# 1999 Cincinnati Reds season

The 1999 Cincinnati Reds season was the 130th season for the franchise in Major League Baseball. During the season the Reds became a surprising contender in the National League Central, winning 96 games and narrowly losing the division to the Houston Astros, ultimately missing the playoffs after losing a tie-breaker game to the New York Mets. As of 2023, the 1999 Reds currently hold the Major League record for the most wins by a team that failed to reach the playoffs in the Wild Card era.

## Offseason

* November 5, 1998: Melvin Nieves was released by the Cincinnati Reds.
* November 10, 1998: Bret Boone was traded by the Cincinnati Reds with Mike Remlinger to the Atlanta Braves for Rob Bell, Denny Neagle, and Michael Tucker.
* November 11, 1998: Paul Konerko was traded by the Cincinnati Reds to the Chicago White Sox for Mike Cameron.
* December 21, 1998: Steve Avery was signed as a free agent with the Cincinnati Reds.
* February 2, 1999: Mark Sweeney was traded by the San Diego Padres with Greg Vaughn to the Cincinnati Reds for Damian Jackson, Reggie Sanders, and Josh Harris (minors).

## Regular season
### Opening Day starters

| Pos | Player |
| CF | Mike Cameron |
| SS | Barry Larkin |
| 1B | Sean Casey |
| LF | Greg Vaughn |
| RF | Dmitri Young |
| C | Eddie Taubensee |
| 3B | Aaron Boone |
| 2B | Pokey Reese |
| P | Brett Tomko |

### Summary

In the May 19 contest versus the Colorado Rockies, the Reds won by a 24−12 final, tied for the fourth-highest run-scoring output in MLB history. The Reds' Jeffrey Hammonds hit three home runs this game; following the season, Colorado acquired him via trade. Both Hammonds and Sean Casey totaled four hits. Casey was on base seven times with three walks, and hit two home runs and six RBI. The Reds totaled six home runs; Casey added two, and Brian Johnson one. Colorado's Larry Walker and Dante Bichette both had four hits. Bichette also had five RBI, and Vinny Castilla hit a three-run home run.

### Season standings

vteNL Central :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Houston Astros | 97 | 65 | .599 | — | 50‍–‍32 | 47‍–‍33 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 96 | 67 | .589 | 1½ | 45‍–‍37 | 51‍–‍30 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 78 | 83 | .484 | 18½ | 45‍–‍36 | 33‍–‍47 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 75 | 86 | .466 | 21½ | 38‍–‍42 | 37‍–‍44 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 74 | 87 | .460 | 22½ | 32‍–‍48 | 42‍–‍39 |
| Chicago Cubs | 67 | 95 | .414 | 30 | 34‍–‍47 | 33‍–‍48 |

### Record vs. opponents

1999 National League recordvte Source: NL Standings Head-to-Head :
| Team | AZ | ATL | CHC | CIN | COL | FLA | HOU | LA | MIL | MTL | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | AL |
| Arizona | — | 4–5 | 7–2 | 1–8 | 6–7 | 8–1 | 5–4 | 7–6 | 5–4 | 6–3 | 7–2 | 8–1 | 5–2 | 11–2 | 9–3 | 4–4 | 7–8 |
| Atlanta | 5–4 | — | 2–5 | 8–1 | 5–4 | 9–4 | 6–1 | 5–4 | 5–2 | 9–4 | 9–3 | 8–5 | 6–3 | 5–4 | 4–5 | 8–1 | 9–9 |
| Chicago | 2–7 | 5–2 | — | 5–8 | 4–5 | 6–3 | 3–9 | 2–7 | 6–6 | 2–5 | 3–6 | 2–7 | 7–6 | 6–3 | 1–7 | 7–5 | 6–9 |
| Cincinnati | 8–1 | 1–8 | 8–5 | — | 7–2 | 6–1 | 9–4 | 4–3 | 6–6 | 4–3 | 5–5 | 6–3 | 7–6 | 6–3 | 4–5 | 8–4 | 7–8 |
| Colorado | 7–6 | 4–5 | 5–4 | 2–7 | — | 5–4 | 2–6 | 8–5 | 6–3 | 6–3 | 4–5 | 5–4 | 2–7 | 4–9 | 4–9 | 4–5 | 4–8 |
| Florida | 1–8 | 4–9 | 3–6 | 1–6 | 4–5 | — | 2–7 | 7–2 | 5–4 | 8–4 | 3–10 | 2–11 | 3–4 | 3–6 | 4–5 | 3–4 | 11–7 |
| Houston | 4–5 | 1–6 | 9–3 | 4–9 | 6–2 | 7–2 | — | 6–3 | 8–5 | 7–2 | 4–5 | 6–1 | 5–7 | 8–1 | 5–4 | 5–7 | 12–3 |
| Los Angeles | 6–7 | 4–5 | 7–2 | 3–4 | 5–8 | 2–7 | 3–6 | — | 7–2 | 5–4 | 4–4 | 6–3 | 3–6 | 3–9 | 8–5 | 3–6 | 8–7 |
| Milwaukee | 4–5 | 2–5 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 3–6 | 4–5 | 5–8 | 2–7 | — | 5–4 | 2–5 | 5–4 | 8–4 | 3–5 | 4–5 | 7–6 | 8–6 |
| Montreal | 3–6 | 4–9 | 5–2 | 3–4 | 3–6 | 4–8 | 2–7 | 4–5 | 4–5 | — | 5–8 | 6–6 | 3–6 | 5–3 | 4–5 | 5–4 | 8–10 |
| New York | 2–7 | 3–9 | 6–3 | 5–5 | 5–4 | 10–3 | 5–4 | 4–4 | 5–2 | 8–5 | — | 6–6 | 7–2 | 7–2 | 7–2 | 5–2 | 12–6 |
| Philadelphia | 1–8 | 5–8 | 7–2 | 3–6 | 4–5 | 11–2 | 1–6 | 3–6 | 4–5 | 6–6 | 6–6 | — | 3–4 | 6–3 | 2–6 | 4–5 | 11–7 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–5 | 3–6 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 7–2 | 4–3 | 7–5 | 6–3 | 4–8 | 6–3 | 2–7 | 4–3 | — | 3–6 | 4–5 | 7–5 | 7–8 |
| San Diego | 2–11 | 4–5 | 3–6 | 3–6 | 9–4 | 6–3 | 1–8 | 9–3 | 5–3 | 3–5 | 2–7 | 3–6 | 6–3 | — | 5–7 | 2–7 | 11–4 |
| San Francisco | 3–9 | 5–4 | 7–1 | 5–4 | 9–4 | 5–4 | 4–5 | 5–8 | 5–4 | 5–4 | 2–7 | 6–2 | 5–4 | 7–5 | — | 6–3 | 7–8 |
| St. Louis | 4–4 | 1–8 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 5–4 | 4–3 | 7–5 | 6–3 | 6–7 | 4–5 | 2–5 | 5–4 | 5–7 | 7–2 | 3–6 | — | 7–8 |

### Transactions

* June 2, 1999: Ben Broussard was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2nd round of the 1999 amateur draft. Player signed June 2, 1999.
* August 4, 1999: Jason Bere was released by the Cincinnati Reds.

### Roster
## Player stats
### Batting
#### Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| C | Eddie Taubensee | 126 | 424 | 132 | .311 | 21 | 87 |
| 1B | Sean Casey | 151 | 594 | 197 | .332 | 25 | 99 |
| 2B | Pokey Reese | 149 | 585 | 167 | .285 | 10 | 52 |
| 3B | Aaron Boone | 139 | 472 | 132 | .280 | 14 | 72 |
| SS | Barry Larkin | 161 | 583 | 171 | .293 | 12 | 75 |
| LF | Greg Vaughn | 153 | 550 | 135 | .245 | 45 | 118 |
| CF | Mike Cameron | 146 | 542 | 139 | .256 | 21 | 66 |
| RF | Michael Tucker | 133 | 296 | 75 | .253 | 11 | 44 |

#### Other batters

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| OF | Dmitri Young | 127 | 373 | 112 | .300 | 14 | 56 |
| OF | Jeffrey Hammonds | 123 | 262 | 73 | .279 | 17 | 41 |
| 3B | Mark Lewis | 88 | 173 | 44 | .254 | 6 | 28 |
| C | Brian Johnson | 45 | 117 | 27 | .231 | 5 | 18 |
| IF | Chris Stynes | 73 | 113 | 27 | .239 | 2 | 14 |
| 1B | Hal Morris | 80 | 102 | 29 | .284 | 0 | 16 |
| C | Jason LaRue | 36 | 90 | 19 | .211 | 3 | 10 |
| 1B | Mark Sweeney | 37 | 31 | 11 | .355 | 2 | 7 |
| SS | Travis Dawkins | 7 | 7 | 1 | .143 | 0 | 0 |
| LF | Kerry Robinson | 9 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |

### Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W= Wins; L = Losses; K = Strikeouts; ERA = Earned run average; WHIP = Walks + Hits Per Inning Pitched
| Player | G | GS | IP | W | L | K | ERA | WHIP |
| Harnisch, Pete | 33 | 33 | 198.1 | 16 | 10 | 120 | 3.68 | 1.24 |
| Tomko, Brett | 33 | 26 | 172.0 | 5 | 7 | 132 | 4.78 | 1.36 |
| Villone, Ron | 29 | 22 | 142.2 | 9 | 7 | 97 | 4.23 | 1.31 |
| Parris, Steve | 22 | 21 | 128.2 | 11 | 4 | 86 | 3.50 | 1.36 |
| Neagle, Denny | 20 | 19 | 111.2 | 9 | 5 | 76 | 4.27 | 1.20 |
| Avery, Steve | 19 | 19 | 96.0 | 6 | 7 | 51 | 5.16 | 1.59 |
| Guzmán, Juan | 12 | 12 | 77.1 | 6 | 3 | 60 | 3.03 | 1.18 |

#### Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | GS | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Bere, Jason | 12 | 10 | 43.1 | 3 | 0 | 6.85 | 28 |

#### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Graves, Danny | 75 | 8 | 7 | 27 | 3.08 | 69 |
| Sullivan, Scott | 79 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3.01 | 78 |
| Williamson, Scott | 62 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 2.41 | 107 |
| Reyes, Dennys | 65 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3.79 | 72 |
| White, Gabe | 50 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4.43 | 61 |
| Belinda, Stan | 29 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5.27 | 40 |
| Greene, Rick | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.76 | 3 |
| Ryan, B.J. | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 1 |
| Hudek, John | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 27.00 | 0 |

## Awards and honors

* Scott Williamson, National League Rookie of the Year
* Sean Casey, Hutch Award
* Jack McKeon, National League Manager of the Year

### Legacy

The 96 wins by the 1999 Cincinnati Reds were the most since the 1976 Big Red Machine who compiled 102 victories en route to their second consecutive World Series title. The Reds would not reach the 90-win plateau again until the 2010 season, when the team won the National League Central title with 91 victories.
The 1999 team is regarded as one of the best teams not to make the playoffs. Since the switch to 162 game season in 1962, the Reds have the sixth-best record, only to not make the playoffs at 96-67.

### Notable Records

The team scored 865 runs, which still stands as the franchise record for runs scored in a season. The team also set franchise highs in most runs batted in (820), most total bases (2,549), and highest slugging percentage (.451)
On May 19, 1999, the Reds set three franchise records when they collected 28 hits, 15 extra base hits, and 55 total bases in a 24–12 victory over the Colorado Rockies. Sean Casey and Jeffrey Hammonds also set individual franchise records with each scoring five runs.
On September 4, 1999, the Reds set a franchise record when they clubbed nine home runs in a 22–3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. Eight different Reds players homered in the game, the only time since 1901 that a team has achieved this.

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Indianapolis Indians | International League | Dave Miley |
| AA | Chattanooga Lookouts | Southern League | Phillip Wellman |
| A | Clinton LumberKings | Midwest League | Freddie Benavides |
| A | Rockford Reds | Midwest League | Mike Rojas |
| Rookie | GCL Reds | Gulf Coast League | Donnie Scott |
| Rookie | Billings Mustangs | Pioneer League | Russ Nixon |