The myth who would replace a legend? Why Reds' Christian Encarnacion-Strand doesn't buy it

GOODYEAR, Arizona – History is filled with examples of how tough it is to follow a legend, whether it’s Daphne Maxwell Reid replacing the original Aunt Viv on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" or Bobby Murcer replacing Mickey Mantle with the New York Yankees.

“Even when I was coming up, they were saying I was the next Willie Mays,” said former Cincinnati Reds star Eric Davis. “I was like, for real? Damn, I’m 21 years old and y’all putting me on the greatest player of all time?”

To be fair, Davis was an exceptional prospect.

“But, damn,” he said. “Willie?”

Imagine the reaction if he’d followed Mays in center field with the Giants − like Murcer did Mantle with the Yankees.

“And (Murcer) was a good player,” Davis said.

But no Mickey Mantle.

Reds spring training news Reds' Matt McLain could make his spring training debut this week

Reds top prospects Edwin Arroyo? Rece Hinds? Rhett Lowder? How low can Cincinnati Reds go to reach the stars

“And you’ve never had a Mickey Mantle since,” Davis said.

All of which leads to what might prove to be one of the more important facts in Reds camp this spring:

Maybe it’s a good thing Christian Encarnacion-Strand (CES) admittedly doesn’t know much baseball history.

Because what the powerful, young Reds first baseman doesn’t know can’t hurt him as he takes on the tall and unenviable task this spring of filling the vacated shoes of Cincinnati Reds icon Joey Votto. Right?

What he does know, he said, is this:

“You can’t replace Joey. I don’t think anybody could ever replace Joey. That’s just not realistic.

“That dude can hit, play defense,” Encarnacion-Strand said. “He was the best − there’s no denying that. So replacing Joey? No. I’m not replacing Joey. I’m just another first baseman now who’s going to try my best.”

Chalk one up for self-awareness. And maybe just enough historical knowledge.

“He’s very confident,” said Davis, a senior adviser to team president Nick Krall who has worked with CES in spring since the the first baseman was acquired from the Minnesota Twins in the 2022 Tyler Mahle trade.

Maybe that’s part of why manager David Bell said, “I don’t have any concern. It’s obviously with all the respect in the world for the career that Joey’s had, but Christian’s handled himself really well."

Encarnacion-Strand, 24, handled an 11-week big league debut last year especially well, hitting .270 with 13 home runs and an .805 on-base-plus-slugging percentage (OPS), making 32 starts at first and another 23 as the designated hitter (DH).

All of that came with Votto back on the roster following a 10-month recovery and rehab from shoulder surgery − and four months after CES, a converted third baseman, learned a lot of the nuances of first base from Votto himself.

“Footwork, picks, everything,” Encarnacion-Strand said, “how to slow things down, and just the mindset about being there and being the best you can be to help your infielders.”

Perhaps not surprisingly, he calls Votto a “great human being” as he forges ahead not trying to replace him in this first year without Votto in the Reds organization in 22 years − first year missing from the big league side in 18 years.

“That’s crazy,” Encarnacion-Strand said. “That’s mind-blowing, honestly.”

That’s the magnitude of the tough act he has to follow.

Not that Encarnacion-Strand doesn’t have his MLB All-Star potential to go with the tape-measure talent.

In fact, only a year ago he was getting the first rounds of questions about being the man who would replace Votto, his prospect status reaching mythical proportions in Arizona with a monster Cactus League performance that carried into a monster half-season at Triple-A that led to the July 17 debut.

He hit .304 with 33 homers and 99 RBI in 130 combined games at Triple-A and the majors.

Which makes him the myth who would replace the legend, whether he or anyone else wants to see it that way.

“I just live in the moment,” he said. “I can’t change the past, and I can’t go and manipulate the future. Just gotta live day by day.”

For what it’s worth, this moment is one that is repeating a part of Reds history, when nearly 50 years ago the Reds traded Big Red Machine legend and glue guy Tony Pérez to the Montreal Expos to make room for Driessen at first base after Driessen’s impact performance as the DH in the 1976 World Series.

“That was huge,” said Davis, who broke in during Driessen’s last year with the Reds.

Pérez, who wound up in the Baseball Hall of Fame, cast a shadow over his pal and talented teammate long after he was gone − the talented, productive Driessen never quite escaping that shadow and even hearing it from fans during slumps.

“That’s when it’s hard to replace someone of that stature,” Davis said. “But Drees was one of those mild-mannered guys, so he didn’t really get excited. You couldn’t bother him.”

That’s the persona Driessen projected, but years later he occasionally admitted the pressure was real.

Davis said Driessen had the advantage of having been a teammate and friend of Pérez, a part of the team’s World Series success before replacing the legend.

"Because he was there. He celebrated. He contributed. He had some big hits. He had some big home runs. He got some knocks. So now you’re a part of that,” Davis said. “That’s what makes it different than what Christian’s trying to do.”

Except Encarnacion-Strand isn’t trying to do anything that Driessen did − and doesn’t really know anything about that history stuff anyway.

“I didn’t grow up watching baseball,” CES told The Enquirer’s Charlie Goldsmith last spring − when CES actually offered Votto some hitting pointers after noticing something in his swing. “When I see guys on the big screen or out there playing, I don’t know who they are. I just go out there and play.”

Said Davis: “That can be good or bad. If you’re struggling, it’s going to be bad. If you’re playing well, it’s going to be good.

“But if you embrace it, then it’s not anything that should bother you. "The things that hurt people are when they don’t embrace it, and they get tired of hearing it. But if he comes out and he embraces it, then it’ll die down.”

Especially in an age of social media and constant public chatter?

“I try not to pay attention to any of that,” Encarnacion-Strand said.

“I don’t think it’s a lot of pressure. I think it’s just, ‘go out there and do my best.’ “

What better way to approach it? After all, it seemed to work for the guy who replaced Joe DiMaggio with the Yankees: Mantle.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds' Christian Encarnacion-Strand: 'You can't replace Joey Votto'