Infield: Third baseman Red Rolfe (1931-42) batted leadoff on some great Yankees teams, including five World Series champs. As a result, he scored 100 or more runs in seven straight seasons – every year he was a regular, he scored 100 runs. During one three-year stretch, he scored 414 runs. Second baseman Randy Ready (1983-95) should have had a better career than he did. He was a good hitter with a good batting eye, and he arrived in Milwaukee as a top-flight prospect, but the Brewers were curiously unwilling to commit to him, and he ended up bouncing around the majors getting playing time here and there, finishing his career with a .259 batting average and with more walks than strikeouts. First baseman Rip Russell (1939-47) wasn’t much of a hitter, though he had a long and prosperous run in the minors. Shortstop Rafael Ramirez (1980-92) wasn’t much of a fielder. He was adequate enough as a hitter - he'd give you .270 with 20 doubles and a dozen steals - to stick around for quite a while.
Outfield: Left fielder Rick Reichardt (1964-74) was a two-sport star at University of Wisconsin, and major league teams got into a huge bidding war trying to sign him away and make sure he chose baseball over football. The Angels won the bidding war with an unprecedented $200,000 bonus, and the bidding war led Major League Baseball to institute a draft the following year. He went on to have a good career, hitting 15-20 home runs per year during a period when runs were hard to come by. Rip Repulski (1953-61) was a functional hitter with a bit of pop. He’ll play right field here, but could shift over to center. (His real name was Eldon John Repulski – insert your own “Crocodile Rock” joke here.) R.J. Reynolds (1983-90) will start in center. He didn’t do anything especially well, but he wasn’t bad at anything. He hit .267 with a few walks, no power but decent speed.
Catcher: Ronn Reynolds (1982-90) was an absolutely terrible hitter. He had two “Ns” in his first name for reasons known only to him and his family.
Rotation: Hall of Famer Robin Roberts (1948-66) was like a force of nature. He worked an ungodly number of innings - six straight years over 300 innings, including three times over 330 innings. He had six consecutive 20-win seasons (that’s selling him short, actually, he won 28 games in 1952 and then won 23 apiece the next three years). Roberts won 286 games in his career and, yes, he was the first pitcher in history to give up 500 home runs (though Jamie Moyer joined him and broke the career record in 2010). Hall of Famer Red Ruffing (1924-47) was a good pitcher on great teams. He won 273 games, and he was on six Yankees championship teams. He was 7-2 with a 2.63 ERA in 10 World Series starts. In effect, he was a right-handed Andy Pettitte - a durable, effective pitcher who benefitted from very good teammates and who had a lot of success in the postseason. You had to see Rick Reuschel (1972-91) to really appreciate him. He was as big fellow who could be charitably described as “portly,” but he was actually a terrific athlete – he was a decent hitter, he was quick enough that the Cubs would use him as a pinch-runner, and he fielded his position well. As a pitcher he won 214 games and basically never missed a start. Rick Rhoden (1974-89) won 151 games and was an even better hitter than Reuschel. (For that matter, he was a better hitter than Ronn Reynolds.) Rick Reed (1988-2003) was a journeyman, just trying to hang on, when he agreed to be a replacement player during the 1995 lockout. This pissed off his teammates and made him something of a pariah among established major-leaguers, but to his credit, Reed eventually won them over and went on to win 77 games between ages 32-37. Heck of a rotation – two Hall of Famers, backed up a guy with 200 wins, another with 150 wins and a third who came up just short of 100 wins despite having fewer than 10 victories before his 30th birthday.
Bullpen: Closer Ron Reed (1966-84) was a two-sport star at Notre Dame who played a couple of years in the NBA before settling in to a 19-year career in the majors. He was a starter for the first half of his career and a reliever for the second half, and he was good in both roles. Finished with 146 wins, 103 saves (and, for good measure, 951 points and 762 rebounds). Ron Robinson (1984-92) was similar to Ron Reed – a big, tall righty who could start or relieve, had good control and kept the ball in the park. Rosy Ryan (1919-33) had a couple of really good seasons for pennant-winning Giants teams. Rich Rodriguez (1990-2003) was a consistent lefty who stuck around until he was 40. He and Robinson will be fine set-up men for Reed. Reb Russell (1913-23) was a pretty good pitcher who hurt his arm and reinvented himself as a pretty good outfielder. Ron Romanick (1984-86) wasn’t terrible, but he didn’t last long. Ryan Rupe (1999-2003) gave up too many hits, including too many that went over the fence.
Bench: Outfielder Rich Rollins (1961-70) was a pretty decent infielder who played in 1,000 games. Roger Repoz (1964-72) only hit .224, but he drew some walks and had a little bit of pop, and he will spell Rip Russell at first base. (If either of them falters, Rich Reese says he’s ready to step in.) Outfielder Ron Roenicke (1981-88) was a switch-hitter who could get on base a bit, run fairly well and play solid defense. Rich Renteria (1986-94) was a utility infielder who couldn’t hit. Rich Rowland (1990-95) is the backup catcher.
Manager: Red Rolfe will be the player-manager. He had a winning record in 3½ years managing the Tigers, and he later coached basketball at Yale and was athletic director at Dartmouth, where the ballfield is named in his honor.
Outfield: Left fielder Rick Reichardt (1964-74) was a two-sport star at University of Wisconsin, and major league teams got into a huge bidding war trying to sign him away and make sure he chose baseball over football. The Angels won the bidding war with an unprecedented $200,000 bonus, and the bidding war led Major League Baseball to institute a draft the following year. He went on to have a good career, hitting 15-20 home runs per year during a period when runs were hard to come by. Rip Repulski (1953-61) was a functional hitter with a bit of pop. He’ll play right field here, but could shift over to center. (His real name was Eldon John Repulski – insert your own “Crocodile Rock” joke here.) R.J. Reynolds (1983-90) will start in center. He didn’t do anything especially well, but he wasn’t bad at anything. He hit .267 with a few walks, no power but decent speed.
Catcher: Ronn Reynolds (1982-90) was an absolutely terrible hitter. He had two “Ns” in his first name for reasons known only to him and his family.
Rotation: Hall of Famer Robin Roberts (1948-66) was like a force of nature. He worked an ungodly number of innings - six straight years over 300 innings, including three times over 330 innings. He had six consecutive 20-win seasons (that’s selling him short, actually, he won 28 games in 1952 and then won 23 apiece the next three years). Roberts won 286 games in his career and, yes, he was the first pitcher in history to give up 500 home runs (though Jamie Moyer joined him and broke the career record in 2010). Hall of Famer Red Ruffing (1924-47) was a good pitcher on great teams. He won 273 games, and he was on six Yankees championship teams. He was 7-2 with a 2.63 ERA in 10 World Series starts. In effect, he was a right-handed Andy Pettitte - a durable, effective pitcher who benefitted from very good teammates and who had a lot of success in the postseason. You had to see Rick Reuschel (1972-91) to really appreciate him. He was as big fellow who could be charitably described as “portly,” but he was actually a terrific athlete – he was a decent hitter, he was quick enough that the Cubs would use him as a pinch-runner, and he fielded his position well. As a pitcher he won 214 games and basically never missed a start. Rick Rhoden (1974-89) won 151 games and was an even better hitter than Reuschel. (For that matter, he was a better hitter than Ronn Reynolds.) Rick Reed (1988-2003) was a journeyman, just trying to hang on, when he agreed to be a replacement player during the 1995 lockout. This pissed off his teammates and made him something of a pariah among established major-leaguers, but to his credit, Reed eventually won them over and went on to win 77 games between ages 32-37. Heck of a rotation – two Hall of Famers, backed up a guy with 200 wins, another with 150 wins and a third who came up just short of 100 wins despite having fewer than 10 victories before his 30th birthday.
Bullpen: Closer Ron Reed (1966-84) was a two-sport star at Notre Dame who played a couple of years in the NBA before settling in to a 19-year career in the majors. He was a starter for the first half of his career and a reliever for the second half, and he was good in both roles. Finished with 146 wins, 103 saves (and, for good measure, 951 points and 762 rebounds). Ron Robinson (1984-92) was similar to Ron Reed – a big, tall righty who could start or relieve, had good control and kept the ball in the park. Rosy Ryan (1919-33) had a couple of really good seasons for pennant-winning Giants teams. Rich Rodriguez (1990-2003) was a consistent lefty who stuck around until he was 40. He and Robinson will be fine set-up men for Reed. Reb Russell (1913-23) was a pretty good pitcher who hurt his arm and reinvented himself as a pretty good outfielder. Ron Romanick (1984-86) wasn’t terrible, but he didn’t last long. Ryan Rupe (1999-2003) gave up too many hits, including too many that went over the fence.
Bench: Outfielder Rich Rollins (1961-70) was a pretty decent infielder who played in 1,000 games. Roger Repoz (1964-72) only hit .224, but he drew some walks and had a little bit of pop, and he will spell Rip Russell at first base. (If either of them falters, Rich Reese says he’s ready to step in.) Outfielder Ron Roenicke (1981-88) was a switch-hitter who could get on base a bit, run fairly well and play solid defense. Rich Renteria (1986-94) was a utility infielder who couldn’t hit. Rich Rowland (1990-95) is the backup catcher.
Manager: Red Rolfe will be the player-manager. He had a winning record in 3½ years managing the Tigers, and he later coached basketball at Yale and was athletic director at Dartmouth, where the ballfield is named in his honor.
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