2012 Cincinnati Reds: Where are they now?

The current Cincinnati Reds may be the most electric field of players to step onto the diamond at Great American Ball Park since the 2012 Reds. Young, powerful, and fun-to-watch players have helped lead one of the league’s hottest teams. Sound familiar yet?

The 2012 season was one of Cincinnati’s winningest, posting a record of 97-65, which remains a club-best since 1976. Baseball fans in the Cincinnati area were blessed with some of their greatest Reds memories that season: Joey Votto’s three-homerun, walk-off grand slam game on Mother’s Day, Homer Bailey’s no-hitter in Pittsburgh, and even Marty Brennaman, Reds broadcasting legend, shaving his head in honor of the historic 10-game win streak that took place midseason.

Cincinnati as a ball club won its 10,000th game early in the season in 2012, set a Great American Ball Park record with nine home runs in one game (four from Cincinnati) against the Colorado Rockies, and went on a stretch of winning 22 of 25 games from Jul. 6 to Aug. 4. Aroldis Chapman, 24 years old at the time, was the hottest closer in baseball and an All-Star. Jay Bruce, who was 25, earned the Silver Slugger award. A 28-year-old Votto rounded out the Reds All-Star bids that season. The Reds won Baseball America’s 2012 Franchise of the Year.

In 2012 the Reds finished the regular season with the second-best record in the league, and even won its first playoff game in 17 years. But it’s been 11 since all of this magic.

Where are they now?

Among Major League Baseball greats

Some members of the 2012 roster still take the field in the MLB, asserting themselves among baseball’s greats for over a decade. Votto, though battling injury to injury over recent years, still mans first base for Cincinnati and is helping lead the current Reds to new heights. He hit .337 in 2012.

Also still in the league is Chapman, the iconic reliever and closer known for his record-breaking fast ball, who pitches for the Texas Rangers after being traded by the Kansas City Royals. Chapman, now 35 years old, set a Cincinnati record in 2012 by converting 24 consecutive save opportunities en route to an All-Star selection in 2012. Chapman has racked up seven All-Star appearances in 13 MLB seasons, four during his tenure in Cincinnati.

Johnny Cueto, star starting pitcher and 16-year MLB veteran, is currently on the injured list with the Miami Marlins in his age 37 season. Cueto has two All-Star appearances to his name, one in Cincinnati. Cueto’s 19-win season in 2012 for the Reds is his second-best career tally, bested only by his 20 wins in 2014. Cueto has three top-six finishes for the Cy Young Award, 2012 being one of those seasons.

Beyond 2012 Reds players still in the league there’s manager Dusty Baker, who was at the helm of the Cincinnati Reds from 2008-13 and won 509 games and two divisional titles in the National League Central. Baker currently manages the Houston Astros and sits at No. 8 for most wins as manager in MLB history, the highest among active managers. Baker and the Astros’ 2022 World Series victory made him the eldest manager to ever win the World Series, and seventh ever to win as both a player and a manager.

Still involved in the sport

Scott Rolen, who played his final season in 2012 with the Reds, is slated to receive his induction ceremony into Cooperstown’s Baseball Hall of Fame in July of 2023. Rolen’s historic 17-year career brought him to Cincinnati in 2009, at age 34, and featured two All-Star appearances for the Reds as well as a Golden Glove and collection of MVP votes in 2010.

Rolen is now Director of Player Development for Indiana University’s baseball program, finishing up his fifth season in the position.

Fan-favorite second basemen Brandon Phillips was in the hottest stretch of his career during the 2012 season, claiming All-Star and Golden Glove honors in the two years prior, and the year after. Phillips finished 13th in National League MVP voting in 2012, claiming a club-best 163 hits with 18 homeruns and 77 RBIs. Nowadays, Phillips is the co-owner of two baseball franchises, the Lexington Legends and the Texas Smoke, a women’s professional fastpitch team in Austin.

Retired in 2018, Phillips will be eligible for Hall of Fame consideration in 2024.

Left fielder Ryan Ludwick, now 44 years old, rounded out a powerful hitting lineup that was the 2012 Cincinnati Reds. Ludwick sent 26 shots over the wall in 2012, the second best on the Reds (Bruce, 34 HR). Ludwick was a veteran addition to the young Reds squad of 2012 and played in 125 games, batting .275 towards the back of the lineup. Ludwick, who played just over three seasons in St. Louis, now works within the Cardinals organization as its Minor League Hitting Instructor.

Bidding farewell to baseball

A slew of 2012 Reds players played their last MLB game in 2017, among them center fielder Drew Stubbs, catcher Ryan Hanigan, and pitchers Mat Latos and Bronson Arroyo. Stubbs was inducted into the University of Texas Hall of Honor in 2017 and resides in Austin. Arroyo makes music in the band Bronson Arroyo & The ’04, most recently releasing an album in February. Latos pitched last season in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball for the South Maryland Blue Crabs.

Since 2020, the 2012 Reds roster saw pitcher Homer Bailey, third basemen Todd Frazier, and outfielder Jay Bruce call it a career as well. Bailey played 11 years for the Reds, 2008-17, amassing 67 wins for the club. Frazier’s 11-year career saw only the first five played in Cincinnati, though Frazier was able to claim two All-Star appearances in 2014 and 2015 before moving to Chicago.

As of March 2023, Frazier signed onto YES Network for pre- and post-game shows covering the New York Yankees. He also filled in recently as an analyst for Reds broadcasts on 70-WLW. Bruce, who publicly retired in April of 2021, said after his retirement announcement that parenting is at the top of list of his things-to-do.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds from 2012: Where are they now?