Joe Burrow, Bengals take batting practice with Reds

Mark Sheldon

CINCINNATI – It turns out that Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has some pull power to left field, too.

Burrow and several members of the Bengals made the short trip down the street from Paycor Stadium on Wednesday to take batting practice on the field at Great American Ball Park. Burrow went deep with four home runs.

Several Reds players were on hand to watch and mingle around the cage with their football neighbors.

Eyes and multiple cameras were fixed on Burrow when the superstar quarterback took his turn in the cage batting right-handed while wearing a No. 9 Reds jersey.

As assistant catching coach Joe Singley pitched, Burrow took approximately 100 swings and initially was spraying the ball all over the field.

Finally, Burrow found his power and lifted a ball that landed in the first row of the left-field seats. A big cheer erupted from Reds and Bengals players as Burrow raised his right fist in celebration.

A new up and coming prospect to keep an eye on. pic.twitter.com/8gRj9CFPUk

A few cuts later, Burrow hit a drive that landed several rows deeper into the left-field seats.

Later, Burrow pulled two more drives into the seats, back-to-back. Reds second baseman Jonathan India claimed some credit.

"I was coaching him up," India said. "I was telling him to get the [bat] head out. Looked low in the zone. He hit two homers back-to-back."

Following his fourth homer, Burrow fouled a Singley pitch off the top of the cage and called it a day.

"OK, that's good," said Burrow, the No. 1 overall draft pick by the Bengals in 2020 who led his team to the Super Bowl in 2021. He threw a ceremonial first pitch for the Reds ahead of their home opener in 2022.

The Bengals have been holding their offseason team activities and practices this week as they prepare for their coming NFL season, but clearly had time for some fun away from football.

Burrow, who grew up around Athens, Ohio, chatted with Reds players like Nick Senzel, Hunter Greene, Tyler Stephenson, Luke Maile and Graham Ashcraft, among others. He autographed a football for Stephenson.

Ashcraft showed offensive tackle La'el Collins how he grips a baseball to throw his cutter. Defensive tackle B.J. Hill looked nimble while taking grounders and making throws from shortstop despite being listed at 315 pounds.

Offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. spent several minutes chatting with assistant hitting coach Terry Bradshaw. The 6-foot-8, 345-pound Brown was wearing a No. 6 India jersey.

"I said I would try it on but it wouldn't fit me. It's too big. It would be all the way to my knees," India said.

The Reds enjoyed having some company at the ballpark before they got to work with their own session of batting practice ahead of Wednesday night's game vs. the Dodgers.

"That's awesome," India said. "I got to see them on their field when I went to the playoff game. It's just cool to share that."