The former teammates will share the honor this year.
Pokey Reese won back to back Gold Glove Awards as the everyday second baseman of the Cincinnati Reds in 1999 and 2000. He spent a good portion of the work that earned him those honors making spectacular diving stops on the infield, rising, and firing over to a first baseman named Dmitri Young.
Reese and Young spent the entirety of the 1999, 2000, and 2001 seasons as teammates on the Reds. The two each turned 50 years old last year. Now, they’ll get to have a little bit more fun together as official grand marshals of the 105th Findlay Market Opening Day Parade.
The Reds helped announce the news on Tuesday morning.
JUST ANNOUNCED: Dmitri Young and Pokey Reese will serve as the grand marshals of the 105th Findlay Market Opening Day Parade.
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) February 27, 2024
#RedsOpeningDay pic.twitter.com/v8qQAXwVvW
Young spent just that trio of seasons with the Reds, in which time he posted a stellar .845 OPS (112 OPS+) while playing first and both corner outfield spots. He was eventually traded to the Detroit Tigers in the deal that brought back Juan Encarnacion.
Reese, meanwhile, spent all of 1997-2001 with the big league Reds after having been their 1st round pick in the 1991 MLB Draft out of Lower Richland High School (SC). His glove was always his calling card - for his career he was valued at 8.0 dWAR and just 0.7 oWAR - and with it he was as good as anyone on the planet. In quite the odd flex, he was dealt on December 18th, 2001 to the Colorado Rockies with Dennys Reyes for Luke Hudson and Gabe White only to be dealt the very next day from Colorado to Boston for future Cincinnati Reds first baseman Scott Hatteberg.
I’m now of the age where I thought I was cool when these guys were actually cool, so it’s cool as cool can be to see them back repping the Reds on what should be one of the most optimistic Opening Day scenes in years.
