The Machine: A Hot Team, a Legendary Season, and a Heart-stopping World Series: The Story of the 1975 Cincinnati Reds by Joe Posnanski

The Machine: A Hot Team, a Legendary Season, and a Heart-stopping World Series: The Story of the 1975 Cincinnati Reds Reviews

• 
  James

  If Pete Rose ever slides from the outcast villain category over to the forgiven side of the ledger, he’ll owe at least some small debt to Joe Posnanski’s The Machine. After two decades of reading and hearing only about the myriad ways Rose destroyed his legacy, we are reminded how he built it up in the first place. Here’s Rose, flying at us straight out of the cover, cocky, confident, and competitive, driving his teammates to glory in one of the greatest seasons in baseball history.
  
  Posnanski, who was just eight years old in 1975 when the Reds topped the Red Sox in an unforgettable World Series, cites Rose in his acknowledgments as “the stimulus for this book.” Rose, as well as most of his teammates and several other contemporaries, discussed the Big Red Machine with Posnanski, who weaved their stories together into a diary of the ’75 season.
  
  The Hit King, who now spends his days signing autographs in Las Vegas, was still Charlie Hustle back in the mid-‘70s, inspiring teammates like Joe Morgan to get the most out of themselves, while taking rookies like Will McEnaney out to dinner. But most of all, he was a damn good hitter. Rose batted .317 that year and led the NL in runs and doubles while never taking a day off even though the Reds won their division by 20 games.
  
  As laid out by manager Sparky Anderson in spring training, Rose was one of the club’s four superstars. The others: Morgan, Johnny Bench, and Tony Perez. The rest of the team? “Turds.” That’s what Anderson called them. He made no pretense about playing favorites. He also didn’t disguise his disdain for light-hitting third baseman John Vuckovich, whom he referred to as “Balsa.”
  
  In early May, with the team battling to stay above .500, Anderson asked Rose to move to third base. The decision was something of a stunner at the time, with Anderson defying general manager Bob Howsam’s wishes on the subject. It eventually allowed George Foster a chance to play every day in left field, adding an extra power hitter to the lineup. And it got Balsa out of the batting order and shortly thereafter off the team. Looking back, it was one of the key decisions that allowed the Reds to dominate and decimate their competition.
  
  Another of Anderson’s “genius” moves was his aggressive mixing and matching of relief pitchers to game situation. When ace starter Don Gullett was injured late in a one-sided game by a line drive off his thumb, Anderson devised his bullpen strategy of changing pitchers whenever he felt in his gut that he needed to do so. He became known as Captain Hook, going 45 consecutive games without allowing his pitchers to complete a start. His pitchers may have hated him, and several of them seemed resentful for never getting much credit despite compiling a 3.37 team ERA, third best in the NL, but there were only four asses Anderson kissed, and they belonged to his superstar hitters.
  
  Posnanski, too, rides the hero quartet heavily throughout The Machine. There’s Rose and his drive to live up to his father’s precedent as the toughest man in town. Johnny Bench, who was so in love with the idea of being a baseball star as a youngster that he would practice signing autographs at the Texaco station in his tiny Oklahoma hometown. Just prior to the ’75 season he concluded a whirlwind courtship by getting married to a woman he’d met just two months earlier. Their marriage fell apart by the end of the season. Morgan was inspired by his father to be the most complete ballplayer he could be, and he prided himself on being able to beat a team in every way they could be beaten. He won the first of his back-to-back MVP awards that season, leading the NL with a .466 on-base percentage, stealing 67 bases, and earning his third Gold Glove. And finally Perez, the team leader who was almost traded in the offseason to plug the hole at third base. “Big Doggie” loved to kid his teammates in the clubhouse almost as much as he loved to drive in runs in clutch situations.
  
  While we learn a lot about those four, it would have been nice to go further in-depth with guys like Foster, who was blossoming into a superstar in his own right. Most references to him note his penchant for Bible-reading, but we don’t really see him breaking out other than a random home run here or there.
  
  Posnanski sets most of the chapters in the context of the wider world, where the Vietnam War was drawing to an end, President Ford was plotted against twice, and Jimmy Hoffa disappeared. Muhammad Ali fought Joe Frazier, Bobby Unser won the Indy 500, and Evel Knievel retired. Most of that didn’t do much for me. I’d have rather read more about some of the lesser Reds players. The “turds.”
  
  The non-baseball history, however, doesn’t detract from the book overall. It’s an entertaining reminder of a time before free agency, when a club could compile a roster of superstars and beat back all comers. Anyone who followed baseball in the 1970s should enjoy this book. Reds fans, who haven’t had a lot to cheer consistently since the heyday of the Big Red Machine, are going to want to read it more than once. If you bring a copy to Las Vegas, Rose will probably even sign it for you. For a price.
• 
  Harold Kasselman

  Sparky Anderson a no nonsense, conservative and old school manager addressed his 1975 Reds team as the "royalty and the turds". He pointed to Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Tony Perez, and especially Joe Morgan as royalty. The rest were just turds unless and until they became superstars like the former. Well that club became arguably the greatest lineup in baseball history.(it was in my opinion). This wonderfully easy to read and entertaining work emphasizes that season and the diverse personalities that made The Big Red machine. For me it gave me a an insider's feel for what it was like in the club house and the dugout of that team. Sure, I saw that team many times on television, but I really didn't know too much about the players' personalities. This book gave me insight into guys like Ken Griffey, who felt he had been sacrificed by his manager to benefit Joe Morgan at his own expense. There was the huge ego of Bench and the petty jealousy of the man who would burn inside if a reporter went to Rose or Morgan for a quote before him. There was the happy go lucky personality of Perez who instigated the incessant needling amongst the players that made the clubhouse so loose but, who never got the same attention as the others. He didn't really care-not so his wife. Concepcion was always on the cusp of stardom and needed to feel he was an equal. There are some very funny lines in the book that had me belly laughing For example, in pure Rose speak, he rants to a reporter about Luis Tiant's many deceptive deliveries, "I don't give a s*** about that. Hell his head could fall off while he's pitching,it doesn't mean anything to me. I'm looking at the ball."
  And then there was this need to win especially with Morgan, and the refusal to lose by Rose that led to one of the best World Series ever played. It was like a Hitchcock drama as Posnansky compares it especially with a three rain delay between the crucial last two games. It was a series the Reds knew they were destined to win and they did so in such an intense and dramatic way.(maybe if Jim Rice had been able to play destiny would have made 1975 the end of the Babe Ruth curse). I found the book thoroughly enjoyable and I reject the claims of those reviewers that think the book is for novices. It captures the team's personality, the great run of the team in the 70's and gives just enough cultural history to enrich the story without getting bogged down in ancillary issues.
  
  
• 
  Jacob Baehner

  Man, I love baseball and I love the Reds. This book was so well written and Posnanski does a great job recounting the 1975 season. I can only hope to see such a season and World Series win in my lifetime.
  
  My favorite quote didn’t even come from the book, it came from the afterword:
  
  “The big red machine towered over my childhood. That is at the heart of why I wrote this book. I grew up in Cleveland, and I was eight years old in 1975. Sometimes, it seems to me, we all just want baseball to forever feel like it does when we are eight years old. The good players seem great. the great players seem legendary. And the legendary players are like flashes of light."
• 
  Taylor

  I have been a student of baseball my entire life. Sometimes I think that's the curse of being not-athletic. Off the top of my head I can tell you that George Brett had 1,595 career RBIs. That said, I could have named the 1975 Reds lineup before cracking this book. I knew of the unrelenting drive that made Pete Rose 'Charlie Hustle', the brash ego and abrasive personality that made Joe Morgan so easily hated during his playing days -and later his announcing days, the cocky front and country boy heart of Johnny Bench and the supporting roles that were accepted by other members of the Machine (Perez, Griffey, Foster, Geronimo) for sake of the greater good.
  
  I had two reasons for buying this book. Last Summer my beloved St. Louis Cardinals were in a bitter division race with the Cincinnati Reds. On a hot August night in Cincinnati, a war of words between Cards catcher Yadier Molina and Reds 2B Brandon Phillips engulfed into a pier six brawl that included not only players, but managers and coaches. I'm quite confident that broadcasters Marty Brenneman (Reds) and Mike Shannon (Cards) would have joined the fracus had they not been confined to their respective boothes. I thought maybe rehashing stories of the Big Red Machine and their arrogance would help stoke my internal hatred for the franchise. Also, I enjoyed reading author Joe Posnanski's columns during his time with my local Kansas City Star.
  
  This book did not reveal anything new about this great team or its cast of characters. I can relate, however, to Posnanski who had a lifelong ambition of writing a book about the iconic team of his youth. I was born about the same time Tony Perez was traded away to Montreal, which began the disintegration of the dynasty. The baseball dynasty of my lifetime would presumably be the New York Yankees of 1996-2003. If that team is ever the subject of a book a quarter of a century from now it would be much tougher painting a colorful picture of a team so devoid of charisma. Although the team actually won six more games than the Machine -and included bonadide Hall of Famers Derek Jeter & Mariano Rivera -it would be hard to make the personalities of Scott Brosius, Chuck Knoblach, Tino Martinez, Paul O'Neill, Chad Curtis, Jorge Posada and Bernie Williams seem sexy. Maybe Posnanski will be up for that task.
• 
  Brooks

  I will start by saying that I don’t care about the 1975 Reds. They had played and retired by the time I was old enough to follow baseball, and I’ve only ever known Pete Rose as a gambler, and Joe Morgan as an announcer. For that reason I wasn't sure I would find this as enjoyable as
  Joe Posnanski's other writings. I needn't have worried. As you read, you feel like you’re on Joe Poz’s shoulder as he interviews these players for the book. It definitely reads like a memoir, not a documentary – and I think that’s intentional, and a good thing. This is a book about a team that dominated the author’s childhood years. He can’t possibly tell this story objectively, and it’s a better story because he doesn’t even try.
  
  I went to one of Joe Poz’s book signing events and when he talked about this book, he talked about how different it was from
  The Soul of Baseball A Road Trip Through Buck O'Neil's America. Where The Soul of Baseball was a personal story that he felt very deeply about, The Machine was just a fun book that he wanted to write. I think that’s evident upon reading this book. This book defines an ‘easy read’ – a really good baseball story written by a really good baseball writer.
• 
  Justin Sanders

  Never meet your heroes, and never read about them, either, apparently. Pete is Pete; you know what you're getting with him, and overall, I like him, love his attitude toward the game, and wholeheartedly believe he belongs in the Hall. Otherwise, what I learned is, Johnny was a jerk (actually knew that, from a personal encounter), Joe is a jerk, and Sparky is a jerk. He called all of his "non-star" players "turds," if that gives you any idea.
  
  Tony Perez was a good guy, though.
  
  I enjoyed how Posnanski mixes in pop culture and news items of the day into the story, to give the reader an idea of what else was going on in the country while the Reds were dominating baseball. But overall, the book was actually kind of stressful to read, because it just made me so strongly dislike some of the guys that we Cincy natives have been conditioned to idolize.
  
  I'd like to see Pos write a similar book about the 1990 team. Maybe THOSE guys really are lovable.
• 
  Bradley

  4.5 stars, terrific read but not quite unputdownable. Still, if you enjoy baseball and history written with flare, The Machine is a great choice. There are several teams in the conversation for best ever. The 1927 murderer's row Yankees, Charlie Finley's 70s swingin' A's, The Boys of Summer Dodgers etc. The Big Red Machine of '75 and '76 is most certainly in the conversation.
• 
  Josh Hitch

  Perfect baseball book about one of the best teams ever the 1975 Reds. Great insights on the strong personalities on the team. Details how after a few changes during the season they dominated the year til the World Series where they had their hands full with a game Boston Red Sox team.
  
  Highly recommended, a very conversational narrative that reads well.
• 
  J-Reads

  I don't think anyone can bring out the joy of the game quite like Joe Posnanski does and his deep love for it is present on every page with his spectacular writing. If you like baseball you cant go wrong with Joe.
• 
  Luke

  There's a pretty wide consensus that Joe Posnanski is the best sportswriter in America today, and I think that's probably right--more than that, though, he's just a plain good writer. No one else captures a poignant moment better; no one else dispatches with stupidity with more verve and grace; no one else offers his unique balance between cutting edge sabermetric geekery and deep historical appreciation, especially when it comes to baseball. And what I love best is when Posnanski writes about old-time baseball ("old-time," to me, being anything before the late '80s, when I first got hooked on the sport), which is why reading The Machine was a particular treat.
  
  Prior to reading the book, I knew next to nothing about the 1975 Reds--I knew Joe Morgan as the annoying baseball announcer who doesn't believe in stats (inspiring the popular website "Fire Joe Morgan"), and I knew Pete Rose as that bitter old guy who was banned from baseball for betting on his own team. I knew literally almost nothing about guys like Johnny Bench and Tony Perez. Posnanski doesn't shy away from the less palatable aspects to these players' personalities, evident even back then, but he does capture them at that time in their lives when they were at the height of their powers, before everything else transpired. When he's at his best, Posnanski paints scenes and brings a vivid cast of characters to life in a way that feels almost novelistic. I was definitely hooked.
  
  The problem with the book (and the reason I'm only giving this 3 stars, though it's more of a 3 and a half) is that the story of the Reds is still just the story of a great baseball team--there isn't necessarily a strong narrative arc beyond that or any kind of compelling thematic underpinning. Posnanski was meticulous with his research, and he's compiled some great anecdotes about the team, but at the end of the day, much of the book feels like just that: a collection of anecdotes. What works really well in Poz's essay-length pieces is a bit harder to sustain over the full duration of a 260-page book. What Posnanski ended up doing to give some sense of a "big picture," is inserting, every couple of chapters, brief snippets of what else was going on in the world in 1975. Didn't really work for me.
  
  Did all of this take away from my enjoyment of the book? Not really. But for those who aren't big-time baseball fans to begin with, The Soul of Baseball might be a better entree into Posnanski's work.
• 
  Bob

  Just want to say out of the gate I am 45 and remember this team The Big Red Machine and I hated them. With that out of the way, this is possibly the worst baseball book I have ever read. And I have read a lot of them. Dont know if the author has an axe to grind. He claims to think this is the greatest team ever but he sure goes out of his way to trash almost everyone except Pete Rose. I love in the locker room type books, but this book gave no insight what so ever. All it was was having the big stars belittle everyone else and pat themselves on the back. I used to like Sparky Anderson. Now I think he was a horrible human being, not just as a manager. Even if only half the stuff in this book is accurate it makes my hatred for Joe Morgan go off the charts. If you like locker room books and gossip read this. You will come away with no new knowledge of the game of baseball. But you will hate Johhny Bench even more.
• 
  Rob O'd

  Joe Posnanski is one of my favorite baseball/sports writers, but this book was pretty disappointing. He did not do a very good job developing the main character's back stories with any sort of depth. It was a lot of "Joe yelled at Pete. Pete made fun of Tony. Sparky's stomach was upset." The book followed the Reds' schedule, and did not really waver from that. The only person of interest whose background that was really explored was Pete Rose, but most of it was already public knowledge.
• 
  David Blankenship

  The mid-1970s Reds were my older brother's favorite team. I memorized their lineup (Rose, Griffey, Morgan, etc) and they became my favorite team, too. While I grew up and moved on in my fandom, this team has stuck with me. This book tells the story of their legendary 1975 season. While at times it is a bit repetitive, it is still a good telling of what made that season great.
• 
  Chris Oleson

  I've been a huge baseball fan my entire life. And maybe I'm olding because I still know more about 1970s baseball than the current rosters. I hated the Reds of the 1970s because I was an American league guy, but damn they were a great great team.
  
  And this is a great book: well-written, entertaining, insightful: a stand-up triple to the gap by Joe Morgan.
• 
  Lance

  This was an excellent book on one of the best teams in recent baseball history. Full review to come...
• 
  Fred

  This is a fun, quick trip down memory lane and a delight for anyone who remembers the Big Red Machine. Posnanski is well qualified to tell this story. He is a talented sports writer who does his homework interviewing all the main characters. He places the season in the larger context of baseball and culture in 1975. He reminds us of the pressure on the Reds that season. As good as they were, they had never won the World Series (losing in '70 and '72) and Sparky Anderson was feeling it. He also spends time fleshing out each of the main characters, the four stars -- Bench Rose, Morgan and Perez -- as well as the other essential players -- Geronimo, Griffey, Foster and Concepcion. There was a clear pecking order and as good as they all were, Anderson made it clear that the stars were the stars and had complete freedom. No one else did. They had a magnificent season, playing as well as any team could. And it culminated in one of the greatest World Series ever. It is an enjoyable read for any baseball fan.
• 
  Rodger Payne

  Posnanski is a talented writer and I generally enjoyed this book. I was a young teen during the summer of 1975 and the Big Red Machine dominated much baseball media coverage. It was fun to be reminded of contemporary historical events and pop culture phenomenon. Posnanski's writing is somewhat informed by contemporary baseball analytics, but this is not emphasized in the work. For example, he briefly discussed Joe Morgan's great ability to get on base and wrote frequently about Sparky Anderson's reliance upon his deep bullpen. However, Posnanski didn't provide a lot of statistical information and comparisons. This is a book brimming with anecdotes and observations about personality. Another 30 pages of more analytical material woven through the narrative would have been enjoyable for me.
• 
  Alex

  Very good book about one of the best teams of all time, and certainly my lifetime. Posnanski is a great writer who really lets you feel like you are hearing the banter between Rose, Morgan and the rest that drove this team. Learned a lot about the team too, including when (and how) the lineup came together, and how Sparky used the bullpen which I had always credited to LaRussa much later (who really took the use of the bullpen to L-R matchups).
  
  There’s definitely some stories repeated early in the book which could have been fixed, and probably too much time spent on regular season games relative to the playoffs (especially THIS World Series) but altogether a great read by a great writer.
• 
  Cindy

  A thorough study of the players and manager of the 1975 Reds told as if the reader is an actual witness. I was/am a fan and still learned a lot. I did wonder how the author could assume to know what the players thought in various situations. He explains that in his author's notes. He interviewed not only them but several reporters and others who were closely involved. The style is entertaining, told like a story. A very good treatment, especially the final part where he talks about the players after that year. He handled Pete Rose very well and did a good job explaining why (as I knew) Pete should be remembered for much more than betting on baseball.
• 
  Mike Glaser

  Perfect book to read for a Red’s fan just before the baseball season starts. Great anecdotes and it was just so much fun to go through that season again. Best quote: Pete Rose - I ‘ve written more books than I’ve read.
• 
  Frank Murtaugh

  A fun trip back to 1975 and a summer well spent with the best baseball team of my lifetime. Posnanski loves baseball almost as much as I do, so the story is told with proper reverence and appropriate respect for the outsized talent (and personalities) that made the Big Red Machine unforgettable.
• 
  Bret Eubank

  If Joe is writing about baseball and has time to do this amount of research, you know it's gonna be good. Rose, Bench, Perez and others come to life in this page-turner that captures the magic of a dynasty and life off the field as well.