Terence Moore shares journey in ‘My Big Red Machine’

Major League Baseball’s postseason has begun, and for the teams and fan bases involved, there will be a chance to win a World Series title. One of those teams involved was the Cincinnati Reds; decades ago, in the 1970s, that franchise was one of the perennial favorites to win championships. 

That team, nicknamed The Big Red Machine for its efficiency and power, had fans all over the country. One of those fans was sports writer and author Terence Moore. During Moore’s youth and later as a young reporter for the Cincinnati Enquirer, he had the unique opportunity to get close to the stars of The Big Red Machine, Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench, Ken Griffey, Sr., Tony Perez, and, of course, Pete Rose.

Moore visited The Atlanta Voice to discuss his inspiration for his latest book, “My Big Red Machine,” walking the thin line between fandom and journalism, and his lifelong love for baseball.

The Atlanta Voice: Good morning, Terence. Is this your first time inside The Atlanta Voice office?

Terence Moore: Yeah, I can feel the history as we sit here right now. You can feel the history of the people that this paper represented through the years and decades. Black publications were so huge to the Civil Rights Movement in general, but particularly here in Atlanta.

AV: How long have you been thinking about writing this book? I know you grew up in Cincinnati and had worked at one of the local daily newspapers. This book must have been special to report on.

TM: It’s been forever. I would tell people different stories, and they would say that I needed to write about it. The Big Red Machine is the greatest team in baseball; that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. The Reds of the 1970s won more games than anybody in baseball in that decade. And in 1975 and 1976, they won back-to-back world championships. This is the 50th anniversary of the first of those back-to-back championships. I figured the timing is perfect.

AV: But this book is about more than baseball, correct?

TM: The thing that I am very proud of about this book is that people are shocked that it’s not just a baseball book. It’s not just about The Big Red Machine; it’s not just about sports. It’s sort of a memoir about me as a young person idolizing this team, and also having another goal in life: becoming a journalist. It’s an interesting journey.

AV: If you had to describe this book in a sentence, what would that sentence be?

TM: It’s a riveting tale with great storytelling. The storytelling gives the reader the journey of not only my life, but the life of anybody who was passionate about anything in his or her life. And then having it come to fruition. 

AV: How did it feel to be telling parts of your life, family, and career in this book? You have done this in your previous books, like in The Real Hank Aaron, but this went deeper.

TM: It was an out-of-body experience. After I wrote this book, and then I read the proof, I was like, ‘Who wrote this?’ It was the strangest thing. There were passages that I know I obviously remember writing, and then there were other passages that I was like, ‘This was unbelievable.’ 

Moore revealed that the entire project came together -from start to publication- in 13 months. “Somehow I was able to get this done,” he said.

AV: On page 63 in chapter 3, you vividly describe the smells inside the old Crosley Field on your first visit with your family. The recall of the many personal and professional moments was so interesting. How did you remember so much detail?

TM: A lot of people ask me that. Even before I was a reporter, I was a reporter. I’m very much my mother’s son; she never threw away anything. I save everything. It’s just unbelievable the stuff that I’ve saved through the years.

One of the things I teach my journalism students is the big three: reporting, interviewing, and angles. It’s a must in anything that you do.  

AV: In the book, you describe writing the first story ever on Ken Griffey, Jr. in the Cincinnati Enquirer in July 1978. Did you see anything special about the boy that told you he would become a future Baseball Hall of Fame inductee?

TM: I’m at Riverfront Stadium in the summer of 1978, my first year of working at the Cincinnati Enquirer. One of the groundskeepers came up to me and told me I should do a story on Ken Griffey. I told him I had written tons of stories on Ken Griffey, and he said no, not the father, the son. I said ‘How old is he?’ and he said he’s eight years old. I said, ‘Ok.’

Moore said that when he finally decided to look into how good Ken Griffey, Jr. really was, he was astounded that the groundskeeper’s tip was spot on. “He was the greatest eight-year-old kid I ever saw,” Moore said. 

AV: What do you want readers to come away with from reading “My Big Red Machine”?

TM: I want them to understand that you can bring stories alive through a lot of circumstances, situations, and experiences. That’s what I try to do. I try to bring stories alive by using myself as a vehicle to show different aspects of life. Because we can all relate to journeys, we can all relate to the journey of being a young person and having a fixation and passion for something. For me, it just happened to be this baseball team, this Big Red Machine. The greatest baseball team of all time.