CINCINNATI — The Class of 2023 has been inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame tonight.
The class is made up of former Reds pitchers Bronson Arroyo and Danny Graves, as well as former general manager Gabe Paul, who is being inducted posthumously.
Arroyo and Graves were both co-grand marshals for the 2023 Reds Opening Day Parade as well.
The three were inducted Saturday evening ahead of the Reds match-up with the Milwaukee Brewers with Paul's daughter there in his honor. On Sunday, the three will be recognized at the Induction Gala at Duke Energy Convention Center.
At Saturday's induction, multiple Hall of Famers were there in support, including Johnny Bench, George Foster, David Concepcion, Cesar Geronimo, Pete Rose, Tony Perez and more.
"I had no idea when I came to Cincinnati that I'd have the opportunity to play here long enough to even amass any kind of numbers to get into anybody's Hall of Fame," Arroyo said. "So to be in this one makes me feel good. It feels like home."
Graves also said how grateful he was for the honor calling it "an unbelievable feeling."
"It's not easy to get me speechless, but I've been speechless about this for awhile," Graves said. "I don't really know how to react quite yet."
Arroyo was the top vote-getter among fans, Reds alumni and select media members to join the 2023 Hall of Fame class. Traded to Cincinnati in 2006, Arroyo spent eight seasons with the Reds before returning to play one last season in 2017.
The 2006 All-Star pitched more than 1,760 innings for the Reds and struck out 1,571 batters, according to the MLB. Arroyo had a career-high 17 wins in 2010, winning a Gold Glove Award and finishing 12th in Cy Young Award voting.
In addition to his pitching career, Arroyo is also known for his music. He released his first album in 2005 after the Boston Red Sox, the organization he was with at the time, won the World Series.
The Hall's Veterans Committee — which includes Hall of Famers, Reds executives and Hall of Fame board members — picked Graves and Paul to be inducted.
Graves played with the Reds from 1997 to 2005 after being traded by the now-Cleveland Guardians. The pitcher — who is the only Vietnamese-born player in the history of the MLB — is the all-time saves leader for the Reds with 182. He also was an National League All-Star in 2000 and 2004. He has won the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award, Ernie Lombardi and Johnny Vander Meer Awards, and was a key contributor to the 1999 Reds team that finished tied for a National League Wild Card berth.
Graves is the fourth relief pitcher elected to the Hall of Fame, joining Clay Carroll, Wayne Granger and Pedro Borbon.
Paul held the title of general manager of the Reds from 1951 to 1960 before Bill DeWitt took over the position. Paul left the Reds to manage the now-Houston Astros. He later worked with the New York Yankees and now-Cleveland Guardians before he died in 1998.
Prior to 2023, 90 other people associated with the Reds have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, which began in 1958. It is the largest team Hall of Fame in baseball.
