HOMESTAND HIGHLIGHTS
Homestand Highlights • May 6-12 • Reds vs. Braves & Brewers
Reds Win You Win: Since the Reds won five out of seven games against the Marlins and Cubs last homestand, fans can now buy lower-level Field Box seats for just $16 for the Reds vs. Braves games this week. These great seats are regularly $36, so that’s a savings of $20 per ticket: reds.com/redswin.
(Subject to availability…in advance of game day only)
Monday, May 6, 2013 – Cincinnati Reds vs. Atlanta Braves, 7:10 p.m.
• Middletown Night: Middletown, Ohio natives Chris Carter and Kayla Harrison will be honored during the annual Middletown Night at the ballpark. Carter, who is a 2013 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, will throw out a ceremonial first pitch. Harrison, the 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist in judo, will serve as the Honorary Captain of the game.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013 – Cincinnati Reds vs. Atlanta Braves, 7:10 p.m.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 – Cincinnati Reds vs. Atlanta Braves, 12:35 p.m.
• Amigos de los Rojos: Thanks to our Latin and Hispanic players including Chapman, Cueto, Simon, Arredondo and Izturis and their Amigos de Los Rojos (friends of the Reds) ticketing program, 100 guests from the Academy of Multilingual Immersion Studies are attending today’s game for free.
Friday, May 10, 2013 – Cincinnati Reds vs. Milwaukee Brewers, 7:10 p.m.
• Fireworks Friday: Rozzi’s fireworks show set to a fan-generated soundtrack will start approximately 15 minutes after the end of the game, presented by Tri-State Chevrolet Dealers. The soundtrack was selected by fans on Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #RedsDJBoom.
• Kids Face Painting: Free face painting for kids in the Kroger Fan Zone from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
• Tailgate on the Terrace: New for 2013, fans can purchase Budweiser beverages at below ballpark pricing at the Mobile Bud Bar on Crosley Terrace beginning three hours before first pitch on select dates this season. The Mobile Bud Bar will be located outside the gates and is open to the public.
• Joey Votto “Face of MLB”: During pregame ceremonies, Joey Votto will be honored for being voted MLB Network’s “Face of MLB” by fans on Twitter. The Reds would like to acknowledge all the fans who voted for Joey and those who supported and helped promote the campaign.
Saturday, May 11, 2013 – Cincinnati Reds vs. Milwaukee Brewers, 4:10 p.m.
• Aroldis Chapman Bobblehead: The first 30,000 fans receive an Aroldis Chapman bobblehead, presented by Cincinnati Bell.
• Los Rojos Jerseys: As part of the first Dusty Days celebration of the season, Reds players will debut the “Los Rojos” alternate jerseys for today’s game. The jerseys are for sale at the Team Shops by Majestic. Now in its third year, Dusty Days celebrates the multicultural heritage of our region. 
• Kids Face painting: Free face painting for kids in the Kroger Fan Zone from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m.
• Dmitri Young Autograph Session: Dmitri Young, Reds star from 1998 to 2001, will sign autographs for fans at the Reds Hall of Fame & Museum from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. The autograph signing is free with museum admission.
• Jacob’s Ride: Jacob Landis of Annapolis, MD will throw out a ceremonial first pitch. Deaf by age 10, Jacob (now age 24) is on a 175-day bicycle ride which will take him more than 10,000 miles to every MLB ballpark. Jacob hopes to raise $1 million dollars for others who could benefit from a cochlear implant but cannot afford one. More information at jacobsride.com.
Sunday, May 12, 2013 – Cincinnati Reds vs. Milwaukee Brewers, 1:10 p.m.
• Mother’s Day Tote Bag: The first 10,000 moms will receive a Mother’s Day Tote Bag, presented by Biz/Oxydol.
• Reach Magazine Sunday Family Days: Sundays are family days at the ballpark! One member of the family pays full price and may purchase up to three non-premium tickets at half-price in advance of game day only. Excludes Outer View Level and Kroger Bleachers. Tickets are subject to availability.
• Kids Face painting: Free face painting for kids in the Kroger Fan Zone from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
• MLB Breast Cancer Awareness Day: Pregame ceremonies will honor fans affected by breast cancer during MLB’s annual “Going to Bat Against Breast Cancer” initiative celebrated on Mother’s Day.
• Reds HOF Baseball Brunch: Reds HOF & Museum is hosting a special brunch in the Riverfront Club starting at 10:45 a.m. featuring former Reds star Dmitri Young. Tickets include brunch buffet, Q&A with Dmitri, meet and greet and an autographed photo. For more information and to order tickets call 513-765-7921 or visit redsmuseum.org.
MUSTARD AND CATCH-UP
After spending an exotic stay-cation in the far-reaches of Southwestern Ohio, it’s nice to finally be back in Better Off Red Headquarters.
A big thanks to all of the folks who filled in during my absence, especially the interns who’ve now been safely sent back to their cages.
Let’s catch up, shall we?……
-
Don’t forget the Reds Tweet-Up taking place this Friday, May 10 at Great American Ball Park. The Reds host the Brewers at 7:10 and for just 30 bucks, you get a Field Box ticket and a pretty cool #JoeyVotto #FaceOfMLB T-shirt. For more details, CLICK HERE.
…..
Tomorrow night (Tuesday, May 7) the Reds take on the Braves and we’re going to have another #BORScore scorekeeping session on Twitter. Whether you’re a seasoned scorekeeper or an ambitious beginner, I’ll lead the way for Tuesday’s tilt against Atlanta. Simply follow along on Twitter at @Jamieblog with the hashtag #BORScore and I’ll show you what to do and give you Twitter pic updates of my scorecard.
The last time we did this, the Reds scored 11 runs.
Click and print the PDF file below for the scorecard that I’ll be using…
…..
Remember back in the day when the Beach Boys used to perform concerts at Riverfront Stadium? Seems like forever ago, doesn’t it? Well, they’re coming back to Cincinnati on Sunday, May 26 to play at Great American Ball Park following the Reds/Cubs game!
For more information, CLICK HERE.
…..
How cool is this?! Kings Island now has a Reds Hall of Fame Grille! Suh-Weet. Check it out….
…..
The Reds next victory will mark Dusty Baker’s 1,600th as a manager. He’s currently tied with his former skipper Tommy Lasorda for 18th on the all-time wins list. Ten of the managers ahead of Dusty and Tommy on that list are in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
…..
At 18-14, the Redlegs are season-high 4.0 games over .500 for the third time this season. With a 12-4 mark at GABP, the Reds are tied with the Yankees for the most home wins in the Majors.
…..
Finally, here’s a video of Scout picking on Grace…
More stuff in a bit.
Expect good news!
Jamie
SO LONG, ANIMAL
While I was away last week, former Reds reliever Brad “The Animal” Lesley passed away at the age of 54. Reds staffer Stephanie Ben wrote a fantastic piece about it here on Better Off Red. Brad was truly an amazing guy. I’m dedicating my first post back from vacation to “The Animal”….
Brad Lesley’s death last week was announced while the nation was still grieving and shaking off the shock of Boston. Locally here in Cincinnati, where the TV news usually clamors to cover everything from a girl scout bake sale to pot hole repairs, the news of Lesley’s passing came on the same day a serious and unfortunate event occurred at an area high school. Thus, Brad barely got a mention.
Brad was one of the last true characters to play the game; certainly in Cincinnati. We try so hard as fans to manufacture nicknames for our boys, especially since the players themselves rarely come up with good ones anymore. We want our guys to evoke a unique identity that goes beyond jersey numbers and stats. That’s why it was nice to be able to call “The Animal” ours.
Lesley played for the Reds in the 80s when each player had to wear his hair short and his face completely shaven. Players’ uniforms were truly uniform. The Reds darn-near looked like 25 guys related to each other. Personality, at least from an appearance stand point, was at a minimum.
Lesley was an average to decent relief pitcher for three lousy Big Red Machine Hangover teams (101 losses in 1982, 88 losses in ’83, 92 losses in ’84). Tough for Cincinnati fans to find anything worth cheering for during those long summers. But along came the “Animal.”
Brad was a large man with a large personality. His aggressive and ferocious antics on the mound earned him the “Animal” moniker. Fans loved it when he pitched. Since there wasn’t a whole lot of fireworks over Riverfront during those summers, The Animal was the fans’ consolation prize.
I knew him first as the crazy Reds player from the highlight reels, then as the dude from the movies and that Japanese show. I finally actually met him at Reds Fantasy Camp in 2010.
The Animal was a fixture at Reds dream week and the campers absolutely adored him. For as scary as he seemed on the field and in stature, Brad was one of the sweetest and nicest guys I’ve ever met, with an intoxicating smile…exactly why I didn’t mind having to “marry” him during fantasy camp’s Kangaroo Court proceedings. Brad dressed in women’s clothing for the ceremony – which in itself was scarier than how ever he appeared on the mound.
Brad “The Animal” Lesley was a Red. After his playing days in Cincinnati, he remained tight with the organization. He was part of our family.
In a day and age when the game has become so serious (scientific statistical formulas, big business tactics, toxic tweets), its nice to know that an Animal can still make us smile.
RIP Brad Lesley
What’s Your Reds Lifestyle Winner!
We have a winner for the “What’s Your Reds Lifestyle” contest!
Before I announce the winner I would like to thank everyone that sent in their submissions. There were some heart felt stories, along with some funny, crazy stories. There were a lot of great photos of dedication and commitment to the Reds. I knew Reds fans were serious, but you guys are on a whole ‘nother level. I loved reading all of your stories and once again, thank you for submitting.
Now, on to the winner! Drum roll please…
Rachel Lutchin of Cincinnati, Ohio sent in a very funny submission. She actually used to broadcast her own Reds Radio Network. She sent in an actual recording of herself delivering the Reds News when she was little, just like Marty and the Cowboy would do. Here is her description of the broadcast:
“I am lifelong Cincinnati Reds fan, thanks to my father. He is also a Reds fan, so were his parents. An earliest memory of my childhood is watching the Reds games with my father on TV. He would explain the rules of the game to me. When I was kid, I would pretend that I was a sports reporter. I recorded my voice, giving the Reds news on my Fisher-Price tape recorder. I still have the tape I used to record it. I attached a sound clip of me giving the Reds news when I was a kid.”
And for the actual recording, here ya go:
That was a very funny audio clip. The youngest Reds fans are sometimes the most committed. Congratulations to Rachel. She is the winner of a Ryan Hanigan signed baseball!
Thank You to everyone, and like I said before, Reds fans really are the best fans in the world.
Go Reds!
Justin
Here are few pictures of some other submissions:
Reds Baseball. What does it mean?
What a great Saturday…Another win at Wrigley and a second Better Off Red blog entry from Liz Romes (@RedsTixLiz)! Happy weekend. - Lisa
Hi my name is Liz Romes and I am a Client Service Representative for the Reds. I am born and bred Cincy, through and through. I love my Reds, Muskies, and Bungels. I absolutely love Skyline, and do not trust anyone who does not like it. I will argue anyone in the world that Graeter’s Ice Cream is the best ice cream on the planet. With that being said, when I was asked to guest write for this world prestigious blog, I was first honored but then I found myself dumbfounded at what to say or write. (And for anyone that knows me, they know that this does not happen too often). So, I thought about it for a while…
Reds baseball. What does it mean? Why are we so attached?
For some of you out there, Reds Baseball probably means summer is here and the boys are back on the field. It’s time to look at stats and standings, and compete with the Cards again to see who will come out on top in the Central. It means guessing how many walk-off home runs the Reds will have this year? Or how many toothpicks Dusty goes through during the season? (really though, how many?) And, of course, how far will we go in the playoffs?
But I feel like for me and for many people, it’s not always what happens on the field that makes us attached. Sure, we get attached to a specific team or love watching a specific player. However, it’s about the experiences at the ballpark, or growing up in this baseball town that makes Reds baseball a part of us.
So again, what does Reds baseball mean?
Summertime. I grew up in the small town of St. Bernard on Rose Hill Avenue. This street was one for the books. It was like straight out of the movie The Sandlot during the summer (except let’s add a few girls into the story). We would play whiffle ball and capture-the-flag all day, and at night we would catch lightening bugs and play hide and go seek all to the background sounds of Marty and Joe. There were two die hard Reds fans that lived next door to me growing up, Bonnie and Lynn. Every night they would get their cooler of Budweiser ready and listen to the game. They would scream and cheer while listening to those beloved radio voices. (These women had sets of lungs). And because we were so close to downtown, we would sometimes hear the fireworks after a home run. This is Reds baseball.
I was never fortunate enough to go to every Opening Day growing up. I had only been to one when I started working here. However, the Opening Day I was able to attend was the one I will never forget. I was about 7 years old and I was “sick” that day for school. We listened to “Centerfield” on an A-track player while getting ready to go downtown. The excitement in me was amazing. I couldn’t tell you who the Reds played that day or if we even won, but I cannot describe in words how incredible it was to be there holding my dad’s hand while walking into Riverfront Stadium. I will never forget at the same game, my dad’s friend (who is sometimes mistaken as Ron Woods from the Stones) “procured” a bag of cotton candy for me. We were sitting up in the “red” and the vendor holding the cotton candy tray over his head happened to be standing right in front of us. So “Ron Woods” simply just lifted one right out and handed it to me. This is Reds baseball.
In recent years, buying my dad a beer at a game when I finally turned 21 is one of the coolest memories. And, of course, I am going to add the two clinch nights in 2010 and 2012. Not just because of what happened on the field, but celebration and the togetherness of the fans. It was awesome to see how proud this city was of our Reds.
Looking at the big picture, we really do have an awesome city and a team that we are all loyal to. Reds baseball is something that is passed down through generations in Cincinnati. It is in our blood. It doesn’t matter what always happens on the field, because I believe it’s the experiences that we have with our family at the ballpark, or watching the games with friends… that makes us truly attached.
So… Reds baseball, what does it mean to you?
Thanks for taking the time out of your day to read!
Go Redlegs!
Liz
Update on our friend, Chris Herrell
Liz Romes (@RedsTixLiz) in our Ticket Client Services Department gives us an update on Chris Herrell. #TeamHerrell
Chris Herrell, Season Ticket Manager in the Reds’ front office, recently underwent a bone barrow transplant. Chris is now finished with chemo and is now in a waiting period to see if his body accepts the cells after the transplant. The outpouring support from many of you has been amazing. I cannot tell you how many times, while talking to Season Ticket Holders, we stop the normal conversation to talk about our buddy, Herrell. We know that Chris appreciates the cards, gifts, and kind words during this tough time for him and his young family. Please keep thinking about him in your mind and heart. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see him walking around in those crazy Reds’ pants again!
- Liz
If you are interested in a Team Herrell wristband, they can be purchased at the Reds main offices front desk for $5, while supplies last (9am-5p, Monday-Friday)
Baseball Lessons From Dad
We close out the work week of stellar intern guest bloggers with Ellen Remley, another important part of our social media team. We’ll continue with guest bloggers this weekend, leading up to the return of the one and only, Jamie Ramsey. Now here’s Ellen… – Lisa
__________________________
When I was maybe five or six, my family was driving to Reds game, and my dad (being my dad) was doing his best to get my older sister and me psyched up for the game.
Granted, it doesn’t take much to get two kids under the age of ten excited to go to a baseball game, but that’s not the point.
He was asking questions about baseball trivia and doing his best Marty Brennaman impression and spouting off quotes from former Reds players. (“Okay girls, who said, “Bench me or trade me!”?”) The closer we got to the ballpark, the more delirious we got with excitement, and the more he egged us on.
Finally, when we were just a few blocks away from Riverfront Stadium, my dad started calling out the names of the players as if he were announcing the starting lineup.
“And at shortstop, number eleven, BAAAAARRRRRYYYYYYYY–”
“MANILOW!” I yelled from the backseat.
*facepalm*
This is one of those stories that my dad trots out regularly at family functions or late nights after work or whenever the mood strikes. And ever since I came to work for the Reds, it’s made more appearances than normal. We’ve rehashed this story so many times in my life, that I’m not sure if I actually remember it happening or if I’ve concocted a memory based on the anecdote that my dad has told so me so often.
In fact, there are a lot of Reds-related stories and incidents and trivia in my memory that I’m not sure if I actually remember or if my dad has inception-ed them into my brain. But that’s one of the best things about having grown up with a team that has a legacy like the Cincinnati Reds; there is always something new to learn or to teach or to celebrate.
And every Reds fan has a story to tell.
I know I have dozens; I could tell you about the stack of Reds hats we keep in the living for emergency rally-capping, or about the fact that we have two Reds flags flying outside of our house LITERALLY as I type this. I could tell you about the time I attended batting practice (and barely kept my inner-fangirl under control), or even about the time Ramon Hernandez gave me a baseball. And if you follow me on Twitter, you’ve already heard about the #MagicRallyShoe.
But I want to hear YOUR best Reds story. Or maybe your favorite bit of trivia; I’m always looking for something to stump my dad.
Feel free to send me your responses over at the Reds official Tumblr account, cincinnatireds.tumblr.com/ask .
#goreds
- Ellen
(And for those of you who NEEDED to know [and I know you're out there], Chico Ruiz wanted to be benched or traded.)
