CINCINNATI -- In their first season as a professional baseball franchise in 1869, the Reds went 57-0 and put Cincinnati on the baseball map. Things were much less organized back then.

As the Reds moved into the modern Major Leagues and National League in the late 19th century, they featured some great all-time teams and won five World Series.

But which was the best of the best, at least in the regular season? We took a closer look at the top 5 finishes for the Reds over the years.

1. 1975
Record: 108-54

Hall of Famers like Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench and Tony Perez helped the Reds win the NL West division by 20 games under manager Sparky Anderson. Morgan was the ’75 National League MVP winner after he batted .327/.466/.508 with 17 home runs, 94 RBIs, 67 steals and 107 runs. The rotation featured three 15-game winners in Gary Nolan, Jack Billingham, and Don Gullett.

The Big Red Machine reached its pinnacle as the club made it to the World Series for the third time during the decade. This time, Cincinnati prevailed by defeating the Red Sox in a thrilling seven-game World Series.

2. 1976
Record: 102-60

Defending their World Series title with another big season helped cement the Big Red Machine as a true dynasty. This time, Cincinnati won the division by 10 games and swept the Phillies in three games during the NL Championship Series.

In the World Series, the Reds swept the Yankees in four games. Bench hit .533 in the series, and he had two home runs and five RBIs in Game 4 to earn the series MVP. Morgan won back-to-back NL MVPs after he hit .320 with a league-topping 1.020 OPS, 27 homers and 60 steals.

3. 1970
Record: 102-60

In their first season under Anderson, the Reds returned to the postseason for the first time since 1961. In the best season of his career, Bench won the first of his two NL MVP Awards as he led the Majors with 45 home runs and 148 RBIs while batting .293 with a 7.4 WAR and career-best .932 OPS. Pérez slugged 40 homers while Lee May contributed 34 of his own.

The Reds swept the Pirates in the NLCS but fell to the Orioles in the World Series in five games.

4. 1940
Record: 100-53-2

On the heels of a 1939 NL pennant win, the Reds were swept in four games by the Yankees, who were led by a young Joe DiMaggio. Cincinnati returned even stronger in ’40. Led by ’39 NL MVP and rotation ace Bucky Walters, the Reds won the pennant again by 12 games over the Brooklyn Dodgers. Walters just missed a second pitching triple crown as he was 22-10 with a 2.48 ERA with 29 complete games and 115 strikeouts over 305 innings.

In both the regular season and World Series, Reds hitters Ernie Lombardi and Frank McCormick led the way. McCormick scored a run in a two-run seventh inning that gave the Reds a 2-1 victory over the Tigers in Game 7 of the World Series for their first title since 1919.

5. 1973
Record: 99-63

Pete Rose led the way for Cincinnati as he batted .338 and earned the ’73 NL MVP Award. Three hitters -- Bench, Pérez and Morgan -- slugged at least 25 homers while Billingham went 19-10 with a 3.04 ERA in 40 starts to lead the pitching staff.

For the third time in four years, the Reds finished first in the NL West, but their hopes for another World Series berth were dashed by the Mets. New York won the NLCS in five games in a battle that was marred by bench-clearing brawls involving Rose for sliding hard into Bud Harrelson at second base during Game 3.