Not just baseball...

http://www.bigredmachine.com/

Wow, were they ever a powerful "machine", too... :)

They dominated the league. Power, speed, good pitching. Sparky Anderson had an tremendous assembly of players. They killed my Braves every year but so did everybody else.

Unlike my fellow baseball fan, whose thoughtful comment appears below, I saw these guys in their primes. My Dad and I used to sit in the bleachers ("Pavillion" for you LA types) at Dodger Stadium behind Pete Rose and Ken Griffey. I used to think I would always look back on these experiences fondly because baseball was the first thing my father and I shared a love for together. But as I get older, I realize just how great this assemblage of players was. As I've stated earlier, I genuinely believe that they are the closest rivals that the Yankees of the 20's have. And Geronimo, the centerfielder, was the weakest player among the starters for the Reds of those years ... and that's no rap on him; he could play. However, what really gives one pause to think is that the 2nd weakest starter was probably Concepcion. Again, this is not a swipe at DC. He was easily among the top 3 fielding shortstops during his lengthy and enviable career. The Reds were just loaded to the teeth with talent during the era of leisure suits and "WIN" buttons.

I caught this bunch towards the end when they were phasing out some of the stars and bringing in the Oesters and Knights, so I missed them in your prime. As for their prime- when the worst player in your everyday lineup is Cesar Geronimo and the 2nd worst, by default is probably, I don't know, Griffey Senior(?) that's terrifying. And the pitching may not have been truly awesome, but it was better than it's been given credit for by some.

One of the best teams of all time, could easily compete with the '27 Yankees.

A great nickname for what is, in my view, the greatest team in history (the 76 edition) With Sparky in the dugout flipping levers like a master back-hoe operator, the offensive punch of Foster, Bench, Geronimo, Rose etc., a solid, sometimes sparkling defense, they were a thing of beauty. Came out on top of my Sox in what I still think is the best World Series ever played in '75, but they were deserving winners.

It is a good name, not rude, something that symbolises power and determination and fairly common.

a great nickname for a great ballclub. defined how they worked together, like a big imposing machine of talent.