Votto's No. 19 next Reds jersey to be retired?

CINCINNATI -- As the oldest professional franchise in sports, the Reds have a 150-year legacy filled with many great hitters, pitchers and managers. But the club didn’t often recognize those people with the great honor of retiring their respective number.

• Reds' all-time retired numbers

It wasn't until 1965 that the Reds retired their first number, and the next one didn’t happen until '84. It took another 14 years for the practice to flow more freely. Since '98, the Reds have retired eight more numbers, plus the MLB-wide retirement of No. 42 for Jackie Robinson in '97.

• Every team's retired numbers

Who will be the next player to get the high honor?

"There's no set rule on that," Reds Hall of Fame executive director Rick Walls said in 2018. "Certainly, the benchmark is being in the Baseball Hall of Fame. But you take each case and consider the merits of the particular person and go from there."

Here are the numbers that are currently retired for Cincinnati.

Fred Hutchinson, manager, No. 1
Retired: 1965

Johnny Bench, catcher, No. 5
Retired: Aug. 11, 1984

Frank Robinson, OF, No. 20
Retired: May 22, 1998

Joe Morgan, 2B, No. 8
Retired: June 6, 1998

Ted Kluszewski, 1B, No. 18
Retired: July 18, 1998

Tony Perez, 3B/1B, No. 24
Retired: May 27, 2000

Sparky Anderson, manager, No. 10
Retired: May 28, 2005

Davey Concepcion, SS, No. 13
Retired: Aug. 25, 2007

Barry Larkin, SS, No. 11
Retired: Aug. 25, 2012

Pete Rose, 2B/3B/1B/OF, No. 14
Retired: June 26, 2016

Of this group of 10, four players are not in the Baseball Hall of Fame -- Hutchinson, Kluszewski, Concepcion and Rose, who remains on the ineligible list for violating baseball’s rules on gambling.

Should the Reds decide to honor another player, they have a wide array of worthy candidates. Here are a few, listed in alphabetical order:

Eric Davis, OF, No. 44

Résumé: Outfielder from 1984-91 and '96, three-time Gold Glove Award winner ('87, '88, '89), two-time All-Star ('87, '89), World Series champion ('90)

The skinny: "Eric the Red" isn’t the only five-tool player in Cincinnati's history, but he might be the best-remembered. The outfielder was unmatched with a stunning blend of bat speed, foot speed, power and superior defense. He debuted at age 21 in 1984 and three seasons later became the first player in history to hit 30 homers and steal 50 bases in the same season, despite playing only 129 games. Davis’s 7.9 Wins Above Replacement (via Baseball-Reference) that season ranked second in the NL behind Tony Gwynn (8.5).

Ernie Lombardi, C, No. 4

Résumé: Catcher from 1932-41, NL MVP Award winner ('38), first catcher to ever win two batting titles, World Series champion ('40)

The skinny: Lombardi already has received some major recognition from the Reds, including being named an inaugural member of the club’s Hall of Fame in 1958. He is also one of the few non-Big Red Machine players immortalized with a statue outside of Great American Ball Park. And he was posthumously elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans’ Committee in '86.

On the field, Lombardi batted .311/.359/.469 in 1,203 games for the Reds, and on the advanced statistic side, his 126 wRC+ is the best ever for a Reds catcher. He also caught both of Johnny Vander Meer’s consecutive no-hitters in 1938 and helped lead Cincinnati to the '40 World Series title.

Complicating the process is that Lombardi wore six different numbers while with the Reds, but he wore No. 4 last, from 1939-41.

Vada Pinson, CF, No. 28

Résumé: Center fielder from 1958-68, two-time All-Star ('59, '60), Gold Glove Award winner ('61)

The skinny: Pinson might be one of the more overlooked and underappreciated Reds players in the franchise’s long history. His 47.7 bWAR are eighth-most for Cincinnati, behind six Hall of Famers, the banned Rose and possible future Hall of Famer Joey Votto. Pinson ranks seventh in hits, sixth in doubles and 13th in home runs.

After he debuted in the Majors at age 19 and initially struggled, Pinson went to the All-Star Game in ’59 and ’60 -- when he led the league in doubles both years -- and batted a career-best .343/.379/.504 for the '61 NL pennant-winning Reds. Over his 11 seasons in Cincinnati, Pinson slashed .297/.341/.469.

Joey Votto, 1B, No. 19

Résumé: First baseman from 2007-present; NL MVP Award winner ('10), six-time All-Star ('10, '11, '12, '13, '17, '18)

The skinny: One of the greatest hitters in Reds franchise history, Votto’s 284 career homers rank fourth on the club’s all-time list, behind only Johnny Bench (389), Frank Robinson (324) and Tony Perez (287). For the decade of 2010-19, Votto led all Major Leaguers with a .428 on-base percentage and 1,046 walks, and his .944 OPS was second to only Mike Trout's 1.000.

• Votto greatest Reds 1B of all-time: Sheldon's take

Votto was a regular presence in MVP Award voting totals for a full decade. From 2010-19, Votto finished among the top 10 six times and three times finished as a finalist (among the top three). The only Reds hitters ahead of him in the record books are players who have all had their numbers retired. Votto will surely follow at some point after his stellar playing career is complete.

Additionally …

There was a time, long ago, when players weren’t assigned jersey numbers. But they’re worthy of a mention here:

• Eppa Rixey (P, 1921-33; 440 games; 180 complete games)
• Edd Roush (OF, 1916-26, ’31; 1,399 games, 1,784 hits)
• Noodles Hahn (P, 1899-1905; 2.52 ERA; 900 strikeouts)
• Bid McPhee (2B, 1882-99); 2,138 games, 568 stolen bases)