The Hamilton West Side Little Leaguers are on to the U.S. championship game after a 7-1 win over Iowa on Aug. 27. Their hometown Major League ball club has some connections to the Little League World Series beyond just cheering for the local kids.
Joey Jay, a Reds pitcher from 1961 to 1966, became the first player to have played in Little League-affiliated baseball to make the Majors
when he debuted with the Milwaukee Braves in 1953.Jay never made the Little League World Series, but six former Cincinnati Reds players have, including Todd Frazier who has been and announcer on Hamilton's games on ESPN.
Here are the six former Cincinnati Reds that also
played in the Little League World Series.
Ben Hayes, 1970
Ben Hayes played for Wiesbaden in 1970 representing the German qualifiers. He later signed as an amateur free agent in 1978 and pitched in 86 games out of the bullpen for the Reds in 1982 and 1983. Hayes was 6-6 with a 4.70 earned run average over 115 innings pitched.
Lloyd McClendon, 1971
Lloyd McClendon was the star of the 1971 Little League World Series for the Gary, Indiana team that finished as the tournament runner-up to Taiwan. McClendon hit five home runs and was walked in every other plate appearance he had.
McClendon was drafted by the New York Mets in 1980 and was traded to Cincinnati in December 1982 as part of the deal that sent Hall of Famer Tom Seaver back to New York. He played in 117 games for the Reds in 1987 and 1988 before playing with the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates. He also had a 501-613 record as a manager across eight seasons for the Pirates, Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers.
Dan Wilson, 1981
Dan Wilson, currently the manager of the Seattle Mariners, played for Illinois and finished in third place in the 1981 Little League World Series. Wilson, a first-round pick by the Reds in 1990, played for Cincinnati in 1992 and 1993 before heading to Seattle where he was once an All-Star in his 12 years there.
Jim Brower, 1985
A member of Team Minnesota in 1985, Jim Brower pitched in 354 games in the Majors for eight teams from 1999 to 2007, including a 68-game stop with the Reds in 2001 and 2002. He was acquired from Cleveland in 2000 in a trade that sent away Ed Taubensee and was later traded in 2002 to Montreal for Bruce Chen.
Jason Marquis, 1991
Jason Marquis is one of a small number of players to reach the Little League World Series and the Major League World Series. Marquis pitched a no-hitter for New York in 1991. The starter was an All-Star and Silver Slugger winner in his 15 Major League seasons. Marquis' career ended in Cincinnati in 2015 after starting nine games for the 64-98 Reds, going 3-4 with a 6.46 ERA in 47.1 innings.
Todd Frazier, 1998
If you watched a Cincinnati Reds broadcast from 2011 to 2015, there's a good chance you know that Todd Frazier was the star for the 1998 Toms River, New Jersey team that won the Little League World Series that year, beating Japan 12-9 in the finals. He also got to stand next to Derek Jeter when being honored by the New York Yankees that season.
Frazier was the first-round pick by Cincinnati in 2007 before playing 633 games for the Reds and winning the 2015 Home Run Derby in front of the home crowd.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: How many Cincinnati Reds played in the Little League World Series?
