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For this die-hard Cincinnati Reds fan of nearly 50 years, the 2022 season was just about as brutal of a season as I can remember.
First off a labor dispute delayed the season and the offseason and the minute the dispute was settled and things were back to normal, the Reds continued a rebuild that had started the previous season by trading popular players such as Sonny Gray, Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez before the season began.
Some ill-advised comments by the son of Reds owner Bob Castellini on opening day added to the frustration as did the fact the 2022 Reds began the season 3-22 and managed to win just 62 times while suffering a disastrous 100 losses.
The August trade deadline brought even more trades as starting pitchers Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle and regulars Tyler Naquin and Brandon Drury were all peddled to other teams for prospects in separate transactions.
Things looked bleak to say the least and it seemed like it may be quite sometime before my beloved Redlegs would make a return back to respectability.
Not many of the players the Reds acquired in all of the deals were quite ready for the majors so now as a loyal fan my interest turned to how these guys were faring in the minor leagues and how soon they would be ready for the major leagues.
Time heals all wounds and I began to become somewhat excited about the prospect pipeline the Reds had built in the minor leagues as the players they acquired combined with some top prospects of their own who were progressing quite nicely through the minor league system led me to make a bold prediction for the future of the Reds.
Since they won just 62 last year, I envisioned an improvement up to 70 wins in 2023, 80 in 2024, 90 in 2025 and 100 and a World Championship in 2026.
In the early part of the season the Reds played like a team that might struggle to win 70 as they began the season 7-15 after a four-game sweep at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
By mid-April the Reds played a home game against the Tampa Rays in front of a crowd of just 7,375 fans, the smallest in the 20-plus year history of the beautiful Great American Ballpark.
The Reds played better in May as they went 14-13 and introduced Reds fans to shortstop Matt McLain, their first round draft pick in 2021 who had been tearing things up at Louisville, the Reds Triple-A affiliate.
Cincinnati lost five of the first six games that McClain played in but they won five of their last six games in May to have some momentum built heading into June.
A tough series against division leading Milwaukee in which the Reds lost three of four pushed their record to six games under .500 and left them in need of another spark.
They Reds got that spark and then some when they elected to bring up their number one prospect, 6-foot-5 shortstop/third baseman Elly De La Cruz to join the team for a three-game series at home against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Almost immediately De La Cruz's presence brought a different energy and buzz to GABP.
He doubled and walked in his first game, a game that was won in walk-off fashion on a McLain base hit and then the following night De La Cruz nearly hit a ball completely out of the ballpark for his first home run.
The Reds walked it off that night as another rookie Will Benson hit his first big-league home run in the last of the ninth for an 8-6 victory.
From that point there has been a completely different energy for the Reds and they have responded to win 23 of 31 games since De La Cruz made his debut and now hold the lead in the National League Central at the All-Star Break with a 50-41 record.
Come-from-behind, thrilling wins have become the norm as the Reds have rallied from behind in 31 of their 50 wins.
Now the same ball park that was only one-fifth full two months ago is drawing record crowds for home games.
De La Cruz hit for the cycle in front of a packed house in June and a week later fellow rookie Spencer Steer sent the fans home happy with a monster walk-off home run over San Diego.
The team has went from one that waited on the home run ball to score the majority of their runs to one that takes the extra base every chance they can, steal bases and manufacture runs any way the can.
Much credit has to go to Bell and the Reds front office, led by general manager Nick Krall, who have seemingly built the perfect team for the new rules that went into affect this season such as enlarging the bases and eliminating the shift in an effort to bring more excitement to the game.
The Reds have done all of this with what was presumed to be the strength of the team to begin the season, young starting pitching, unable to contribute much due to injury.
Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo, both top seven draft picks who pitched very well in the second half last year, have missed much of the season due to injury and Graham Ashcraft has struggled to find the form he showed in his rookie season last year.
Krall patched together a bullpen that is made up of mostly minor league free agent signings such as Ian Gibaut, Buck Farmer, Alex Young and Derek Law to go along with up and coming closer Alexis Diaz and the results have been stellar as the Reds have had to lean on their pen more than they would like to.
Veteran Joey Votto has gotten in on the act as well as the veteran first baseman returned from a 10-month absence from shoulder surgery and has homered seven times in his first 57 at bats.
The Reds could certainly use some more pitching and Krall has made it clear he would like to add some at this year's trade deadline but one would expect him not to be willing to move any of the key pieces that have made such a dramatic change in such little time.
The team is built to be competitive for now and several seasons beyond as in addition to De La Cruz, McLain, Steer and Benson, rookie pitchers Andrew Abbott and Brandon Williamson have played key roles in the team's success.
Lodolo, Greene, Ashcraft and Diaz as well as up and coming lead-off batter T.J. Friedl are all in their sophomore seasons while second baseman Jonathan India, catcher Tyler Stephenson, utility player Nick Senzel and outfielder Jake Fraley are all 28 years old or younger.
It's no telling where things will wind up with this year's team and the way things can go.
Seventy-plus wins is still always a possibility but so far this season has been a welcome early surprise for all of Reds country.
Contact Mike Morrison at mmorrison@mariettatimes.com.