Editing Sparky Anderson (section)

===Cincinnati Reds===
Just after the 1969 season ended, [[California Angels]] manager [[Lefty Phillips]], who as a Dodger scout had signed the teenager Anderson to his first professional contract,<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-nov-05-la-me-sparky-anderson-20101105-story.html Obituary], ''[[The New York Times]]'', November 5, 2010</ref> named Anderson to his 1970 coaching staff.

[[File:Darrell Johnson Gerald Ford and Sparky Anderson in 1976 (cropped).jpg|thumb|175px|Anderson (right) with [[Gerald Ford]] and Red Sox manager [[Darrell Johnson]] at the [[1976 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1976 All-Star Game]]]]
Within a day of being hired in Anaheim, he was offered the opportunity to succeed [[Dave Bristol]] as manager of the Cincinnati Reds. His appointment reunited Anderson with Reds' [[general manager (baseball)|general manager]] [[Bob Howsam]], who had hired him as a minor-league skipper in the [[St. Louis Cardinals]] and Cincinnati organizations. Anderson was named the Reds manager on October 8, 1969. Since he was a relative unknown in the sports world, headlines on the day after his hiring read "Sparky Who?" At the time of his hiring, Anderson was, at 35, the youngest skipper in baseball.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.indystar.com/article/20101104/SPORTS/101104016/Former-Cincinnati-Reds-manager-Sparky-Anderson-dies|work=[[Indianapolis Star]]|title=Former Cincinnati Reds manager Sparky Anderson dies|date=November 4, 2010|access-date=November 4, 2010}}</ref> Nonetheless, Anderson would become the third manager to lead a team to 100 wins as a rookie manager, doing so by leading the Reds to 102 wins and the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] [[pennant (sports)|pennant]] in {{baseball year|1970}},<ref name=brmgr>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/managers/andersp01.shtml|title=Sparky Anderson Managerial Record|work=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=November 4, 2010}}</ref> where they lost the [[1970 World Series]] in five games to the [[1970 Baltimore Orioles season|Baltimore Orioles]]. During this season, the Reds came to be widely known as the [[Big Red Machine]], a nickname they carried throughout Anderson's tenure.

After an injury-plagued [[1971 Cincinnati Reds season|1971 season]] in which the team finished fourth,<ref name=brmgr/> the Reds came back and won another pennant under Anderson in 1972, beating the [[1972 Pittsburgh Pirates season|Pittsburgh Pirates]] in five games in the [[1972 National League Championship Series|NLCS]], but losing to the [[1972 Oakland Athletics season|Oakland Athletics]] in seven games in the [[1972 World Series|World Series]]. They took the [[National League West]] division title again in {{baseball year|1973}}, but lost to the [[1973 New York Mets season|New York Mets]] in the [[1973 National League Championship Series|NLCS]], a hard-fought series that went the full five games.

After finishing a close second to the [[1974 Los Angeles Dodgers season|Los Angeles Dodgers]] in {{baseball year|1974}}, in {{baseball year|1975}} the Reds blew the division open by winning 108 games. They swept the [[1975 National League Championship Series|National League Championship Series]] and then edged the [[1975 Boston Red Sox season|Boston Red Sox]] in a drama-filled, seven-game [[1975 World Series|World Series]]. They repeated in {{baseball year|1976}} by winning 102 games, sweeping the Phillies in three games in the [[1976 National League Championship Series|National League Championship Series]], then going on to sweep the [[1976 New York Yankees season|New York Yankees]] in the [[1976 World Series|Series]]; the only time that a team swept the League Championship Series and World Series since the start of division play. Over the course of these two seasons, Anderson's Reds compiled an astounding 14–3 record in postseason play against the Pirates, Phillies, Red Sox and Yankees, winning their last eight in a row in the postseason after beating the Red Sox in Game 7 of the 1975 World Series, and then winning seven straight games in the 1976 postseason. They remain the only team to sweep the entire post-season since the inception of the league championship series in 1969.

During this time, Anderson became known as "Captain Hook" for his penchant for taking out a starting pitcher at the first sign of weakness and going to his bullpen,<ref name="ESPN AP bio"/><ref name=blbio>{{cite web |url=https://baseballbiography.com/sparky-anderson-1934 |title=Sparky Anderson biography at Baseball Biography |publisher=baseballbiography.com |access-date=2011-10-05 }}</ref> relying heavily on closers [[Will McEnaney]] and [[Rawly Eastwick]].

When the aging Reds finished second to the Dodgers in each of the next two seasons, Anderson was fired on November 27, 1978<ref name=blbio/> by general manager [[Dick Wagner (baseball)|Dick Wagner]], who had taken over for Howsam a year earlier.<ref name="NYTimes bio"/> Wagner wanted to "shake up" the Reds' coaching staff, to which Anderson objected, leading to his dismissal.<ref name=blbio/>

Under new manager [[John McNamara (baseball)|John McNamara]], the Reds won the division title again in {{baseball year|1979}}, but lost three straight games to the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] in the [[1979 National League Championship Series|League Championship Series]]. They would not make the playoffs again until they won the [[1990 World Series|World Series]] in {{baseball year|1990}} by sweeping the heavily favored [[1990 Oakland Athletics season|Oakland Athletics]].