ESPN spends Tuesday with the Reds

GOODYEAR, AZ - The big bus from ESPN pulled into the Reds parking lot first thing Tuesday morning.  ESPN is visiting all major league camps, and Monday and Tuesday provided a stop in Goodyear, Monday with the Indians, Tuesday with the Reds.

The baseball conversations began shortly after eight o'clock in the morning. Tim Kurkjian taped a lengthy interview with Reds manager Dusty Baker. They resumed after a few hours of drills and batting practice.

When the Reds went out for practice, Kurkjian and sidekick Aaron Boone tagged along. For Boone, it rekindled some fond memories.  Boone spent a decade in the Reds system becoming a very popular player in Cincinnati. He wept at a news conference when he was traded to the New York Yankees in 2003. He said being with so many former teammates Tuesday was a nostalgic experience.

Boone has made a very smooth transition from the playing field to the announce booth. It has allowed him to remain in a game he loves. His brother Bret, his father Bob and his grandfather Ray were all major league players as well.

Boone was traded by the Reds because they couldn't afford him.  It occurred in an era when it seemed unlikely that the Reds could compete with the high payroll teams of baseball.

Boone has seen a resurgence of the Reds farm system, quality scouting and development under the ownership of Bob Castellini.  That remains the only way small market teams can survive. Boone thinks the Reds have positioned themselves for not only the present, but the future.

(You can see my story on ESPN and Aaron Boone by clicking on the attached video)