CCIINNCCIINNNNAATTII RREEDDSS PPRREESSSS CCLLIIPPPPIINNGGSS AUGUST 26, 2014 THIS DAY IN REDS HISTORY: AUGUST 26, 1939 – THE CINCINNATI REDS AT BROOKLYN DODGERS DOUBLEHEADER AT EBBETS FIELD BECAME THE FIRST MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL GAMES BROADCAST ON TELEVISION. THE REDS SPLIT THE DOUBLEHEADER DROPPING GAME ONE 5-2 AND WINNING GAME TWO 6-1. CINCINNATI ENQUIRER Reds radio announcer Waite Hoyt died 30 years ago today Cincinnati Enquirer Waite Hoyt's happiest years were spent in Cincinnati. The popular Reds radio announcer from 1942-1965 was beloved by fans who cherished his play-by-play (always in the past tense) and his stories of being a teammate of Babe Ruth. Hoyt died 30 years ago today – Aug. 25, 1984 – just days shy of his 85th birthday. He is buried at Spring Grove Cemetery, a relatively short distance from his late Yankees manager Miller Huggins. His widow Betty Hoyt told The Enquirer in 2012 Waite had a genuine appreciation for Reds fans and considered Cincinnati home. She said though Waite enjoyed more success elsewhere as a player, he was always happiest in Cincinnati. Waite and Betty lived in the Highland Towers in Mount Adams. They married on March 5, 1983. Betty, a 1943 Western Hills High School graduate, still lives in the West Side house she's had since 1964. She will turn 89 in September. Waite, who was the ace of the 1927 New York Yankees pitching staff, was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969. He won 237 games during his career. He identified most with the 1927 Murderers' Row team and believed it was the greatest squad ever put together. "Nobody could change his mind on that one," Betty said. Waite was most identified with the Yankees from 1921-30. He also played with the Giants, Red Sox, Tigers, A's, Dodgers and Pirates during his career, which went from 1918-1938. Waite coined the phrase, "It's great to be young and a Yankee," according to his obituary in 1984. He was a pallbearer for Ruth at the Bambino's funeral in August 1948 at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. Waite started calling Reds games at Crosley Field on April 14, 1942, according to Reds historian Greg Rhodes. Hoyt called Reds games through 1965. Waite, who was born Sept. 9, 1899, later worked in the Reds TV booth for one season when the team moved to Riverfront Stadium, according to Rhodes. "For those of us who grew up with the Reds in the '40s, '50s and '60s, I don't think you can separate a Reds fan from listening to Waite," said Rhodes. "...Waite was just a very compelling announcer ...A great voice for radio – a great storyteller." Waite wanted to be an announcer in New York after his playing days in the late 1930s, but ex-players transitioning into baseball broadcasting weren't the norm. Yet, Waite had sung in vaudeville during his playing days in the winter in New York. Waite wasn't the typical ballplayer though. He was articulate and had a knack for the flair in front of an audience. In 2007, Waite's broadcast contributions were honored with a replica microphone bearing his last name on the concrete façade beneath the press box at Great American Ball Park. Betty attended the ceremony with pride that day and has kept several newspaper articles about Waite through the years. "The whole Baby Boomer generation and those that preceded us – Waite's our guy," Rhodes said. "...I think Waite's legacy is very secure. I don't think he will ever disappear from the story of Reds baseball." Craig Kimbrel on Aroldis Chapman: 'He's ridiculous' David Clark Atlanta Braves closer Craig Kimbrel, one of the best closers in baseball every season since he won National League Rookie of the Year honors in 2011, talked about how impressed he was watching Reds closer Aroldis Chapman over the weekend at GABP. From AJC.com's David O' Brien: "He's ridiculous," Braves closer Craig Kimbrel said Sunday morning before the series finale. "I mean, we expected him to be done yesterday, and for him to go an inning, then two innings, then come back last night…." Kimbrel smiled before adding, "You would think he'd be done today, but you never know. I mean, he's asking for the ball and he's getting it. He's been pretty impressive the last two nights." The hardest-throwing pitcher in baseball, Chapman leads the majors by a wide margin in strikeouts per nine innings with 17.65, ahead of Kimbrel (14.82). The 6-foot-4 left-hander has struck out at least two batters in 29 of his 42 appearances this season and struck out the side in 11 appearances. "He's got a special arm, that's for sure," Kimbrel said. Fay: Reds need major tweaks, but they won't happen soon John Fay Walt Jocketty will be back to supervise whatever retooling the Reds do this offseason. But don't expect any of it happen soon. More on that later. Jocketty would not comment on his job status. He is in the last year of three-year contract. Foxsports.com reported that Jocketty will return. Jocketty says he would like to be back. "Sure," he said. "Why wouldn't I?" A Reds insider says Jocketty will return if he wants to, so that pretty much cements Jocketty returning as general manager. Obviously, the Reds will need some major tweaking this offseason. They went into Monday's off day 63-68. Simple math says that time is getting very short to make any kind of run. If the second team in the National League Wild Card standings, the San Francisco Giants, go 17-16 over their last 33 games, the Reds would have to go 22-9 over their last 31 games just to tie. The next big deadline as far trades is Aug. 31. Players have to be traded by that date in order to be eligible for the postseason. The Reds did not make a trade at the non-waiver deadline of July 31. Jocketty said a deal is unlikely at this point. "We talked to some clubs," he said. "One of the guys (we talked about) got hurt. I don't feel very confident that we'll get anything done." If the Reds made a starting pitcher available -- whether it was Johnny Cueto, Mat Latos, Mike Leake or Alfredo Simon -- they would have to clear waivers to be moved. It's unlikely that any of the four would because they are relatively cheap for 2015. Jonathan Broxton, who is owed $9 million in '15, might make it through waivers. But owner Bob Castellini is reluctant to sign off on trades that might be viewed as "selling." The Reds are in a rather odd position as far as the rest of the season for a team that is likely to rebuild somewhat in the offseason. There are no young players to look. Kristopher Negron fits into that category, but he's not going to unseat Brandon Phillips at second or Zack Cozart at shortstop. Negron's done enough to show he can be a good bench player next year. There will no September call-up like Billy Hamilton was last year -- someone who sparks fan interest and is a major part of the plan for next season. "We're not sure on how many," Jocketty said. "We haven't made any final decisions." The most likely call-ups are the Triple-A players on the 40-man: Neftali Soto, Donald Lutz, Tucker Barnhart, Carlos Contreras, J.J. Hoover and Curtis Partch. Jocketty was in Pensacola watching the Double-A team on Monday. The Reds' top two pitching prospects -- right-handers Robert Stephenson and Michael Lorenzen -- are at Pensacola. Jocketty said neither will be a September call-up. Olbermann: Reinstating Rose a 'moral necessity' Ben Goldschmidt Cincinnatians need not be swayed on the Pete Rose reinstatement issue, but the infamous MLB ban got some national attention Monday night from ESPN's Keith Olbermann on his special, "Pete Rose: 25 Years in Exile." If anyone was still on the fence, Olbermann more than likely convinced them to pick a side -- more specifically, the side in favor of Rose. "There's one more thing that, to me, transforms Pete Rose's reinstatement from some kind of paternalistic generosity on the part of you and me into an absolute moral necessity," he said. In short, that thing is money. Olbermann points to the 2015 All-Star Game in Cincinnati. If an advertiser hypothetically offered some grand sum of money to sponsor a Pete Rose event, Olbermann suggests MLB would not turn it down. It's a hard accusation to deny, given that the scenario he painted has happened in the past. "What happened last time?" Olbermann said. "The 1999 All-Century Team event, sponsored by a credit card company with ballots at a chain of discount stores, and Pete Rose -- officially banned from baseball, who once got the Reds organization in trouble just by going on the field of one of their minor league farm clubs -- persona non grata, banned for life, Pete Rose was trotted out as if nothing had ever happened. Because the credit card company wanted the whole All-Century Team there. Even him." According to Olbermann, Rose was denied that same right to stand by the All-Century Team before the All-Star Game three months prior. But Olbermann wasn't particularly nice to Rose, either (which may have actually increased his credibility).