The 1979 Cincinnati Reds season was the 110th season for the franchise in Major League Baseball, and their 10th and 9th full season at Riverfront Stadium. The Reds won the National League West under their first-year manager John McNamara, with a record of 90–71, 1½ games better than the Houston Astros. It was a year of great change for the Reds, who lost long-time star Pete Rose to the Philadelphia Phillies, who signed Rose as an unrestricted free agent. Also, long-time manager and future Hall of Famer Sparky Anderson was fired by new general manager Dick Wagner when Anderson refused to make changes in his coaching staff. McNamara guided the Reds to its first West Division title in three years. Wagner replaced long-time GM Bob Howsam, who retired after running the Reds for 12 years. Through some good drafts and several key trades, Howsam built a team that won six division titles, and played in four World Series, winning two, during the 1970s.

However, the Reds lost the NLCS to the eventual World Series champion Pittsburgh Pirates in three straight games. It was the first time in four tries the Pirates had upended the Reds in a league championship series since Major League Baseball began divisional play in 1969. It would be Cincinnati's last postseason appearance until 1990.

The Reds played their home games at Riverfront Stadium.

Offseason January 9, 1979: Bill Bordley was drafted by the Reds in 1979, but the pick was voided.Bill Bordley page at Baseball-Reference

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions May 8, 1979: Paul Blair was signed as a free agent by the Reds.Paul Blair page at Baseball-Reference May 25, 1979: Champ Summers was traded by the Reds to the Detroit Tigers for a player to be named later. The Tigers completed the deal by sending Sheldon Burnside to the Reds on October 25.Champ Summers page at Baseball-Reference June 5, 1979: Jeff Jones was drafted by the Reds in the 20th round of the 1979 Major League Baseball draft.Jeff Jones page at Baseball-Reference June 28, 1979: Pedro Borbón was traded by the Reds to the San Francisco Giants for Héctor Cruz.Pedro Borbón page at Baseball-Reference

Roster 1979 Cincinnati Reds Roster Pitchers Catchers

Infielders Outfielders

Other batters Manager

Coaches

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI C 130 464 128 .276 22 80 1B 150 515 129 .250 18 75 2B 127 436 109 .250 9 32 3B 150 551 175 .318 10 79 SS 149 590 166 .281 16 84 LF 121 440 133 .302 30 98 CF 123 356 85 .239 4 38 RF 95 380 120 .316 8 32

Other batters Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI 122 396 126 .318 3 35 83 220 60 .273 1 17 74 182 44 .242 4 27 75 140 21 .150 2 15 62 100 21 .210 1 12 27 60 12 .200 1 11 43 56 12 .214 0 5 23 34 7 .206 0 4 10 13 3 .231 0 2 7 6 1 .167 0 0 6 3 0 .000 0 0 7 2 1 .500 0 0

Pitching

Starting pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO 32 215.0 16 6 3.14 131 35 205.2 14 8 3.50 73 34 195.1 11 13 3.64 95 29 175.2 9 7 3.79 78

Other pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO 57 163.0 10 9 2.76 80 21 106.0 5 4 3.89 58 30 95.1 6 7 4.25 63 Note: Tom Hume led the Reds in saves with 17.

Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G W L SV ERA SO 65 11 7 16 4.29 86 53 2 2 1 2.62 30 30 2 2 2 3.43 23 25 3 2 0 5.30 32 23 0 4 0 4.66 23 5 1 0 0 8.53 0 3 0 0 0 0.00 1

National League Championship Series

Game 1 October 2, Riverfront Stadium

Team1234567891011RHEPittsburgh002000000035100Cincinnati00020000000270W: Grant Jackson (1–0)  L: Tom Hume (0–1)   SV: Don Robinson (1)HRs: PIT – Phil Garner (1)   Willie Stargell (1)   CIN – George Foster (1)

Game 2 October 3, Riverfront Stadium

Team12345678910RHEPittsburgh00011000013110Cincinnati0100000010280W: Don Robinson (1–0)  L: Doug Bair (0–1)   SV: NoneHRs: PIT – None   CIN – None

Game 3 October 5, Three Rivers Stadium Team123456789RHECincinnati000001000181Pittsburgh11220001X770W: Bert Blyleven (1–0)  L: Mike LaCoss (0–1)   SV: NoneHRs: CIN – Johnny Bench (1)   PIT – Willie Stargell (2)   Bill Madlock (1)

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Nashville

Notes

References 1979 Cincinnati Reds season at Baseball Reference