Some players become special to a team to a degree disproportionate to their long-term impact and in Cincinnati pitcher Pedro Borbon was one of those guys. Something intangible, beyond performance on the field, links some players to the community’s fan base forever, and they don’t have to be a Hall of Famer to make that happen.
Timing can be part of it. Personality, too. Playing a role in a key play, game, season, all can contribute. For many of those reasons, Borbon, who certainly did have his good moments representing the Reds, has long been fondly remembered in Cincinnati. Never more vociferously, though, than when he died from cancer the other day at 65.
Borbon was a relief pitcher who spent 10 years with the Reds, most prominently as a member of The Big Red Machine teams in the mid-1970s when Cincinnati won two World Series crowns in 1975 and 1976 with such clubs guided by manager Sparky Anderson that included Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, and Tony Perez.
During his time with the Reds, the genial Borbon appeared in a team-record 531 games and recorded 76 saves. Besides the world title teams, Borbon was also part of the Cincinnati glory years when the club won the 1970 and 1972 National League pennants and the 1973 Western Division. Although the rest of baseball fans’ memories might not take them back so far and the achievements of a reliever might be obscured on a team that was laden with Hall of Famers, Borbon pitched in 20 post-season games for the Reds with an earned run average of 2.55.
A member of the team’s Hall of Fame, Borbon’s legacy continued beyond his playing days when his son, Pedro Borbon Jr., became a pitcher for the club, too.
Lifetime, Borbon, who was born in Mao, Dominican Republic on Dec. 2, 1946, had a sterling 69-39 record with a 3.52 ERA, spread over 12 years in the majors.
Borbon could occasionally be unpredictable. Once during an appearance in Boston’s Fenway Park Borbon was standing on the mound and abruptly turned around, faced center field and threw the ball over the wall. When asked why he did so, Borbon said someone dared him to try it. Borbon periodically entertained sports writers with stories about growing up in the Dominican and he once claimed that he had a grandfather who was 136 years old. That tale was not generally believed.
Pedro Jr. reveled in following in his father’s footsteps, although he trod quite carefully, not knowing if he could live up to his dad’s achievements. “I was kind of intimidated by my dad,” Pedro Jr. once said, “because I was afraid I would fail and not become the same quality of player he was.”
It is not as if anyone is a failure who reaches the majors, but Pedro Jr.’s lifetime record was 16-16 distributed over parts of nine Major League seasons. His father did have the superior career.
When Pedro Sr. passed away earlier this week the Reds discussed how he will be missed.
“The entire organization is very sad to hear of the loss of another member of our baseball family,” Reds team president Bob Castellini said. “Pedro was an important contributor to the success of the Big Red Machine and he always will be remembered for his colorful personality and his contributions to that wonderful time in our history.”