Time for Reds to retire Tom Browning's No. 32 | Opinion
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The decision should have been signed, sealed and put to rest on the evening of September 16, 1988.
That’s the night Tom Browning pitched the 12th perfect game in baseball history. In a 1-0 Reds victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Riverfront Stadium, Browning threw 70 of 102 pitches for strikes and did not run the count to three balls on a single batter.
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The first left-hander to pitch a perfect game since Sandy Koufax’s perfect game in 1965, Browning remains the only Reds player to pitch a perfect game. Three months earlier, on June 6, 1988, Browning had a bid for a no-hitter broken-up by Tony Gwynn who singled with one out in the ninth. And he just missed becoming the first pitcher to throw two perfect games, taking another bid into the ninth on July 4, 1989, against the Philadelphia Phillies at Veterans Stadium, a lead-off double by Dickie Thon broke up this attempt.
Now it’s the Reds turn to be perfect. To do the right thing.
Browning passed − suddenly − on December 19, 2022. It’s time for the Reds to retire Number 32 − Mr. Perfect.
His 123 wins with the Reds ranked fourth among left-handers when he retired, and remain the most by any Reds pitcher active since 1971; his 298 starts trail only Eppa Rixey among the team’s left-handers. Browning pitched 12 years in the big leagues and might be best known not for the perfect game, but something that didn’t involve pitching at all.
On July 7, 1993, the Reds were visiting the Cubs at Wrigley Field when Browning decided he wanted to watch the game from a different vantagepoint than the dugout. So, he left the ballpark and went across the street, where he was welcomed atop of the houses on Sheffield Avenue.
He was later fined $500 by then-Reds manager Davey Johnson.
But don’t let that Tomfoolery fool you. In 1985 − his rookie season − he was the Reds’ first 20-game winner in 15 years, and equaled the most wins by a Cincinnati left-hander since 1925. He led the National League in games started four of the next five years.
To date, the New York Yankees have retired more numbers than any other team and started the practice with Lou Gehrig’s No. 4 in 1939.
As for basketball, well no team in NBA history has more titles than the Boston Celtics − their 17 ties them with the Los Angeles Lakers. So, it makes sense there are no other franchises in the league with more retired numbers to honor the players who earned and hung those banners over the decades. In fact, no team in any sport has more retired jersey numbers than the Celtics with 23 − a reflection of the excellence behind the Celtics mystique built by Hall of Fame coach Arnold (Red) Auerbach.
The Reds' list is small but impressive: Dave Bristol (1), Johnny Bench (5), Joe Morgan (8), Sparky Anderson (10), Barry Larkin (11), Dave Concepcion (13), Ted Kluszewski (18), Frank Robinson (20) and Tony Perez (24).
In December 2005, Browning led fan balloting wire-to-wire to become a 2006 Hall of Famer. He has something in common and is in good company with another Reds’ left-hander − Johnny Vander Meer. Vander Meer became the only pitcher in Major League Baseball history to throw two consecutive no-hitters, and was a member of the 1940 World Series champions.
And his number hasn’t yet been retired.
Jason Vosler wears No. 32 these days for the Reds. The 10-year minor-leaguer opened the season with three homers in his first 15 at-bats. Quite the feat. And he should be applauded.
But not in Tom Browning’s uniform − sorry.
Andy Furman is a member of the Enquirer Board of Contributors. He also talks sports nationally on Fox Sports Radio, serves as PR coordinator for The Point/Arc in Northern Kentucky and writes for the Brooklyn (NY) Daily Eagle.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Time for Reds to retire Tom Browning's No. 32 | Opinion
