You may have noticed that there are Major League Baseball games being played in front of packed houses each and every day this week. You may also have noticed that none of them have featured the Cincinnati Reds.
That’s because the Reds, unfortunately, were terrible this year. And terrible teams don’t get to play October baseball.
For this, the first Friday of the offseason, we will turn back to the Red Reporter tradition of listing, because on Fridays around these parts that’s what we do – we list.
Here is a likely incomplete list of ways in which the Cincinnati Reds ranked dead last during the 2026 season, a list that tells just about every possible story as to why they aren’t playing in playoff games this week:
Hitting
- Strikeout rate (25.5%)
- BABIP (.278)
- Batting average (.229)
- On-Base Percentage (.305)
- Hits (1231)
- Singles (783)
- wRC+ (91)
- OFF (-66.3)
- Swords (277)
- Hit Into Play (3.536)
Pitching
- xERA* (4.92)
- BB/9 (4.19)
- BB (668)
- K/BB (1.94)
- FIP** (4.82)
- ERA** (4.84)
- WHIP** (1.44)
- Runs** (826)
- ERA-** (113)
- SIERA* (4.52)
- Exit Velocity* (89.5)
- Barrel %* (8.7%)
Fielding
- rSZ (-12)
These are all the ways in which the 2026 Cincinnati Reds were last, according to FanGraphs. Good thing it was only hitting the ball, pitching the ball, and fielding the ball where they struggled.
* last except for the Colorado Rockies, who barely even exist
** last except for the Colorado Rockies, who barely exist, and the Athletics, who have no home and played in a AAA stadium
