Pokey Reese

“That was the most exciting thing I ever accomplished in baseball, and to do it with those guys was great.” — Pokey Reese, on being a member of the 2004 Boston Red Sox.1

Pokey Reese didn’t have many things when he was a kid, including a baseball glove. He chucked a tennis ball against the wall to learn how to field. “Just used my hands,” he said.2 He borrowed a glove from his Little League coach, and finally owned one in high school. He was already a dazzling fielder by then. When he was 17, the Cincinnati Reds’ scouting report described Reese as “agile, good athlete, [who] reacts well, fluid, first-step quickness, great range, good arm from the hole.”3 Pokey Reese’s glove took him from a South Carolina shack with no running water to an eight-year major-league career. He received two Gold Glove Awards and recorded the last out as the Boston Red Sox won the 2004 American League Championship Series. The Red Sox walked off the field with their first World Series championship in 86 years, and Reese walked off the field a champion after a lifetime of hardship, poverty, and tragedy. “Most of us walk miles to get where we want to be,” wrote Paul Daugherty in the Cincinnati Enquirer. “Reese had walked more than that.”4

Calvin Reese Jr. was born on June 10, 1973, in Arthurtown, an unincorporated part of Columbia, South Carolina, to Calvin Reese Sr. and Clara (Barnes) Reese. Calvin Sr. was a truck driver who was in and out of the family’s life over the years, a victim of alcohol and drugs. Clara was a nurse’s assistant. They divorced, remarried, then divorced again when Calvin Jr. was in high school.5 He was nicknamed Pokey by his grandmother, who was actually saying “porky” in her Southern accent. “I was a little chubby guy,” Reese said. “I had a hernia, so, my navel stuck out. Everybody poked me in my navel.”6

Arthurtown, founded by freed slaves after the Civil War, resembled more the 1870s, not the 1970s. With no public sewer or water, the Reeses had an outhouse. Pokey and his brothers, Tony, and Angelo Wilson (who had a different father), and two sisters, Alissia (Peaches) and Candy, would carry water in jugs from their grandfather’s well a half-mile down their dirt road called Sugar Hill Lane. They heated water on the stove for baths and washed clothes on a washboard. “It was crazy, but we got by,” Reese said. They did have electricity, and Pokey listened to Braves games on the radio, and watched the Game of the Week on television at his great-grandfather’s house down the hill.7

Pokey once stole a bag of Clara’s flour to create foul lines and batter’s boxes in the side yard where he played baseball. Pokey saw a perfect ball field, but Clara, horrified, saw lost biscuits and cornbread. She had to feed her family of nine (including grandma and cousins Randy and Gerald) in a two-bedroom house. Pokey used soda cans for bases and the doghouse for the center-field wall.8

When Pokey was 9, they moved to the Starlight low-income community in Columbia. “I used to run on the concrete with no shoes on, scraping my toes up, chasing balls,” he remembered. His Little League uniform was yellow and black, making Pokey an instant fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates.9

Calvin Sr. played semipro baseball with both the all-Black Arthurtown Buccaneers and the integrated Columbia Bulls. Pokey was the team batboy and legend has it that he snared a foul line drive while adults ducked.10 Calvin Sr. was known as Slick for his fielding at shortstop, and Pokey played shortstop modeling his dad.11

Reese began his high-school career at A.C. Flora High School but transferred to Lower Richland High School, which also produced Richard Seymour of the NFL and Stanley Roberts of the NBA. As a sophomore, Reese batted .329 with 11 stolen bases. “He’s by far the best glove man at his position I’ve seen in a long time,” his coach, Henry Mixon, said. “He is so smooth.”12 Reese learned a lot from Mixon, whom he depended on for rides.

Reese batted .426 with 15 steals as a junior and made the state’s AAAA-AAA All-Area Team.13 As a senior he batted .446 with 5 home runs and 20 stolen bases as Lower Richland (25-5) won the Region 4-AAAA title. Reese drew attention during a playoff game against Lancaster. “I made a diving catch up the middle,” Reese said, “and I made a backhanded play in the hole and threw a batter out. A scout came up to me after the game and said, ‘Your stock is rising.’ I said, ‘Oh gosh.’”14

Paul Faulk of the Cincinnati Reds scouted Reese, who was also a phenomenal football player, starring as a quarterback, wide receiver, and free safety. In his senior year, he rushed for 154 yards and one touchdown, threw for 1,066 yards, caught one touchdown pass, made 36 solo tackles, and ran 281 yards in kickoff returns.15 “He’s probably the best defensive back who’s ever played here,” his coach, Bill Kimrey, said. “He can score on defense as quick as he can on offense and covers a lot of ground.”16 Reese signed a letter of intent to play football at Arizona State but was not academically eligible.

Baseball America rated Reese prospect number 37 out of 100 players nationally. He was drafted in the first round (20th overall) in the June 1991 amateur draft by the Cincinnati Reds. “I was so excited the world champions picked me,” an elated Reese said. “It’s been a dream ever since I was small to play major league baseball.” Reese received a $200,000 signing bonus.17 He was assigned to Princeton (West Virginia) of the short-season Appalachian League. In 62 games he batted .238 with 3 home runs and 10 stolen bases. He committed 31 errors at shortstop in 270 chances for an .885 fielding percentage.

In 1992 Reese advanced to Charleston (West Virginia) of the low Class-A South Atlantic League. He batted .268 in 106 games. “He’s a very exciting player to watch,” commented Reds minor-league coordinator Jim Tracy, saying Reese had “the makeup and the build to remind you a heck of a lot of Ozzie Smith.” Reese improved his fielding percentage (.932) and played in the South Atlantic League All-Star Game.18

In 1993 Reese made the jump to Chattanooga of the Double-A Southern League. He struggled, batting .212 in 102 games. The scoreboard operator at Engel Stadium was instructed not to post his batting average until Reese reached .200 near season’s end. “I’m glad,” Reese said. “It was that bad. I was not patient at all.”19 Reese cut his errors at shortstop to 25 in 506 chances (.951). Reese was sent to the Florida Instructional League after the season for practice at second base “to make him a little more versatile,” said Reds player development director Sheldon “Chief” Bender.“20

Reese spent 1994 at Chattanooga and batted .269 with 12 home runs with an increased on-base percentage (.336 vs .258 in 1993). “I’ve surprised myself sometimes,” he said. “I’ve been on fire. I hope it keeps going.” “He’s showed me a lot,” coach Ray Knight said, “especially his instincts, baseball knowledge and reading situations.” Reese committed 38 errors in 621 chances at shortstop, but manager Pat Kelly blamed it on poor field conditions. “You watch. He’ll make an Ozzie Smith-type play tonight. It’s a nightly occurrence.” Rival Birmingham manager Terry Francona said, “We’ve graded him higher than any player in this league at any position. That’s how highly we think of him.”21

Reese spent the next two seasons at Triple-A Indianapolis, being groomed as Barry Larkin’s possible replacement if the Reds future Hall of Famer left via free agency.22 Reese hit a home run in his first Triple-A at-bat in 1995 and batted .368 in early May but missed a month with an ankle sprain.23 He batted .239 for the season with 10 home runs (.316 OBP) and spent the winter in the Arizona Fall League.24

Reese missed action in 1996 with a strained medial collateral ligament in his left knee after being upended on a hard slide into second base. The same sore knee forced him to miss September.25 He batted .232 in 79 games with Indianapolis, with a .948 fielding percentage (19 errors in 367 chances at shortstop).

Cincinnati experimented with Reese in the outfield in an attempt to get him on the major-league roster. Larkin and Bret Boone at shortstop and second base meant Reese had nowhere to play. Bowden still considered Reese “untouchable” and wouldn’t trade him.26 Reese batted .373 with three home runs in spring training 1997 and made the club, for one day. He made his major-league debut on April 1 as a defensive replacement for Larkin with his mother and grandmother sitting behind home plate. Reese was immediately sent back to Indianapolis. “They gotta do what they gotta do,” he said. “There’s a lot of ups and downs in this game.”27 He was soon recalled when Larkin had a bad heel. He started at shortstop on April 12, grounding out in his first at-bat against Kevin Brown. The game was 1-1 into the bottom of the 10th. With Eric Owens on second, Reese blooped a single to right off Rick Helling, Owens scored, and Reese’s first major-league hit was a walk-off, snapping a Reds five-game losing streak. The ball went to Pokey’s mother. “I’m so happy right now, I can’t express it,” Reese said. “It’s a dream come true. My first hit is the game-winning hit.”28

Reese’s first home run, a three-run shot, came the next day against the Marlins’ Al Leiter in a 6-4 Reds victory. He briefly returned to Indianapolis before returning for good on May 6. He started 92 games at shortstop for the injured Larkin. Reese made only 15 errors in 447 chances (.966) and just one error in his first 60 games (April 1-July 15) with a solid .995 fielding percentage. He finished the season batting .219 but was second on the team behind Deion Sanders with 25 stolen bases. The Reds were a disappointing 76-86.

Reese had a forgettable 1998 Opening Day against San Diego, making four errors, three in the third inning and two on one play. Manager Jack McKeon joked that Reese should go for the record of errors by a shortstop on Opening Day. Reese tied the Cubs’ Lou Stringer, who had four miscues at shortstop in his debut in 1941. Stringer had more success selling cars, putting Elvis Presley into a shiny new Corvette. Reese was not all shook up, however, about the infamous record. “I just want to put it behind me and go out and get them tomorrow,” he said.29

When Larkin returned, Reese started just 14 of 31 games and batted a paltry .143. The 30-43 Reds were already 14 games behind in the NL Central Division when McKeon moved Reese to third base. He batted .321 in 24 games and the Reds went 17-11 over that span. Reese’s only home run of the season, on June 25, snapped an 11-game losing streak. Reese belted a three-run home run off Keith Foulke of the White Sox in a 7-5 interleague victory. The Reds won 15 of their next 16 games. Reese dived for a Javy López grounder on July 30 and tore a ligament in his thumb, ending his season early.30 The Reds (77-85) finished in fourth place.

Bret Boone’s trade to Atlanta gave Reese a chance to start at second base, and he excelled. He posted career highs in batting average (.285), RBIs (52), stolen bases (38, tied for fifth in the NL), and OPS (.747). But it was Reese’s defense that truly shined as he won a Gold Glove Award at second base. His Defensive WAR (3.2) trailed only Rey Ordóñez and Andruw Jones in the National League. Reese ranked second among second basemen in putouts (325), tied for third in assists (409), first in total zone fielding runs above average (27), fourth in double plays turned (91), second in range factor per nine innings (5.40), and third in fielding percentage (.991), committing just seven errors in 741 chances.

The 1999 Reds surprised the baseball world by making a playoff run. Reese had a four-hit game in an 8-1 win over Florida on May 29 and a five-hit game on June 22 at Arizona in an 8-7 victory. He had a 10-game hitting streak August 13-22, and hit safely in 16 of 17 games August 13-29. On September 4 Reese hit one of the Reds’ nine home runs that day against Philadelphia, still a National League record as of 2022. His 12th-inning walk-off three-run home run off Ricky Bottalico in the last week of the season beat the Cardinals, 7-5. The win, combined with a Mets loss, put the Reds ahead in the wild-card race by one game with seven to go. “In the game of baseball,” Reese reflected, “you can’t give up. I don’t think I’ve ever had a hit like that one. Maybe in Little League or A-ball. It’s the biggest RBI of my career. I’m going to write that on the ball and I’m going to give it to my mom.”31

The Reds moved one game ahead of Houston in the NL Central but lost four of their next five games. Houston passed them in the Central, and the Mets rallied to tie them for the wild card. In a one-game playoff, Al Leiter shut out the Reds on two hits in a 5-0 victory.

In the offseason, the Reds sought to acquire future Hall of Famer and Cincinnati native Ken Griffey Jr. The trade couldn’t happen because Bowden refused to include Reese as part of the deal. Even the humble Reese was surprised. “To get Ken home to Cincinnati, I’d have made the deal,” he said honestly. “I’m honored my name was used in the same sentence as his.”32 Bowden eventually acquired Griffey anyway, without giving up Reese.

Reese had another defensively stellar season in 2000. His Defensive WAR ranked fourth in the NL, Total Zone Fielding Runs above average as a second baseman ranked first, and his range factor per game was tied for second. He walked away with his second Gold Glove in as many years. Reese started strong offensively, batting .366 through April, but batted only .235 in the second half. He matched his career high with five hits against the Giants on April 20 and had a career-high six triples. He stole 29 bases and was caught just three times (a NL-best 90.63 percentage). Reese missed time in July (a strained left groin), in August (a strained left hamstring), and the last nine games of the season (a bruised left hand).33 The Reds finished 85-77-1 and missed the playoffs.

In 2000 Pokey Reese’s life went under the spotlight, but not Pokey the Gold Glove winner. In the June 12 issue of Sports Illustrated, Michael Bamberger wrote an article, “Fast and Loose,” delving into Reese’s family issues and tragedies. Reese and his girlfriend, Tieronay Duckett, had a baby girl, LaBresha, born in November 1992. Reese and Duckett were engaged to be married. After a brief breakup the year before, Reese had a son, Naquwan, born two months before LaBresha, through a one-night stand with Rhonda Richardson. Duckett was killed in a car accident in 1993, just before Reese went to spring training. LaBresha was raised by her great-grandmother.

The tragedy no doubt contributed to Reese’s poor 1993 season at Chattanooga in which he started 0-for-30. He called his mother. “I’m comin’ home,” he said, despondently. “I can’t concentrate. It isn’t worth it.” His mother persuaded him to not give up.34

Rhonda was eight months pregnant with a child who was not Reese’s. In 1996 she died from an illness, losing the baby as well. Naquwan was raised by his grandmother, Patricia Richardson, and great-grandmother, Nellie Green. The unthinkable happened on December 23, 1997, when Patricia’s live-in boyfriend murdered her and Nellie in their home. Naquwan was found near their bodies.

“It’s new every time,” Reese said about the tragedies he experienced. “I don’t want anyone to die on me. I hate that stuff. It’s scary. People you love here one day, then gone the next. It’s hard, but I try not to think about it. It’s always going to be in the back of my head, of course, but I just try to go out and have my fun on the field.”35

Also in 1997, Reese fathered a girl, McKayla, with Christy Jones, whom he had met while in Indianapolis. Reese and Jones broke off an engagement. Reese also has a son Cameron from another relationship.

Scott MacGregor of the Cincinnati Enquirer called Reese’s family life “a world he cannot escape, where death touches him or his family with the arbitrary stroke of an artist’s brush, painting his life black when it should be nothing but bright.”36 Brighter days would one day come.

With Larkin injured most of 2001, Reese made 70 starts at shortstop and 46 at second base, disrupting his chance at a third straight Gold Glove. Reese himself missed 43 starts with numerous injuries, including a bad shoulder.37 He still managed a .980 fielding percentage at second, committing only five errors in 247 chances. At the plate, Reese dropped to .224 with 9 home runs and had the highest stolen-base percentage (86.21) in the NL with 25 steals in 29 attempts.

The 2001 season was disastrous for the 66-96 Reds, and Reese’s relationship with the organization soured. Before the season, he withdrew from attending Redsfest because he didn’t want to discuss his contract negotiations. The Reds wanted to give him a $900,000 raise; Reese wanted $1.8 million. In April Reese declined the Reds offer of a four-year extension for $21 million. Rumors swirled that Reese sought $10 million a year, which he denied. Other rumors surfaced that Reese was a clubhouse problem. Bowden acquired second baseman Todd Walker before the trading deadline, leaving Reese few options. Teammates denied Reese was a problem, but Pokey felt a change was needed. “Do I really want to be here?” he said. “Not really. There comes a time in your life when you might need a change.”38

Reese was a year away from free-agent eligibility, and the cost-cutting Reds sought to move him in the offseason. He was making $3.2 million and the Reds were attempting to cut payroll. On December 18, 2001, the Reds traded the once “untouchable” Reese and reliever Dennys Reyes to Colorado for pitcher Gabe White and minor-league pitcher Luke Hudson. “Mentally, Reese was outta here in June,” Paul Daugherty wrote in the Enquirer. “The trade just sends the rest of him packing.”39

Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd, also cutting payroll, said the Rockies had no plans for Reese and were prepared to deal him. They found a taker in the Boston Red Sox and a day later traded Reese for catcher Scott Hatteberg. Both players were arbitration-eligible and both clubs had 48 hours to offer a contract to their new player. The Red Sox, after coming to terms with free agent Johnny Damon, declined to tender Reese a contract, knowing he would have received $5 million to $6 million in arbitration. The Red Sox were already paying second baseman José Offerman a similar salary. Reese became a free agent.40

Reese signed a two-year deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates for $10 million. “It’s a new start,” he said. “I’m not one to make excuses. I had the bad year. Jim Bowden wasn’t out there playing. Hopefully, last year was my worst. I’m happy to be here.”41 He pulled his batting average up to .264. His fielding percentage (.988) ranked fourth in the NL for second basemen. He made 116 starts at second base. “He makes us 10 or 12 games better when he’s out there,” Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon said of Reese’s defense. Reese missed 30 games with injuries, including a strained hamstring, injured index finger, strained oblique, and a bruised knee.42 He might have won another Gold Glove if it were not for the injuries. His Range Factor and fielding percentage were far better than those of Gold Glove winner Fernando Viña. Reese was also popular with Pirates fans and had his own Bobblehead night.43

Reese tore the ligament in his left thumb and played just 37 games in 2003. The Pirates declined his option at the end of the season and Reese became a free agent. In December he signed a one-year contract with Boston. “He’s one of the few players in baseball who can really make an impact with his glove,” said Red Sox GM Theo Epstein. “He’s an outstanding defensive second baseman and that will make a huge difference for us.”44 “My goal,” said Reese, “was to one day play behind Pedro (Martínez), and I got that opportunity, and I couldn’t turn it down.”45

Reese was expected to be the starting second baseman, but instead started the season at shortstop when Nomar Garciaparra began the season on the disabled list. Reese played 53 games at shortstop (50 starts) until Garciaparra returned June 9. He batted a respectable .250, but it was his solid defense that was the biggest asset. Reese had a .975 fielding percentage and made just six errors in that span. He became an instant fan favorite in Boston with his acrobatic defense, cheery smile, and grit.

Reese sparkled in a memorable moment at Fenway Park on May 8. The Red Sox and Kansas City Royals were tied, 1-1, in the bottom of the fifth. Reese blooped a fly ball down the right-field line off Jimmy Gobble. The ball bounced along Fenway’s nooks and crannies of the right-field wall and scooted past right fielder Juan González. It rolled toward the Red Sox bullpen as Reese sprinted around the bases and beat the throw to the plate by Desi Relaford. It was an inside-the-park home run, the only one of Reese’s career. He followed in the sixth inning by launching a home run to left field off Jason Grimsley. It was the only multi-home-run game in Reese’s career and the fans gave him a standing ovation. “Pokey Reese is the first official folk hero of the 2004 baseball season,” wrote Bob Ryan in the Boston Globe.46

After Garciaparra returned, Reese started only 17 games in a utility role through July 19. He batted a weak .172 over that time. Reese injured himself taking swings in the batting cage and suffered an oblique muscle tear. He was placed on the disabled list and did not return until September.47 By then Garciaparra was gone, traded to the Cubs, and Orlando Cabrera had been acquired as the new shortstop. Mark Bellhorn established himself at second base as the Red Sox drove on to clinch the wild card. Manager Terry Francona had a spot for Reese in the postseason, replacing Bellhorn defensively in the late innings when the Red Sox had a lead.

Reese ran for Bellhorn in the 10th inning of Game Three of the American League Division Series. He walked home on David Ortiz’s game-winning home run. In the Championship Series, Reese replaced Bellhorn in Games Four, Six, and Seven as the Red Sox made their remarkable comeback after trailing the Yankees three games to none in the series. Reese threw out Ruben Sierra on a grounder with two out in the ninth in Game Seven to clinch the pennant for the Red Sox.

In the World Series, Reese finished all four games at second base as the Red Sox swept the Cardinals. A photographer captured him leaping onto the pile of his celebratory teammates. Reese sent one of his World Series jerseys to coach Mixon, the man who drove him to practice in high school.48 His lasting memory of the 2004 season was the opportunity to be a teammate of Pedro Martínez, who Reese said “was just awesome.” Reese also cherished his time with Manny Ramírez and Dave McCarty, who like him were drafted in 1991. “It was such a great time,” he said.49

This was Reese’s final time on a major-league field as a player. A free agent after the season, he signed a one-year contract with a team option with Seattle, having a chance to play every day. It was a gamble for Seattle, noting that Reese missed an average of 55 games per year. He injured his shoulder in the spring and underwent surgery, missing the 2005 season.

After the season the Mariners declined Reese’s option and he signed a contract with the Florida Marlins for 2006.50 He suddenly departed spring training. The Marlins, not hearing from him, terminated his contract. The situation involved another complicated family issue. “I was a single parent; I was missing my daughter. Things weren’t going right,” he said. “I love my family, and I wanted to do better for her. I wasn’t feeling right. I didn’t have the love for the game anymore. I did it wrong, yes, but it was the decision I made.”51 In a way, Reese followed the advice he had heard when he was a boy: “Don’t be like your father.” Reese was there for his family even though it may have cost him another year or more of his career.52

In 2008 the Washington Nationals signed Reese to a minor-league contract, but he retired after playing a few minor-league games.

Reese returned to South Carolina and joined his brother Angelo in running a trucking business. In 2015 he returned to Lower Richland to coach the baseball team for a couple of seasons. In 2017 he became the assistant coach of the South Carolina State softball team. The head coach was Cheretta Stevenson, a former softball player at North Carolina A&T. They met when Pokey was in the stands watching one of her games. In 2018 the head coach and assistant coach were married. Their wedding took place at Spirit Communications Park, home of the Columbia Fireflies. Groomsmen and bridegrooms were dressed in baseball uniforms, and instead of a first dance, his new bride threw Pokey a first pitch.53 One member of the wedding party was “Slick,” Pokey’s dad, with whom he had reconciled.54

As of 2022, the Reeses were devoting their time to a South Carolina youth travel baseball team.55

Reese’s comment about his marriage and newfound love also rings true of his life:

“It’s amazing how God works,” he said. “It took a while, but it finally came to fruition.”56

Sources

Thank you to Cassidy Lent, reference librarian at the A. Bartlett Giamatti Research Center at the Baseball Hall of Fame for providing their file on Pokey Reese, and to Pokey Reese, for speaking with the author after reviewing this biography. Besides the sources cited in the Notes, the author also utilized the following:

Baseball-reference.com

Retrosheet.org

Notes

1 David Cloninger, “The Search for Pokey,” Columbia (South Carolina) State, November 16, 2014: C6.

2 Chuck Finder, “Reese’s Pieces: Poverty and Crime Have Made Life Complicated for the Pirates’ Second Baseman, but on the Field Things Are Sweet,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 14, 2002: B1.

3 John Erardi, “Between Freshly Painted Lines,” Cincinnati Enquirer, August 19, 1997: D1.

4 Paul Daugherty, “Triple A Won’t Tarnish Pokey’s Day at the Top,” Cincinnati Enquirer, April 2, 1997: D1.

5 “Marriages and Divorces,” The State, June 15, 1989: 82.

6 Finder, “Reese’s Pieces.”

7 Finder, “Reese’s Pieces”; Erardi, “Between Freshly Painted Lines,” D5; Michael Bamberger, “Fast and Loose,” Sports Illustrated Vol. 92 (24), June 12, 2000: 92.

8 Erardi, “Between Freshly Painted Lines,” D5.

9 Finder, “Reese’s Pieces.”

10 Erardi, “Between Freshly Painted Lines,” D5.

11 Bamberger, “Fast and Loose,” 90-91; Several articles mention Calvin Sr. playing minor-league ball for the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, no minor-league record of a Calvin Reese can be found, and this author is skeptical of its accuracy. Perhaps he was only there in spring training.

12 Neil White, “Diamonds’ Pitching, Defense Shaping Up,” The State, March 1, 1990: 73.

13 Bertram Rantin, “13 Players Make AAAA-AAA Team,” The State, June 7, 1990: 31; Amanda Mays, “Renovated Diamonds Reach Lower State Finals,” The State, May 24, 1990: 86.

14 Neil White, “Reds Make LR Shortstop Reese First State Selection,” The State, June 4, 1991: 1C.

15 “The Boys in Red,” Myrtle Beach (South Carolina) Sun-News, December 12, 1990: 22.

16 Amanda Mays, “From the Beginning,” The State, October 4, 1990: 109.

17 Neil White, “Reese Leads List of State Players in Amateur Draft,” The State, June 3, 1991: 1C.

18 Neil White, “Ex-LR Star Reese Making Pro Mark,” The State, May 27, 1992: 1C, 5C; Neil White, “Garcia’s Single Decisive,” The State, June 23, 1992: 1C.

19 Jeff Horrigan, “Reds’ Top Pick of ’91 Begins to Find Swing,” Cincinnati Post, August 22, 1994: 1C.

20 Bill Peterson, “Major Prospects,” Cincinnati Post, October 23, 1993: 5C.

21 Horrigan, “Reds’ Top Pick of ’91,” 1C, 3C.

22 Many articles refer to this from 1994-1995. Two specifically are Hal McCoy’s “Money Has Changed Game, Reds’ Larkin Says,” Dayton Daily News, April 16, 1995: 8D, and Andy Furman’s “Reds Grooming Shortstop at Indianapolis,” Cincinnati Post, May 26, 1995: 5C.

23 Jeff Horrigan, “Brantley Shelves Slider,” Cincinnati Post, May 3, 1995: 3D; Furman, “Reds Grooming Shortstop”; Bill Benner, “Tribe’s Reese Senses His Luck Is About to Turn,” Indianapolis Star, May 30, 1996: E1.

24 Chris Haft and Rory Glynn, “Reds Try to Reach Out to Rijo,” Cincinnati Enquirer, October 7, 1995: C2.

25 Kim Rogers, “Reese Suffers Knee Injury, But No Surgery Expected,” Indianapolis Star, April 8, 1996: D3; Benner, “Tribe’s Reese Senses His Luck Is About to Turn”; Kim Rogers, “Trimmed Tribe, 89ers Not Expected in Finale,” Indianapolis Star, September 12, 1996: G8.

26 Tim Brown, “Is Grass Greener in the Outfield?” Cincinnati Enquirer, March 7, 1997: D9; Tim Brown, “Won’t Trade Him; Won’t Play Him,” Cincinnati Enquirer, March 23, 1997: C12.

27 Daugherty, “Triple A Won’t Tarnish.”

28 Tim Sullivan, “Key Hit Helps Reese Feel at Home,” Cincinnati Enquirer, April 13, 1997: C5.

29 Scott MacGregor, “Just One of Those (Opening) Days,” Cincinnati Enquirer, April 1, 1998: C7; Bill Nowlin, “Lou Stringer,” SABR BioProject. Retrieved July 4, 2022. sabr.org/bioproj/person/lou-stringer/.

30 Scott MacGregor, “Thumb Tear Ends Reese’s Season,” Cincinnati Enquirer, July 31, 1998: B5.

31 Tim Sullivan, “Reese Gives Reds a Powerful Stroke,” Cincinnati Enquirer, September 27, 1999: D7.

32 “Baseball Insiders Realize Value of Reese to Reds,” Cincinnati Post, December 15, 1999: 2B.

33 2004 Red Sox Media Guide, 239.

34 Erardi, “Between Freshly Painted Lines,” D5.

35 Scott MacGregor, “Pokey Dealing With Life,” Cincinnati Enquirer, March 8, 1998: D13.

36 MacGregor, “Pokey Dealing With Life.”

37 2004 Red Sox Media Guide, 239.

38 John Erardi, “Can Reese Rise Again?” Cincinnati Enquirer, August 26, 2001: C10; Tony Jackson, “Tucker’s Two-Year Extension Nearly Done,” Cincinnati Post, January 24, 2001: 3B; John Fay, “Reds Finally Dump Pokey,” Cincinnati Enquirer, December 19, 2001: D2; Tim Sullivan, “Pokey Reese: Moving Him May Not Be the Answer,” Cincinnati Enquirer, July 29, 2001: C1.

39 Paul Daugherty, “Reds Baseball Is Wasting Away into ‘Pirateville,’” Cincinnati Enquirer, December 19, 2001: D1.

40 Tom Kensler, “Rockies Acquire Reyes, Reese, White and Hudson in Trade,” Denver Post, December 19, 2001: D3; Bob Hohler, “Reese Doesn’t Get Offer,” Boston Globe, December 22, 2001: G10.

41 Robert Dvorchak, “Reese, Pirates Good Fit; Second Baseman Says He Wants a ‘New Start,’” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 31, 2002: F1.

42 2004 Red Sox Media Guide, 238-239.

43 Ron Cook, “Reese’s Play Gets the Fans in a Head-Bobbing Mood,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 19, 2002: B1.

44 David Heuschkel, “Sox Safer at Second,” Hartford Courant, December 24, 2003: C6.

45 Gordon Edes, “Reese Is Nice Grab for Sox,” Boston Globe, December 24, 2003: D2.

46 Bob Ryan, “The Catch on This Day: His Increased Power,” Boston Globe, May 9, 2004: C8.

47 Michael Silverman, “Gutierrez in for Reese,” Boston Herald, July 22, 2004: 92.

48 White, “The Search for Pokey,” C7.

49 Pokey Reese, interview with the author, July 25, 2022.

50 John Levesque, “Mariners’ Gamble on Reese a Good One,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, January 6, 2005: D1; Associated Press, “M’s Decline Options on Hasegawa, Reese,” Vancouver (Washington) Columbian, November 2, 2005: B5.

51 White, “The Search for Pokey,” C7.

52 Bamberger, “Fast and Loose,” 92.

53 Chris Clark, “Wedding on a Diamond,” Orangeburg (South Carolina) Times & Democrat, June 24, 2018: C1, C8.

54 “Cheretta & Calvin,” Zola Wedding website. Retrieved July 1, 2022. zola.com/wedding/cherettaandcalvin2018/wedding_party

55 Pokey Reese, interview with the author.

56 Clark, “Wedding on a Diamond,” C8.