Wittenmyer & Williams: Cincinnati Reds fans are back. All it took is winning, right?

Welcome to Wittenmyer & Williams – a weekly point/counterpoint column from Enquirer Reds reporter Gordon Wittenmyer and sports columnist Jason Williams. Here, they pick a hot baseball – or sometimes, non-baseball – topic and debate it.

Wittenmyer: JDubs, we have a moment in history. You were right about something.

Williams: You mean for the first time in history you agree with me?

Wittenmyer: Look at it whatever way you want to look at it. The point is, you wrote something back in April about how it was going to take more than winning to bring Reds fans back to the ballpark. And as much as it pains me to admit it, you were right.

Williams: Actually, you’re wrong again. Turns out, I whiffed on that one. I wrote about how attendance was still in a freefall coming off the 100-loss season and saw no reason why it wasn’t going to keep dropping. I wondered if it'd take more than winning to get fans back at the ballpark. But attendance is up – and it’s because they’re winning.

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Wittenmyer: No, it’s not. It took the Yankees coming to town in mid-May for their attendance to jump. That’s when they got their first sellout since Opening Day.

Williams: The Reds got smoked by the Yankees. But something happened on their next road trip. They won 5 out of 6 at Wrigley Field and Fenway Park, and then came home to a sellout against Milwaukee. Clearly, it’s as simple as winning.

Wittenmyer: Or fireworks night.

Williams: Come on, guy.

Wittenmyer: No, man, seriously. You were right about how angry fans were about ownership and about how a generation of fans didn’t know winning baseball in this town. And that it would take more than winning to bring them back. This isn’t just about winning games. This is also about Matt McLain debuting in mid-May and looking like a Rookie of the Year candidate.

Williams: What about Elly De La Cruz coming up three weeks later? No one expected that to happen so quickly.

Wittenmyer: That’s what I mean. His impact was more exciting in the moment than the team winning. In fact, they had lost 4 out of 5 games when he debuted.

Williams: Huh, maybe I was right.

Wittenmyer: Don’t let that head get any bigger than it already is. Obviously winning matters. But think about all the things beyond that that have made buying a ticket worth it since you wrote that column.

Williams: I guess the Yankees coming town would be one of those things. And McClain and De La Cruz for sure. What about Joey Votto coming back after being out almost a year with a shoulder injury?

Wittenmyer: Exactly. Dude hit a home run in his first game back – and 13 in his first 39 games. And don’t forget how exciting Andrew Abbott was in his first four starts after he debuted (4-0, 1.21 ERA).

Williams: Can’t forget Christian Encarnacion-Strand making his big-league debut, either. The Reds have had an all-rookie infield several times. Talk about engaging the next generation of fans. Have you seen all the rookie jerseys out there the kids are wearing? My 10-year-old is begging me for a De La Cruz City Connect jersey. All these young guys coming up in a short period of time, quickly gelling and playing for each other. The Viking helmet. Jonathan India’s leadership. It's all given fans hope. They have energy. People want to be part of a winner, and it’s driven ticket sales.

Wittenmyer: Don’t underestimate how Votto has discovered a fountain of youth with these guys. When he did the "Step Brothers" pose with McClain, it was one of the most hilarious moments of the year. There’s a vibe here that goes beyond the wins and losses. I’m telling you, man, it’s almost like "Ted Lasso."

Williams: Look who’s drinking the red Kool-Aid now?

Wittenmyer: Fair enough. After all, a huge part of this we haven’t mentioned is The Enquirer’s new guy covering the team. They were 26-33 before that.

Williams: You’re starting to make me regret putting in a good word for you. Seriously, though, everything we just talked about is about winning. That’s why fans are back. I didn’t see any of that happening – nor did anyone else. So dammit, I was wrong.

Wittenmyer: Look, it’s always going to be about winning at the end of the day. But what’s happening now with this team and these fans is a lot more than that. It’s about the promise of something. Winning? Yeah. Now? Yeah. But also about how they’re going to play, how they’re going win for the next few years. That’s the promise the fans are buying right now.

Williams: Ownership and the front office better keep that promise. Now that the Reds have gotten the fans to come back to the ballpark, keeping them there is going to be the hard part.

Contact Gordon at gwittenmyer@enquirer.com or on Twitter @GDubMLB. Reach Jason at jwilliams@enquirer.com or @jwilliamscincy. Listen to their “The Big Pod Machine” podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other listening platforms.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds fans are back. Winning? Or did it take more?