Bob Howsam - Engineering The 'Big Red Machine'

Engineering The 'Big Red Machine'

In Cincinnati, Howsam flourished. During his 11 years (1967–1977) as general manager, he was one of the key figures (along with his predecessor, Bill DeWitt, and his manager, Sparky Anderson) behind "The Big Red Machine", which captured NL titles in 1970 and 1972 and world championships in 1975 and 1976.

Although many key parts of the dynasty — such as Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Tony Pérez, Lee May and Tommy Helms — were already in place or in the organization in 1966, Howsam boldly promoted young pitchers such as Gary Nolan, Don Gullett and Wayne Simpson to the Major Leagues. He replaced a popular incumbent manager, Dave Bristol, with a then-unproven but a future Hall-of-Fame skipper in Anderson. He ensured that the fruitful Cincinnati farm system continued to churn out young position players, such as Dave Concepción, Ken Griffey, Ray Knight, César Gerónimo and Bernie Carbo. He also acquired two talented young outfielders, Bobby Tolan and Alex Johnson, from the Cardinals. It was the second time that Howsam had traded for Johnson (the first was in 1965 while still with the Cardinals), and he would ultimately trade Johnson away for pitcher Jim McGlothlin (who would go on to win 14 games for the 1970 Reds).

Then, in two masterful 1971 trades, Howsam acquired second baseman Joe Morgan (in a deal that included May and Helms) from the Houston Astros and outfielder George Foster from the Giants (for utility infielder Frank Duffy). In Cincinnati, Morgan would win the NL Most Valuable Player award in 1975–1976 and earn credentials as a member of the Hall of Fame. Foster would hit 52 home runs for the Reds in 1977 — the only player to crack the half-century HR mark in the 1970s or 1980s.

The 1976 Cincinnati club, which won 102 regular season games, then swept both the Phillies in the 1976 National League Championship Series and the Yankees in the 1976 World Series, is considered one of the strongest in baseball history. The Sporting News named Howsam Major League Executive of the Year for 1973 — ironically, a season in which the powerhouse Reds dropped the NLCS to the underdog New York Mets.

Howsam reportedly had considerably more authority than most general managers of the time. The team's owners during his tenure (first Francis Dale, then Louis Nippert) largely left the team's day-to-day operations in his hands, and he added the title of club president of the Reds in 1973. He even represented the Reds at owners' meetings. Although the Reds' uniform-wearing guidelines and no-facial-hair policies were more visible, Howsam was especially known for his conservatism regarding labor relations; under him, the Reds were among the hardliners during the 1972 strike.