, Tweet a photo of your completed scorecard along with the #BORScore hashtag and I will choose one random winner – whom I’ll announce tomorrow (Monday).

And if you’re looking for a blank scorecard, click on the PDF below for an exact replica of the one I’ll be using…

PDF — > scorecard

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Tonight’s rundown courtesy of my pal @Bongreatness…

Tonight’s game is being shown on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. Official game time is 8:06PM.  The National Anthem is scheduled for 7:53PM.

The first 8,000 kids 14 and younger in the ballpark tonight will receive a free Jay Bruce Silver Slugger wiffle ball bat, courtesy of John Morrell. Gates to the ballpark are scheduled to open at 6:06PM for Season Ticket Holders and 6:36PM for the general public. However those gate opening times may be adjusted in accordance with Cincinnati Fire Code if the crowd outside the gates dictates it so.

During the middle of the 7th inning we will be joined by Jordan Woodie, who will perform God Bless America on saxophone.

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Some pretty important dates in Reds history that I felt necessary to share with you Cincinnati baseball fans.

First, on June 9, 1955, the Reds traded Bob Borkowski to the Dodgers for Joe Black.  Black would become the first African-American pitcher in Reds franchise history.

On this date 23 years ago, the Reds traded Ron Robinson and Bob Sebra to the Brewers for Glenn Braggs and Billy Bates.  Four-and-a-half months later, Braggs and Bates would become world champions.  Braggs was a vital part of that 1990 world championship run, and who can forget Billy Bates scoring the winning run in Game 2?

courtesy: Sports Illustrated

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The Reds first pick of the 2011 draft, Robert Stephenson is hitting his stride for Class-A Dayton.  The 20 year-old is currently working on an 18.2 consecutive scoreless innings streak.  Last night at Ft. Wayne, Stephenson fired 7 scoreless innings, allowing just 3 hits with 1 walk and 8 strikeouts.  Over his last 6 starts, he’s 4-0 with a 0.93 ERA (4er, 38.2ip), 50 strikeouts, 5 walks and a .144 opponent’s batting average.  Incredible.

Stephenson also invented the locomotive.  Fact (Google it).

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To see a list of all 40 players the Reds selected in this weekend’s First-Year Player Draft, click on the PDF below…

Draft Picks All Rounds – PDF

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Tonight’s lineup coming soon…

Let’s win the series tonight, whaddya say?!

Expect good news

Jamie

From my pal @Bongreatness…

Tonight’s game is being broadcast on FOX national television as the Game of the Week.

The first 10,000 fans in attendance at tonight’s game will receive a free Reds seat cushion, courtesy of Charmin.  Gates to the ballpark are scheduled to open at 5:15PM for Season Ticket Holders and 5:45PM for the general public. However, those gate opening times will be adjusted in accordance with Cincinnati Fire Code if the crowd size outside the gates dictates it so.

At 4:15PM today on Crosley Terrace we will host a Hooters World Wing Eating Championship Qualifier.  The top 3 finishers in today’s contest will receive a trip to the Hooters World Wing Eating Championships to be held in Clearwater, Florida, on July 25th. The contest is an official Major League Eating sanctioned event.

Tonight is also the Reds first Social Media Night, presented by Cincinnati.com. Five hundred social media enthusiasts will join us at tonight’s game.

During pregame ceremonies tonight we will welcome horses from the Kentucky Horse Park to the ballpark.  Thirteen horses will participate in a pregame parade around the warning track and several horses will also be on display in the Fan Zone prior to the game until the end of the 4th inning.  Located in Lexington, Kentucky, the Kentucky Horse Park is widely renowned as the epicenter of equestrian life, sports & business.

The Better Off Red staff is going with…