Greetings Baseball Fans and Ballpark Aficionados! I’m here with your complete, info-rich Great American Ball Park parking guide! Below I’ve listed a bunch of great tips for finding your ideal parking spot at the home of the Cincinnati Reds.

Whether you want to go cheap, be near pre- or post-game entertainment, or have an easy out afterward, the Reds, Cincinnati and even nearby towns have you covered.

There’s a lot here, so I’m breaking it down for you:

Getting To Great American Ball Park By Car
Cincinnati Reds Parking Lots + Garages
Downtown Cincinnati Parking (+ The Connector)
Parking in Newport, KY
Parking in Covington, KY
Using The Southbank Shuttle
TANK Park and Rides

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Great American Ball Park Parking Tip #1) Arriving By Car + Traffic

Indeed, I would rate access to the Cincinnati ballpark as “excellent”.

There are three interstates that border Great American, I-75 to the west, and I-71 and I-471 to the east. I-71 runs through downtown parallel to 3rd Street, and joins with I-75 going into Kentucky. Here’s the map to help you visualize it.

All three interstates have preferred exits to get to the ballpark, which the Reds detail on their website. Which exit you use depends on your parking choice, and since you have plenty of options you can plan the route accordingly from where you are. Usually the ballpark exits are the most congested. That said, even if you do hit stopped traffic, it’s not likely to last very long.

Your biggest problem might be if you decide to park in downtown Cincinnati, especially during the workday. There are lights at almost every intersection and many of the numbered streets are one way. You also may have a tougher time finding an available parking space.

In my visits, I haven’t seen much congestion outside of Pete Rose Way, Second Street and Mehring Way near the ballpark, which is to be expected on game days. Most of downtown is banks and business buildings, so near game time people clear out and there isn’t a lot of traffic.

Where Reds game parking is available and cheap!

If you decide to park across the Ohio River in Kentucky—in Newport or Covington—heading south especially you shouldn’t have to deal with much traffic at all, in or out. I’ll cover those in a bit.

Exiting the ballpark, the heart of the traffic is underneath the ballpark onto 2nd Street, and the East Garage onto Pete Rose Way. Interestingly, I saw very few people turning from Pete Rose Way onto the Taylor Southgate Bridge after a game. So if you know your way around downtown Newport that could be a time saver. According to a police officer I talked to, the easiest exits are further from the ballpark (which would include Kentucky) and from downtown.

The city has named nearby streets after Reds greats; for reference Pete Rose Way East on the north side of the ballpark is Riverside Drive east of the park; Joe Nuxhall Way is Main Street south of Second Street; and Johnny Bench Way is Broadway Street between Great American and U.S. Bank Arena.

Now, here are your parking choices…

Great American Ball Park Parking Tip #2) Cincinnati Reds Parking

With a strong clue to the garage’s location.

The official Great American Ball Park parking lots are right next to and underneath the ballpark, and on their site the Reds supply a useful PDF map of the rest of the parking lots in the area.

The Reds pre-paid lots are generally for season ticket holders, so sometimes tickets from third party sellers will include this. They tend to be the most expensive, but they’re not terribly pricey compared to some cities. Lots open three hours before game time.

If you’re using the Reds’ official parking lots, it’s a good idea to order a pass ahead of time. There are usually spaces available, but in my travels I saw a lot of “pass only” signs at the entrances. You can buy a pass on the Reds’ website.

The Central Riverfront Garage underneath the ballpark is easily accessible from Pete Rose Way coming from the east and Mehring Way coming from the west. There are plenty of spaces, but it takes a while to exit, so you might want to kill some time in a nearby eatery first.

From the East Garage you can go to the fifth floor and use the walkway past the Heritage Bank Center. It’s less visually appealing, but it’s less crowded with fans and safer, and leads to the Machine Room restaurant entrance. The East Garage is also slow to exit, possibly the slowest of all of them, at least from what I could tell. It is cheaper before the game rate starts, whether you can park there early I don’t know. Central Parking was silent on that when I asked them.

The best thing about football is that it helps people park for baseball.

There are also official Reds lots at Paycor Stadium (Bengals) west of the ballpark. These are slightly cheaper and not much further away, and there are usually ample spaces here. Coming from the west, the stadium lots should be good for convenience and a relatively easy exit. They are also the only lots where I saw any tailgating.

If you’re bringing a busload of folks, the city will let you park the bus at the Riverfront Transit Center for a reasonable price, and it’s just across the street. It’s underground though, and a hike up a lot of steps to the street. I saw a lot of elderly folks huffing and puffing and felt bad for them.

If you have car trouble after the game, you can contact AAA at (513) 762-3222, and they’ll jump start you or fix your flat tire. Not sure what that will cost you if you’re not a member.

That’s just Reds parking. Since there are so many additional parking options for Reds games, I’ve broken them down into locations: downtown Cincinnati, Newport, and Covington. All three have their advantages.

Great American Ball Park Parking Tip #3) Downtown Cincinnati Parking.

Parking for a sawbuck is one reason I love GABP.

Very close to the ballpark are a couple of surface lots—one at 3rd and Main, and one at 204 Broadway—that are very convenient to the ballpark and cost about the same as the Reds lots. The Broadway lot is under an overpass, protecting your car from the elements, and it may be a slightly easier exit than the Reds lots.

North of the ballpark, there are ample lots and garages. The general rule is that the closest ones to the ballpark are the most expensive; lots on 3rd Street can cost close to parking at the ballpark. Since it’s only a block or two before prices start dropping, it’s worth looking for place to park on 5th or 6th Streets. Broadway and Main Streets lead directly to the ballpark, so the closer you are to those the better. You can find some very cheap lots just a few blocks away.

A word of caution though. You can find stories of unsafe areas in the Over The Rhine section of Cincinnati, so I wouldn’t leave my car too far north of the ballpark.

I don’t know if it’s still this cheap. I doubt it. But there’s other advantages!

Fountain Square, on the corner of 5th and Vine, is both convenient to the ballpark and inexpensive; it’s also a stop for the (free) Connector light rail, which I’ll talk about shortly. The game rate starts about three hours before game time. Fountain Square is an especially popular spot for Reds fans; it’s cheap, large and well-lit. There is also good dining nearby and often entertainment in the Square itself.

Something to remember about parking in the heart of downtown though. Great American Ball Park is at the foot of a hill, so most any place you park downtown is going to be an uphill walk after the game. You might want to park near the light rail and use that going back…it’s free but it will be crowded after the game.

The best part is, you don’t even need a monthly pass!

Finally, in Sawyer Point, a park east of the ballpark past the Purple People Bridge (more on that in a bit), there are lots that are very cheap on game nights and allow for a fairly easy exit eastbound. They’re not super close, but you can take a fine walk along the banks of the Ohio River to get to the game.

Here is a favorite parking hack of mine that you can use. There are several lots near the ballpark that have a much lower rate before the game rate kicks in. I believe 3rd and Main is one. If you get to such a lot earlier in the day, you can nail a spot close to the ballpark for a fraction of the price.

So what to do then to kill time? Lots! Take the Southbank Shuttle to Newport-On-The-Levee and enjoy all of the entertainment options there. Or use the (free!) Cincinnati Bell Connector to several attractions downtown, like the Findlay Market. Or visit the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame. There’s no shortage of fun options…Cincy is a cool town.

Light rail is your friend!

Then head back to the ballpark for the game, and afterwards you have a short walk to your car. And you paid a fraction of what everyone else paid to park there.

I heard this next tip from Jake Cain at Ballpark Savvy, who lives in Cincinnati and knows the area well. There is a lot at International Friendship Park on Riverside Drive, on the riverfront near Montgomery Inn. It’s definitely a hike but free if you can land a spot.

Parking downtown on the street for free is also no longer an option; meter enforcement runs until 9:00 PM and on Sundays. You could feed the meter until then, but it’s probably not worth it. They are free on holidays though, something to remember for Memorial Day, Independence Day or Labor Day.

If you don’t want to spend time looking for a cheap or convenient spot, you can reserve a spot ahead of time with my friends at SpotHero…which I always highly recommend for any ballgame.

One final word about parking downtown—it might not be a good idea for weekday games. Garages even at the ballpark and metered spots will likely be filled, and you might not have much luck searching along the riverfront either. If you’re coming for a weekday game, parking in Kentucky and using the Southbank Shuttle is probably a better bet. So let’s discuss that…

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Great American Ball Park Parking Tip #4) Newport, KY

Not just parking, but parking parking.

The most popular place in Newport to park for games is the garages next to the Newport-On-The-Levee entertainment complex. There is an indoor garage there, some outside spaces, and the Aqua Garage next door; they are all very affordable. There is usually ample parking.

The Levee lots are easily accessible from either the Taylor-Southgate Bridge or the Dan C. Beard Bridge (I-471). Coming from the east it’s a fairly easy out onto I-471.

From the Levee lots you have a couple of choices. Either walk across the pedestrian-only Purple People Bridge (the official name is the Newport Southbank Bridge, but you wouldn’t know it from signage) to get to the ballpark. You can also walk across the Taylor-Southgate Bridge, but I did this and found it highly unnerving. Or you can hop on the Southbank Shuttle, which I’ll talk about in a bit.

It’s nice and purple, and people do like to use it, but it’s a hike from the ballpark.

It’s a pretty long walk, this; it takes some time to cross the pedestrian bridge obviously and then you still have a few blocks to get to the ballpark. It’s not something I would do just to save money; there are lots almost as cheap much closer. The walk is good if you enjoy a scenic view—it is that—or you’d like to burn off some calories after the game or before partying in Newport.

If the Newport garage is full, which isn’t likely, there are metered spaces down near the riverfront that are relatively cheap, but you need to climb up and then back down a bunch of steps to get to the PP Bridge. Better to use lots or numbered streets in Newport–these are also just a few bucks, but you’ll want to use the Southbank Shuttle from this distance. Don’t park there on a street-cleaning day.

Newport is a happening spot; there are multiple places to eat or drink and Newport-On-The-Levee is a tourist center with lots to do for kids of all ages. If you plan on post-game good times with your Reds baseball, especially with the kids, Newport is the place to put your car.

$$$ Tightwad Tip! $$$ – You can save a few bucks by arriving at the Newport lots before the game rate starts. The game rate isn’t bad, but parking there before a couple hours before game time is a little less and it’s good for the whole night.

Great American Ball Park Parking Tip #5) Covington, KY

Let this bridge here be your landmark.

Covington, across the John Roebling and Clay Wade Bailey Bridges, isn’t the tourist center that Newport is. In fact, it’s not even close. But that can actually be a good thing if you’re just looking to get to a game and leave afterward.

The Southbank Shuttle runs through Covington…I’ll talk about that next, I promise…and there is a free park and ride for it under the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge.

There isn’t much in the way of major parking lots east and near the foot of the Roebling Bridge, but there are plenty of inexpensive parking meters there. There are spots along the river, and also along Greenup Street, Park Place, and 3rd Street, which are just steps from the Roebling Bridge. There are also quite a few restaurants nearby. (I’m a Skyline Chili fan, but you have several other choices too.)

Unfortunately Covington wised up to people parking there for Reds games, so meters are enforced until 9:00 PM. Still, they’re not terribly expensive. Meters are inactive on Sundays, so chances are good you can find free parking for a game.

On the west side of the bridge are quite a few garages, but they aren’t thought of highly by Googlers, so take that for what you will.

This pretty sweet view is courtesy of the Roebling Bridge.

From the street spots in Covington you can walk across the Roebling Bridge. It’s not as long a walk as the Purple People Bridge from Newport. Again, it isn’t as pedestrian-friendly as the Purple People Bridge (I wouldn’t be able to do it with kids), but it isn’t too bad and it’s historic. Honestly though, using the Shuttle is easier.

Covington isn’t the prettiest of areas, but I didn’t feel terribly unsafe there. It’s also not too long a walk along a scenic walkway via 4th Street to get over to Newport and its attractions. I didn’t try it at night though, so I don’t know how well that works. For a day game, it should be just fine.

Traffic is a little easier leaving Newport, but it’s far easier to exit Covington than from one of the Reds’ lots.

Great American Ball Park Parking Tip #6) Southbank Shuttle.

Shuttles like this were made for savvy blog readers like you.

Okay, so I’ve mentioned the Southbank Shuttle a few times; I love it for the possibilities.

The Southbank Shuttle is TANK’s (Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky) tourist-friendly trolley bus service. It circulates from Covington through Cincinnati and ends at Newport, or back in the other direction, for just a buck (!) as of this writing.

The trolley starts additional service two hours before the game and runs every 15 minutes. So you shouldn’t have to wait long for it. On game nights, the shuttle will run until a half hour after the game.

The Shuttle is more than worth the small price to ride it; it spares you both the indignity of high-priced parking and post-ballgame traffic, which is far easier to deal with in Kentucky. Not to mention avoiding the lengthy walk across the river and a scary bridge.

You can often find free street parking in Covington or Newport and for a dollar get a ride to the game, but there’s also plenty of other affordable options to park near the shuttle. As I’ve said, there is even a TANK Park and Ride location in Covington; it’s at 3rd Street at Pete Rose Pier and parking is free. There is a Shuttle stop right there. Cheap as can be and easy peezy.

They do know that “Ball Park” is two words in Cincinnati, don’t they?

With the demand for folks who need a ride to the game, TANK will provide additional big buses to get to the ballpark. These buses helpfully have “Great American Ball Park” displayed as the destination. They will stop at TANK dropoff points near the Shuttle stops, and are the same price. You need exact change on the bus or the Shuttle.

Be sure that you get on the right Shuttle after the game; the destination will be at the top of the bus. Also, the small trolleys are a bit rickety; if you prefer a smoother ride try one of the big buses.

Again, I love the Southbank Shuttle…it makes it possible for you to both avoid traffic and enjoy some entertainment and dining options in Kentucky. Take advantage of this one folks.

$$$ Tightwad Tip! $$$ – There are a few establishments in the Newport-On-The-Levee complex (and you might find one or two in Covington) that will pay for your Southbank Shuttle ride to the game and back with a purchase. It’s already cheap, but if you’re buying something anyway it could save you another couple of bucks.

Great American Ball Park Parking Tip #7) TANK Park + Rides

Have you opened your eyes to the wonders of Covington yet?

Finally, this could be a useful one for you on occasion. TANK has a fleet of buses with routes throughout Covington and Newport; nearly all of them stop at the Covington Transit Center at the foot of the Roebling Bridge, a half block from a Shuttle stop. Many of them also stop in downtown Cincinnati and in Newport. The longer routes have free park and rides in northern Kentucky, like the aforementioned 3rd Street/Pete Rose Pier location.

Several TANK routes can take you within a fly ball of the ballpark, but check the schedule and make sure you can use it to get back. Just one example: the #8 Eastern Avenue/Crestview Hills bus stops at 4th and Walnut, about a block and a half from GABP.  The last bus departs around 11:30 PM, so you should easily make it.

Bus stops here? Check. Goes to Cincinnati? Check. All good!

For most games, if you’re coming from Northern Kentucky there’s probably a free park and ride you can use; this can save you mucho bucks on gas with TANK being a cheap ride. TANK also has discounted fares for seniors and handicapped folks, and gives free rides to Northern Kentucky University and Gateway students and staff. If you’re staying in a hotel that will shuttle you to the CVG Airport, you can get on a bus there, and get to the ballpark for almost nothing.

Being a great money-saver aside, TANK buses do make a lot of stops. You might find it to be not worth the hassle. Just putting it out there if you want to go really cheap.

There’s also the Queen City Metro option as far as bus rides go, but not a lot of people use it. I’ll talk about non-driving options in a future post.

Having the ballpark in view is always a plus.

There you go; all you need to know and then some for parking for Cincinnati Reds games at this great American ballpark. <grin> I hope you found these tips useful, and if you’ve got a great one to share, feel free to drop me a line!

There’s plenty more tips for your next visit to the home of the Reds on this website, by the way. Check out some seating tips here, here, and here, learn about some great food items at the Cincinnati ballpark, and what to know when you’re bringing the kids.

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The Great American Ball Park food menu isn’t overly complicated. The Reds don’t have the ridiculous amount of options that, say, the Mets do. I didn’t see a sushi or lobster roll stand there. But there is a decent variety, and you should be able to find something that fits your taste, especially if you’re an American and like hot dogs at the game.

There’s also several stands that celebrate the local chains, and each one has something that makes for great ballpark food.

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In case you’d like a hot dog with your cheese.

Great American Ball Park Food Tip #1: The Skyline Chili Cheese Coney. If there’s a go-to item at Great American, at least judging by the number of them I saw being purchased, it’s probably the Skyline cheese and chili dog.

Skyline chili is a very popular chain that can be found all over Cincinnati, known for the local style of chili—which is probably different from the way most people outside of Cincinnati know it, with both cocoa and cinnamon as ingredients(!). There are several Skyline stands at Great American.

The Skyline Chili Cheese Coney is a small hot dog with a generous amount of Cincinnati-style chili and a nice helping of shredded cheddar piled on top. They’re not very long, only about four inches or so…and they’re economically priced so most people get two of them.

Definitely get a fork and some napkins for this one, but it’s good eats.

Buffalo chicken fries with bleu cheese. My day is complete.

Great American Ball Park Food Tip #2: Fry Box Buffalo Chicken Fries. The Fry Box stand at Great American ranks near the top of fry stands I’ve seen at ballparks, and remember I live in the home of Chickie’s and Pete’s in Philly.

Put Buffalo-style chicken on cheesecake and it would probably taste good. But put it on hand cut fried potatoes…which is pretty much nature’s perfect food…and add a generous helping of ranch dressing and blue cheese, and you’ve got a classic why-have-I-been-settling-so-much-in-my-life ballpark dish. When you need a fork to eat your loaded fries, they’ve been done right.

OK, so maybe it isn’t the healthiest thing, so walk it off along the riverfront…

Most pizza chains would need a plastic pizza replica to make their pizza look this good.

Great American Ball Park Food Tip #3: LaRosa’s Pizza. I would be giving LaRosa’s a shoutout anyway, since I visited one while I was in town and the folks there couldn’t have been nicer to me. But it’s pretty good pizza in its own right, and I’m a South Jersey pizza snob. I live in an area with several chains: Domino’s, Papa John’s, Little Caesar’s, Pizza Hut. LaRosa’s is easily better than all of them, and I hope they open a few in New Jersey.

At Great American LaRosa’s is represented with a few stands in the upper and lower concourses; you can get a plain slice, a slice with pepperoni, and a Montgomery Inn BBQ sandwich for some reason. According to the Reds website, they sell a calzone too, but I didn’t see it. Don’t be put off by the congealing slices that have been sitting on display for a while; your slice should be a little fresher.

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I like this guy. He looks a bit like Johnny Bench.

Great American Ball Park Food Tip #4) Frisch’s Big Boy Burgers. Frisch’s is another chain that started in Cincinnati; they were added to the long list of local chains featured in Great American once they figured out how to install their topsider grills. The stand in the main concourse actually has a statue of the big Frisch’s mascot in a Reds uniform. Very cool.

Frisch’s stands have the famous Big Boy burger, the double decker with two 1/8 pound patties, lettuce, cheese, pickles and Frisch’s famous tartar sauce (heavy on mayo and pickle relish). If you like that tartar sauce, you can get some extra for your burger.

It’s pretty tough to stand out with ice cream, but Graeter’s makes it happen with their black cherry. No lie.

Great American Ball Park Food Tip #5) Graeter’s (Black Cherry) Ice Cream. Cincinnatians know who Graeter’s is; heck, I’m from New Jersey and I know who they are. I once spent an hour searching through town for one; thankfully I can just go to a Reds game now.

Even though they’ve been in Cincinnati for almost 150 years. Graeter’s is probably the only brand of ice cream you need to know in town; they have a kiosk near Gapper’s Alley. I don’t know if they’ll have every Graeter’s flavor, but try the black cherry or the raspberry chocolate chip if they’re there.

That’s just a few of the great food items at Reds games; here’s the Reds menu if you’re looking for more. (Honestly though, these five are all I need.)

Want More Great American Ball Park Tips?

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By baseball standards, none of the seats at the Reds’ home are terribly expensive, at least not compared to ballparks in Chicago or New York. But if you’re looking for the cheap seats at Great American Ball Park, here’s a few sections and my opinion about them.

But first a valuable piece of advice from our sponsor:

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Yes, it’s a $5 view, at least the foul pole isn’t in the way.

Cheap Seats at Great American Ball Park, Tip #1) Outer View. You can’t beat the price of the Outer View seats in Section 509 in left field…they can often be had for just $5. And you can order them online rather than having to go to the box office, although you’ll pay the online fees.

Sure, the view of the action isn’t great, although the view of the Ohio River and Kentucky is pretty boffo. But for most games, you can usually move to a better spot in the 500 level after the third inning or so. I’ve done this…please don’t tell the Reds.

Since the soon to be discussed “District Ticket” includes a free drink, it’s about the same deal as just buying a $5 ticket and hanging out in the District, where anyone with a ticket can go. Except you have an actual seat for just a finski.

I have this incredible urge to shop at Kroger. Sure hope I can find one in Cincinnati…

Cheap Seats at Great American Ball Park, Tip #2) Bleachers. The Kroger Bleachers are the sections directly underneath the scoreboard; they are metal benches with backs and are the cheapest seats in the ballpark, save for Outer View seats and standing room.

The first 3-6 rows of the bleachers (Rows A-F) are downstairs from the entrance to the seating area; they cost the same but are closer to the action. There is a walkway separating these from the rows behind them, which makes going for a hot dog much easier from Rows A-F. The bleachers also in front of the impressive Big Board, but for your hi-def information there’s a nice new scoreboard in right field.

One important thing…the bleachers get hot. This is the last place to see shade for a night game, and their being metal doesn’t help. It’s a good idea to bring a hat and sunglasses.

That’s not to say it’s a bad deal; bleachers are affordable and attract a fair number of families. It’s a little more raucous out there, which can be fun.

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It’s not like you’re that far behind people that paid $6 more. And you have shade!

Cheap Seats at Great American Ball Park, Tip #3) Upper View Level. If you don’t mind sitting in the highest rows of the upper deck…and behind home plate this isn’t usually a bad thing…the top seven rows or so of the 500 sections go for a pretty nice price…often even less than the bleacher seats. Not bad for actual seats that aren’t hard hot metal, but probably not for the acrophobic.

It’s another way to get into the ballpark cheap, and with seats that aren’t half bad with a nice view of Kentucky and the bridges going across the Ohio. Again, in my experience, the upper level here isn’t tightly patrolled, and in the 500 sections you can usually move to a better spot.

Featuring seating deftly arranged to encourage fans to guess where the field is!

Cheap Seats at Great American Ball Park, Bonus Tip!) The Fioptics District. If you’re not quite into baseball enough to just sit in a seat for nine innings and would like to socialize a bit (and I’m not judging), the Fioptics District is ideal for you.

The District is a lounge area with a full bar, comfy sofa-style seats with a fine view of downtown Cincinnati, and tables and drink rails with a view of the ballgame from left field. These used to be 400 level seats, but too many of them had the foul pole in the way, so the Reds turned it into a standing area.

The best part is that the Reds sell a very inexpensive “District Ticket” that includes added value for a drink or a concessions item, and you can use this credit in the nearby Machine Room restaurant. Great for a nice cheap evening of baseball.

There’s a few choices for the cheap seats at Great American…I checked for a low demand game, but these were all under $20 as I wrote this. But if you have a few extra bucks to spend, try these on for size.

(Know where to park for a Reds game? Check out this complete guide to parking at Great American Ball Park!)

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Great American Ball Park seating chart has something for everyone, and each seating section has its advantages for every taste, even for tightwads.

Here’s a bit of my opinion on just three noteworthy sections…but first, a quick word from our friendly sponsors at Gametime:

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You get to sit in front of people who had to kiss up to their corporate suite-owning boss.

Great American Ball Park Seating, Tip #1) The Champions Club. Like with their neighbors in Cleveland, the club seats at GABP are on the mezzanine level on the first base side, over the field level seats.

The seats here are wider than most and padded, have a great view of the action and a straight ahead view of the Big Board, and best of all include access to the climate-controlled Champions Club and its buffet.

The buffet with non-alcoholic drinks is included in the ticket price, and features Cincy greats Montgomery Inn BBQ sandwiches and LaRosa’s pizza, along with a carvery and Asian food station. At ballpark prices, you should be able to get your money’s worth on that.

Don’t be fooled by the sparse crowd. It’s not the best grounds crew vantage point.

Great American Ball Park Seating, Tip #2) The Sun/Moon Deck. The Sun/Moon Deck area in right field is so named for your ability to see the sun or the moon easily from the section, which isn’t covered anywhere. There’s actually a pretty nice view of the Cincinnati skyline from here as well.

The Sun/Moon Deck is a popular spot for the river breeze and the proximity to great food and the kids’ play area; just make sure that you’re protected from the sun on those blazingly hot Cincinnati summer days. They have misters nearby in center field.

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See what they did there with the Gap? Better cheap seats!

Great American Ball Park Seating, Tip #3) The Mezzanine. The Mezzanine is what the Reds call the larger 400 level sections that were created as a result of the Gap. Mezzanine seats are almost as close to the field as the Champions Club seats on the first base side, but they are much cheaper, and they have a superb view of the river beyond the outfield.

They don’t include food with your ticket like Club seats do, but you’ll have more than enough money left over with these to enjoy a decent meal in the Machine Room, which is also in the upper level in left field and is also climate controlled. See, I think about this stuff.

That’s just three seating areas of Great American Ball Park; you have a lot more to choose from, like the Scout seats, the Diamond Club or the bleachers. If you’re going cheap, check out this post.

Click here for more great Reds game tips, including where to park for Reds games, and be sure to Follow Ballpark E-Guides on Facebook for many more great tips and tricks for your favorite ballpark!

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The

The Reds are pretty good about making the majority of seats at Great American Ball Park affordable for fans. But it also helps to save money by planning ahead…so here are three tips for scoring cheap Reds tickets:

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Imagine all this news in your inbox!

Cheap Reds Tickets, Tip #1) Use The Newsletter. The Reds‘ e-mail ticket alerts offer some truly great deals for fans, and I can tell you the Reds put more offers in their newsletter than most teams do, even when they’re competitive on the field.

Deals include half-price tickets for kids on Sundays, added concessions value and discounted tickets for members of the local library or other Cincinnati institutions. The Reds are very generous to newsletter subscribers, so be sure to sign up.

Of course, if you applied online, you could have gotten a cheap ticket to get to this booth.

Cheap Reds Tickets, Tip #2) Join The Club(s). The Reds have three fan clubs for kids of varying age levels; you can find them on the Fans page of the Reds website. Membership includes ticket vouchers that are alone worth the price, but you also get a lot of privileges and gear to go with it.

For adults, if you’re early enough, you can join the Rosie Reds Club, which is a separate entity but also offers ticket deals for members.

The Reds reward good deeds.

Cheap Reds Tickets, Tip #3) Help Your Fellow Cincinnatian. In the Community section of the Reds website are several opportunities to score Reds tickets through being a good citizen. The Reds offer tickets to fans for donating blood, participating in the “Redlegs Run”, or recycling your electronics.

Nothing like getting ballgame tickets for helping your fellow human.

Cheap Reds Tickets, Tip #4) Bonus Tip: Try Gametime! Gametime is my favorite third party website for Reds tickets, and I’m not just saying that because they’re an affiliate of mine. Anytime I’m looking for deals on baseball tickets, I check Gametime first.

There you go, four great tips for finding inexpensive tickets to see the Cincinnati Reds. There are plenty of other ways to save money for a game at Great American Ball Park. Click here for some more great tips for your next Reds game, including where to park, and Follow Ballpark E-Guides on Facebook for tips, tricks and hacks for your favorite ballpark!

Never drive to a Reds game without a plan…

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You could come up with worse family outing ideas than visiting Great American Ball Park with kids. Great American is one of the most kid-friendly (and wallet-friendly) ballparks in MLB, and the Reds offer lots of cool deals for fans.

Here are three great reasons to take the children to a Reds game, after this quick word from our sponsor:

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Reds employees are known for hanging curveballs.

#1) The Fan Zone. The Fan Zone in the right field corner of GABP is a multi-level playground featuring a wiffle ball field, interactive games with prizes, and the Reds Heads Clubhouse for Kids Club members. A big slide leads from the upper level to the lower level. Often Reds employees will come out and pitch to the kids.

In addition to all of this, there are fireworks on Friday nights and kids’ giveaways on Sundays.

Bowling! Heck, let’s skip the ballgame!

#2) Newport-On-The-Levee. If you really want to wear the kids out, you can park cheaply in the Newport-On-The-Levee complex across the river in Kentucky, and make a day of it. There’s an aquarium, a movie theater, a Gameworks arcade, and many more places for the kids to have fun and for parents to spend money. Lots of places to eat and fun for kids of all ages.

When going to the game, park in Newport and use the inexpensive Southbank Shuttle, and get dropped off right at the door of Great American. One of many great parking tips for the Reds!

“Really, there’s a playground at the ballpark! Come on kids!”

#3) The Riverfront. There’s a pretty nice riverfront in Cincinnati, with a beautiful walking and bicycling trail, and a perfectly nice playground for the kids to burn off steam at the foot of the Roebling Bridge. Good if you’re there, say, an hour before the gates open. The kids can burn off enough steam to sleep a couple of innings.

There’s three places to see when visiting Great American Ball Park with kids…and if you want to save money on tickets, check this out.

Be sure to Follow Ballpark E-Guides on Facebook for more ballpark tips, tricks and hacks to help you save money and enjoy the game!

Never drive to a Reds game without a plan…

Book your parking spot now with my friends at SpotHero!

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For you first time visitors to the superb Reds ballpark in Cincinnati, I’m offering some Great American Ball Park tips for newbies that I hope you’ll find helpful. Great American is a terrific, and underrated ballpark experience, so make sure you get the most out of it!

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They have promotions in other months too. Don’t sweat it.

Great American Ball Park Tips, #1: Check for ticket deals. Not just through the Reds website, although they definitely have some great offers and you should sign up for team e-mail alerts. But sites like Groupon and others also offer discounted Reds tickets. You can get that District ticket with the free drink, or get half-price tickets for the kids if you search a little bit.

The shaded area can accommodate approximately four guests.

Great American Ball Park Tips, #2: Be prepared in the outfield seating. If you’re sitting in the bleachers in left field or the Sun & Moon Deck in right field, you will be completely unprotected from the sun during the day, and when you add the concrete and white steel to the Cincinnati heat, it can be rough.

Have sunglasses and sunscreen, and take advantage of the misters that the Reds set up near the home run towers. Probably a good idea to bring a cushion for those metal bleachers seats too. You’ll thank me.

Baseball and sea otters…without having to move your car!

Great American Ball Park Tips, #3: Try parking in Newport. You can park in the Newport-On-The-Levee entertainment complex very cheaply, especially if you’re early, and from there you have several choices to get to the ballpark…the long but picturesque walk across the Purple People Bridge, the inexpensive Southbank Shuttle, or the ferry boats coming from the Hooters and other restaurants on the pier.

Great for a fun outing, and there’s plenty to do in Newport-On-The-Levee for kids of all ages.

(There are lots of other parking options that work great here…check out this post to find out more.)

Never drive to a Reds game without a plan…

Book your parking spot now with my friends at SpotHero!

If you ask nicely, they’ll put the game on TV for you.

Great American Ball Park Tips, #4: Enjoy a meal in the Machine Room. There are plenty of great food choices in Great American like the Skyline chili cheese Coney, the Penn Station subs and the Frisch’s Big Boy burgers, but those are all local chains and you can enjoy them more cheaply at the actual restaurants in town.

Instead, try the restaurant in the upper left field corner…you may get a table with a great view, and you can get some crazy and messy loaded fries. Remember what I said about arriving early? The Machine Room is another pretty good reason.

Yes, they traded Joe Morgan.

Great American Ball Park Tips, #5: See the Reds Hall of Fame. It’s great to visit any team’s Hall, but the Reds Hall may be the best of them. You can see a short film of the team’s history, where you’ll learn how Cincinnati was the home of the first professional baseball team (which is now technically the Red Sox, but the city still has great baseball roots) and you can see displays like the 4,256 baseballs for Pete Rose hits and a model of old Crosley Field.

Not to mention the Reds Hall itself, which will probably be the only baseball Hall to include Charlie Hustle.

That’s a few essential tips for visiting Great American…if you’re looking for ways to score cheaper tickets, check this out.

Lots More Great American Ball Park Tips Where This Came From!

Ballpark E-Guides looks for every possible advantage for the baseball fan…for everything from finding affordable tickets, landing a great seat, getting to the ballpark and knowing what’s on the ballpark menu. Click here for some more great and useful tips for your next Reds home game, and be sure to Follow Ballpark E-Guides on Facebook for more great tips about your favorite ballpark!

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The Great American Ball Park seating bowl features a pretty neat idea that some newer ballparks have quietly adopted – the Gap.

When Great American was built, budget constraints kept the designers from putting in big riverboats or exploding scoreboards, so they came up with a clever way to introduce a quirk to the ballpark.

The Gap is a section of seating between home and third base that was left open; there is an opening there that is a decent standing room spot on the upper level especially.

I’ve read that the Gap allows people to watch the game from Sycamore Street, but honestly I don’t know how that’s possible, unless there is a spot just outside the ballpark that I missed.

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Watch Cincinnati office workers from inside the ballpark!

The other stated purpose of the Gap was to bring the upper level seats on the third base side closer to home plate. That isn’t quite the case either, well, not exactly.

What the Gap does do is enable larger sections of 400 level seats. These are called “View Box” seats on the first base side of the Gap, and those sections have about five rows, while on the third base side they are called “Mezzanine” but still are numbered with 400 section numbers. The sections on the third base side have 17-18 rows in them.

So yes, it does bring the seats closer to the action; the Mezzanine seats are about at the same level as the Club seating on the first base side. But it doesn’t actually bring the cheapest seats closer to the field, not noticeably so anyway. The Mezzanine seating costs as much as the View Box, sometimes a couple bucks more or less depending on the Reds’ dynamic pricing.

More breeze for left-handed power hitters!

Not saying that this is a bad thing, not at all. The Gap provides a nice little opening to walk past and it’s actually pretty neat how the designers of the ballpark created larger 400 level sections. Yes, it costs a few dollars more, but they’re mezzanine level seats as opposed to upper box, and the seats have a good perspective of everything.

Great American Ball Park, gap and all, is one of the most functionally fan-friendly ballparks in baseball, in my opinion, and one of the reasons is the view from most of the seats in the ballpark. In most places the upper rows on the third base side wouldn’t be great; at Great American you have some better choices.

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More Great American Ball Park Tips!

Like learning tips for your next Reds game? Find more useful hacks for everything you need to know about Great American Ball Park here, including all of your parking options, and be sure to Follow Ballpark E-Guides on Facebook for lots of useful advice at your favorite ballpark!

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I often get asked my opinion on what the best ballparks are, and usually names like Fenway and Camden and PNC pop into my head. Great American in Cincinnati doesn’t make my top five, or maybe even my top ten. It doesn’t quite stand out among the greats visually, the food selection isn’t as varied, and it doesn’t have the retro feel that so many new ballparks have.

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But at the risk of sounding like a boring architect (not that architects are boring, just saying), from a functional standpoint, Great American Ball Park truly is one of the best in baseball. Underrated thing, ballpark functionality, until you’re a season ticket holder.

First, it’s more affordable than most ballparks: for a team that has been competitive in some recent years, the Reds offer some amazing deals for fans. Kids and senior citizens can get half-price tickets, there are several fan clubs that offer discounts, and Reds tickets aren’t that expensive to begin with; even the better seats are relatively affordable.

Why are these seats crooked?

Another thing I noticed about GABP is the fan-friendly way the seating is arranged. I kind of chuckled at the big deal they made about the Gap in left field at first, but it does bring more seats closer to the action. The curvature of the seating bowl on the first base side and the way the seats are arranged allow for a straight ahead view with no neck twisting.

I searched all over the ballpark, and other than the bleachers missing a bit of the warning track, I couldn’t find a single obstructed view…including seats from which you can’t see the scoreboard.

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood…

Few ballparks—especially ballparks planted in the heart of a city—are easier to get to than Great American. There are three nearby interstates, and not only is there abundant parking in the garages and lots nearby, there is much cheaper parking across the river in Newport and Covington. From either town you can use the inexpensive Southbank Shuttle to the ballpark. And now the new streetcar makes a visit to Cincinnati with a ballgame thrown in much easier.

Leaving the ballpark, drivers can move in any direction and find an easy way home. Parking is as affordable as in any ballpark too.

It’s baseball. There’s a hot dog in there somewhere.

The food selection at GABP isn’t as varied as other ballparks…as far as I know there aren’t any “executive chefs”…but if you want a taste of the popular joints in the Cincinnati area, they’re all here: Skyline chili, LaRosa’s pizza, Montgomery Inn BBQ, Frisch’s Big Boy burgers, and Penn Station subs. Plus about a half dozen different kinds of Kahn’s dogs and Queen City sausages, and an affordable restaurant in left field with cool stuff like Mammoth Fries.

Need to keep the kids occupied? There’s a whole kids play area with a wiffle ball field, and Reds employees even pitch to the kids.

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“No running in here, kids!”

All that and more than enough post-game options, whether you want a meal at the Holy Grail or entertainment in Newport-On-The-Levee. And arguably the best team Hall of Fame in baseball.

It’s all here.

Great American, by ballpark standards, is something of a no-frills venue. Most don’t rank it among the best ballparks in baseball. But it’s fan-friendly, family-friendly, transportation-friendly and wallet-friendly, and I can’t say all four of those things about too many ballparks. It’s perfectly wonderful for one thing: watching baseball.

Which, as we may have forgotten in the age of millennial-friendly party areas, luxury suites and restaurants (and GABP has all of those too), is why the venues are built in the first place.

If you’re planning a visit to Great American, check this out.

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Finding a cheap Reds ticket and other deals in my trip to Cincinnati wasn’t difficult. Because of what I do, I’ve learned a few tricks to get the most for my dollar at the ballpark…taking advantage of special offers, giveaway nights, etc.

On my second day in Cincinnati, I hit the trifecta of bang for the ballpark buck.

I usually get the cheapest seat I can get at the game, because when I’m running around taking pictures I’m usually not sitting in that seat much anyway, and it’s usually well into the game before I have an opportunity to sit. Even then, I’m restless thinking I’ve missed something.

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I probably should have checked this out…

So while I ordered a ticket for the Friday night game on StubHub, I decided to just buy the Saturday ticket at the box office, where there aren’t any fees. There were plenty of tickets available for the game, surprisingly, so I knew it wouldn’t be a problem.

Friday night I bought an Outer View Level seat for Saturday’s game for $11 and no fees. Not a great seat, of course, but I didn’t care. It was, as I’ve stated, a cheap Reds ticket.

A few of the very prevalent kiosks at Great American. Maybe they don’t like talking to people.

Saturday night the Reds were giving out some fairly nice T-shirts…with “Reds” on the front in American flag colors, and Jay Bruce’s name and number 32 on the back (also in U.S. flag style). Jay Bruce sponsors a group called “Bruce’s Battalion”, and buys tickets for members of the military for most home games.

It’s a pretty nice T-shirt…would probably go for $30-35 at the ballpark, at least.

The Reds and LaRosa’s Pizza also run a very popular promotion: if the Reds pitchers strike out 11 batters in a game, LaRosa’s gives a free pizza to everyone at the ballpark. You read that right…LaRosa’s gives away upwards of 30,000 pizzas.

LaRosa’s is pretty good as ballpark pizza goes. And I’m a pizza snob.

Mat Latos was on the mound for the Reds, and he sat down a bunch of swinging Mariners. The total mounted and the crowd became more enthusiastic with each whiff…eight, nine, then ten. By this point I was sitting high up in the rafters behind home plate, so I had a decent view of everything.

With ten strikeouts on the board some of the crowd started chanting “Pizza! Pizza!” every time a batter reached two strikes. At one point a Mariners hitter had two strikes on him and took a half-swing. The home plate umpire appealed to third base, who signaled safe, the batter didn’t swing. He was loudly booed. It was everything that’s great about baseball.

But Latos did soon pull it off, and the Reds faithful of course went nuts as the scoreboard informed them that they would all receive a free pizza. Then I saw on the bottom of the board: “starting tomorrow”. Unfortunately I was leaving town the next morning. Rats.

But Wade, the nice fellow running the Sharonville LaRosa’s, was happy to honor the ticket, and I got my first taste of LaRosa’s…which as it turns out is pretty good pizza, better than any of the well-known chains in my South Jersey neighborhood. It was a personal pie, certainly enough for one person and I was able to pile four toppings on it. And the price couldn’t be beat.

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If you want it today, you’re just gonna have to buy it here.

I think this is a great promotion for both the Reds and LaRosa’s…they could run commercials with the crowd chanting, and the “Pizza!” chant could become a Reds tradition. Then again, I’m not sure LaRosa’s wants to give out 35,000 pizzas so frequently…I’ve heard the Reds pitching has been costing them a lot of money this season.

Regardless, it was a great score for the author of Ballpark E-Guides. For a grand total of $11, I nailed down a cheap Reds ticket, a nice Reds T-shirt, and a delicious pizza. If you want to throw in the $1 O’Doul’s I drank for being a designated driver, then throw in a non-alcoholic beer for a total of $12. Parking in Newport cost me $2. So for $14 I scored close to $50 in value there at normal prices.

Not bad for a sport many people think they can’t afford anymore. Try this page if you want some tips for cheap tickets.

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I’ve always known that Cincinnati was the home of the first professional baseball team, but until I visited the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum, it always puzzled me how the Red Stockings could be the first baseball team…because how could there be just one team? Wouldn’t they need someone to play against? Did they just stand on the field practicing until another team filled out all of the legal forms? Maybe they signed the contract for their ballpark the day before the Phillies did or something?

I wouldn’t say it kept me up at night, I knew there had to be an explanation, but it was just one of those things that puzzled me a bit.

But now I get it…one less thing to waste brain power pondering.

Even from way back in the days when they had no one to play against!

The Reds Hall tells the story—that the Red Stockings were the first professional baseball team because they were the first team whose players were actually paid to play baseball. Other teams’ owners balked at the idea of ballplayers being professionals (some things never change), but the Red Stockings were willing to pay players. And by doing so, they attracted some of the best talent around. No doubt radio show hosts in other cities began demanding that their team owners start paying players.

This all-star team of professionals went on a tour in 1869 and won everywhere they went, finishing their first ever season unbeaten and actually drawing some crowds on the road. (I think hot dogs were $1.50 back then.) This was back in the days before gloves and catcher’s masks and the DH, proving that people will play baseball for money even if they’re risking life and limb.

Their second season was marked by dissolution and player bickering (that didn’t take long), despite that the team resumed its greatness, winning all but one game against the Brooklyn Atlantics, in an 11-inning affair. Eventually some players moved to Boston, as did the Red Stockings name—now the Red Sox, of course.

Did they even wear gloves back then?

The team disbanded, and then a new Red Stockings team joined the newly formed National League in 1876. This team was banned from the National League for…get this…serving beer at ballgames. Nowadays a team might be banned from the league for not serving beer.

Finally in 1881 another Red Stockings team (they loved that name for some reason) joined the rival American Association, and in 1889 they moved to the National League, replacing the bootlegging Red Stockings team that had been booted. In the move, they changed their name to the Reds, probably to save on stitching costs.

So the current incarnation of the Cincinnati Reds that we all know today wasn’t exactly the first professional baseball team, but you could argue that Cincinnati simply hit a few bumps in the road to become America’s first iconic baseball town.

There is a great deal of history when it comes to Cincinnati baseball, and it’s as good a place as any for a team to feature a Hall of Fame and Museum that is a microcosm of baseball’s Hall in Cooperstown. The Reds Hall of Fame is definitely worth the visit if you’re coming to Great American Ball Park, if only to learn how there could only be one “first professional baseball team”.

But of course, there’s a lot more to know about Great American. Especially if you’re visiting for the first time.

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The 1919 World Series and Black Sox scandal, even today, may have been baseball’s darkest hour. The revelation that eight players from one of the game’s historically best teams had thrown the Series was an earthshaking shock to fans across the country, it resulted in tough new rules that in turn resulted in the permanent expulsion of one of the game’s greatest players, and it’s been poignantly immortalized in literature and cinema.

Much of the focus of the 1919 Series today is, obviously, on the Black Sox and on Shoeless Joe Jackson, the superstar Sox outfielder for whom fans seem to have the most sympathy.

And Shoeless Joe is still one of their best known players.

The book and movie “Eight Men Out” (both are excellent…check them out if you’re a baseball fan) paint a picture of a few ballplayers furious at their penny-pinching owner, falling in with a crooked crowd and ultimately getting thrown out of baseball forever. The book “Shoeless Joe”, and subsequent “Field of Dreams” movie, fictionally chronicle the return of Shoeless Joe Jackson to a corn field in Iowa and his ultimate redemption.

What gets lost in the story is the World Series winner…a Cincinnati Reds team that no one believed stood a chance against the mighty White Sox.

At the Reds Hall of Fame, a film is shown about the history of the Cincinnati Reds. The team’s second World Series title in 1940 is said to have brought a collective sigh of relief to the city…they had finally won a World Series honestly.

Yes, 1919 is in there.

There are some folks who believe that the Reds would have beaten the White Sox even if a few of the Sox’s best players hadn’t agreed to make Arnold Rothstein richer.

Everything is possible in baseball.

The 1990 World Series between the Reds and the loaded Oakland Athletics seemed like a mismatch, but the Reds not only won, they swept the Series convincingly. If someone questioned the legitimacy of the 1969 Series when the Miracle Mets topped the Orioles, they wouldn’t have been laughed at.

The 1919 Reds, despite not having been any great shakes before that season, were hardly pushovers. They won 96 games—the White Sox won just 88—and while they had little in offensive might beyond Edd Roush and Heinie Groh, they did possess a tremendous pitching staff. Dutch Reuther was 19-6 with a 1.82 ERA; Hod Eller was 19-9, 2.39; Ray Fisher was 14-5 and 2.17. That is some mean starting pitching.

A staff that strong, presumably, would have an edge in a short series…as we saw in 1988, 2010 and in many other triumphs of the underdog. As my father always said, good pitching always stops good hitting. (It’s kind of ironic that the first NL champion Reds team had little offense but great pitching, while the later Big Red Machine teams of the 1970s were just the opposite. Don’t tell Reds fans it’s all about pitching.)

Looking at some details of the 1919 Series, it’s certainly possible to see ways that the Reds could have triumphed in a clean contest.

This was their slogan in 2011, I believe. Ironic in retrospect.

Shoeless Joe Jackson and Buck Weaver played too well for players supposedly trying to lose. Jackson hit .375, the highest in the Series, and threw out five baserunners, while Weaver hit .324, well above his .272 lifetime average.

It’s fair to say Weaver was telling the truth about his unwillingness to participate, and it’s not hard to believe Jackson’s similar assertion…Shoeless Joe did have a .286 average in games the White Sox lost, but that could arguably be attributed to better Reds pitching on the mound for those games, and in a short series, that is probably only 2-3 hits.

Three other players in the fix, Chick Gandil, Happy Felsch and Swede Risberg, had lifetime averages of .277, .293 and .243, respectively…good hitters if not great, but it’s not as though it’s positive they would have been the offensive difference had they been playing to win. Gandil hit .290 in 1919 and .233 in the Series; Felsch hit .275 and .192; Risberg, .256 and .080 in the Series (Risberg did walk five times, when strikeouts would have been easiest to fake).

That’s significant, I won’t argue, but for Gandil and Felsch only one or two more hits in the Series would have been normal for them…and remember they were up against some good Reds pitchers, so that’s no guarantee. The other position player in on the scandal, Fred McMullin, was a utility infielder who had only two at-bats in the Series.

“Great win guys! They almost played their butts off!”

With the Reds pitching as strong as it was, it’s not hard to imagine that even if there were no Black Sox scandal, that the Reds pitching could still have effectively shut them down. The Sox scored just 20 runs in eight games, and that’s with two of their best hitters hardly whiffing on each at bat. It was mostly the deliberate errors during games, and meatball pitches from Eddie Cicotte and Lefty Williams, that lost the Series for the White Sox.

So what if Cicotte and Williams had performed to their considerable abilities? Cicotte’s ERA was 1.82 in the 1919 season; had he given up two runs in his starts—questionable given the Reds offense, but for the sake of argument—that might have been enough for the Reds to have won Game 1 and possibly Game 4, since the White Sox scored a total of just one run in those games.

Lefty Williams’s ERA that year was 2.64; the Sox scored just two runs in Game 2, so that could have turned out as a Reds victory as well. Williams obviously handed the win to the Reds in Game 8, so it’s hard to say whether the Reds would have won there.

It’s moot.

I’m not trying to positively assert that the Reds would have won in 1919 had the Series been clean; bookmakers were going heavily with the White Sox before the rumors of a fix, and they usually know what they’re doing, as anyone who bets on football knows.

I’m only suggesting that the 1919 Cincinnati Reds deserve some credit for a National League championship, a 96-win season and a stellar pitching staff, and that there are conceivable scenarios where in a legitimate Series, the Reds could have taken down the mighty White Sox after all. Stranger things have happened.

Unfortunately, we’ll never know.

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