Editing Cincinnati Reds (section)

===World championship and the end of an era (1990–2002)===
In {{baseball year|1987}}, general manager Bergesch was replaced by [[Murray Cook (baseball)|Murray Cook]], who initiated a series of deals that would finally bring the Reds back to the championship, starting with acquisitions of [[Danny Jackson]] and [[José Rijo]]. An aging Dave Parker was let go after a revival of his career in Cincinnati following the [[Pittsburgh drug trials]]. Barry Larkin emerged as the starting shortstop over Kurt Stillwell, who, along with reliever [[Ted Power]], was traded for Jackson. In {{baseball year|1989}}, Cook was succeeded by [[Bob Quinn (baseball, born 1936)|Bob Quinn]], who put the final pieces of the championship puzzle together, with the acquisitions of [[Hal Morris]], [[Billy Hatcher]] and [[Randy Myers]].

[[File:Eric davis.jpg|left|thumb|upright=0.8|[[Eric Davis (baseball)|Eric Davis]] in 1990]]

In {{baseball year|1990}}, the [[1990 Cincinnati Reds season|Reds]], under new manager [[Lou Piniella]], shocked baseball by leading the NL West from wire-to-wire, making them the only NL team to do so. Winning their first nine games, they started 33–12 and maintained their lead throughout the year. Led by [[Chris Sabo]], [[Barry Larkin]], [[Eric Davis (baseball)|Eric Davis]], [[Paul O'Neill (baseball)|Paul O'Neill]] and Billy Hatcher on the field, and by [[José Rijo]], Tom Browning and the "Nasty Boys" – [[Rob Dibble]], [[Norm Charlton]] and [[Randy Myers]] – on the mound, the Reds took out the [[1990 Pittsburgh Pirates season|Pirates]] in the [[1990 National League Championship Series|NLCS]]. The Reds swept the heavily favored [[Oakland Athletics]] in four straight and extended a winning streak in the [[1990 World Series|World Series]] to nine consecutive games. This Series, however, saw Eric Davis severely bruise a kidney diving for a fly ball in Game 4, and his play was greatly limited the next year.

In {{baseball year|1992}}, Quinn was replaced in the front office by [[Jim Bowden (baseball)|Jim Bowden]]. On the field, manager Lou Piniella wanted outfielder Paul O'Neill to be a power hitter to fill the void Eric Davis left when he was traded to the [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] in exchange for [[Tim Belcher]]. However, O'Neill only hit .246 with 14 home runs. The Reds returned to winning after a losing season in {{baseball year|1991}}, but 90 wins was only enough for second place behind the division-winning [[1992 Atlanta Braves season|Atlanta Braves]]. Before the season ended, Piniella got into an altercation with reliever Rob Dibble. In the offseason, [[Paul O'Neill (baseball)|Paul O'Neill]] was traded to the [[New York Yankees]] for outfielder [[Roberto Kelly]], who was a disappointment for the Reds over the next couple of years, while O'Neill led a downtrodden Yankees franchise to a return to glory. Around this time, the Reds would replace their Big Red Machine–era uniforms in favor of a pinstriped uniform with no sleeves.

Controversy erupted after the 1992 season when team owner [[Marge Schott]] was reported to have racially and ethnically slurred players and business associates, and in a November interview, praised the early efforts of [[Adolf Hitler]].<ref name="NYTimes1">{{citation|author1-last=Goldstein|author1-first=Richard|title=Marge Schott, Owner of Cincinnati Reds, Dies|date=March 2, 2004|work=The New York Times website|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/02/obituaries/marge-schott-owner-of-cincinnati-reds-dies.html|access-date=May 14, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926224143/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/02/obituaries/marge-schott-owner-of-cincinnati-reds-dies.html|archive-date=September 26, 2020|url-status=live|quote=The uproar over Mrs. Schott's remarks prompted baseball's leadership to suspend her from day-to-day oversight of the Reds for the 1993 season.}}</ref><ref name="NYTimes3">{{citation|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/07/sports/baseball-call-for-schott-to-step-down.html|title=Call for Schott to Step Down|newspaper=The New York Times|agency=[[Associated Press]]|page=C2|date=December 7, 1992|access-date=March 30, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220604063617/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/07/sports/baseball-call-for-schott-to-step-down.html|archive-date=June 4, 2022|url-status=live}}</ref> As punishment, Major League Baseball's executive council prevented her from exercising day-to-day oversight of the Reds during the 1993 season.<ref name="NYTimes1" />

For the [[1993 Cincinnati Reds season|1993 season]], manager Piniella was replaced by fan favorite [[Tony Pérez]], but he lasted only 44 games at the helm before being replaced by [[Davey Johnson]]. With Johnson steering the team, the Reds made steady progress. In {{baseball year|1994}}, the Reds were in the newly created [[National League Central Division]] with the [[Chicago Cubs]], [[St. Louis Cardinals]], and rivals [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] and [[Houston Astros]]. By the time the [[1994–95 Major League Baseball strike|strike]] hit, the Reds finished a half-game ahead of the [[Houston Astros]] for first place in the NL Central. In {{baseball year|1995}}, the Reds won the division thanks to [[Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player|MVP]] [[Barry Larkin]]. After defeating the NL West champion Dodgers in the first NLDS since 1981, however, they lost to the [[1995 Atlanta Braves season|Atlanta Braves]].

[[File:RedsOpeningDay1995.jpg|thumb|Opening day at Riverfront Stadium, 1995]]
Team owner Schott had decided before the 1995 season that manager Johnson would be gone by the end of the year, regardless of the team's outcome, to be replaced by former Reds third baseman Ray Knight.<ref name="WashingtonPost1">{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/orioles/longterm/memories/davey/articles/poorcomm.htm | newspaper=The Washington Post | date=May 12, 1998 | access-date=April 30, 2010 | title=Poor Communication at Heart of Feud | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100601061937/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/orioles/longterm/memories/davey/articles/poorcomm.htm | archive-date=June 1, 2010 | url-status=live }}</ref> Schott did not like Johnson, and she did not approve of Johnson living with his fiancée before they were married.<ref name="WashingtonPost1" /> In contrast, Knight, along with his wife, professional golfer [[Nancy Lopez]], were friends of Schott. The team took a dive under Knight, who was unable to complete two full seasons as manager and was subjected to complaints in the press about his strict managerial style.

Marge Schott found herself the subject of further controversy when, in May 1996, she reiterated her 1992 praise for Hitler in an [[ESPN]] interview.<ref name="NYTimes1" /> The MLB executive council threatened to sanction her again, but she instead agreed step aside from day-to-day operations through 1998.<ref name="NYTimes1" /> In 1999, she sold a controlling stake in the team to a group led by [[Carl Lindner Jr.|Carl Lindner]], retaining a minority interest, and never again directed the team's operations.<ref name="NYTimes1" />

In {{baseball year|1999}}, the [[1999 Cincinnati Reds season|Reds]] won 96 games, led by manager [[Jack McKeon]], but lost to the [[1999 New York Mets season|New York Mets]] in a [[1999 National League Wild Card tie-breaker game|one-game playoff]]. Despite an 85–77 finish in {{baseball year|2000}}, and being named 1999 NL manager of the year, McKeon was fired after the [[2000 Major League Baseball season|2000 season]]. The Reds did not have another winning season until [[2010 Cincinnati Reds season|2010]].