Spartanburg Methodist's Reggie Sanders inducted into Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame
Former Spartanburg Methodist College baseball player Reggie Sanders was inducted April 25 into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.
Sanders is part of the Class of 2026 that includes former second baseman Brandon Phillips, pitcher Aaron Harang and manager Lou Piniella during a pregame ceremony at Great American Ball Park before the Reds played the Detroit Tigers.
“I said I’m not going to cry,” Sanders said during the ceremony. “But I’m bawling right now.”
Cincinnati picked Sanders out of SMC in the seventh round of the 1987 baseball draft. He was named an All-Star in 1995 and played for the Reds for eight seasons before going to seven different teams and retiring in 2007.
Sanders, a native of Florence (Wilson High School), had a major league career batting average of .267 with 305 home runs and 304 stolen bases. He became only the fifth player in MLB history with 300 homers and 300 steals.
He made his debut with the Reds on Aug. 23, 1991, and the next night got his first MLB hit with a single off New York Mets pitcher Frank Viola, who had won the National League Cy Young Award in 1988.
Sanders is the fourth-highest draft pick straight out of SMC. Pitcher Jeff McNeely was a second-round pick by the Boston Red Sox in 1989; pitcher Jonathan Hurst went in the fourth round to the Texas Rangers in 1987; and outfielder Wes Rogers went in the fifth round to the Colorado Rockies in 2014.
Other notable former SMC players are Mookie Wilson (in the majors from 1986 to 1998); Dwight Smith (1989-96); Orlando Hudson (2002-12); and former Broome High standout pitcher Heath Hembree (2013-22).
Todd Shanesy covers high school athletics for the Greenville News, Spartanburg Herald-Journal and Anderson Independent Mail in the USA TODAY Network. Contact him by email at todd.shanesy@shj.com. Follow him on X, formerly called Twitter, at @ToddShanesySHJ.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Reggie Sanders of SMC inducted into Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame
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