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What happens when 14 ballplayers — including the "Great Eight" of the "Big Red Machine" - gather for a weekend reunion in Cincinnati?

Three unforgettable days that resurrect your 30-year-old baseball memories, and once again prove that baseball truly is the greatest game.

Has it really been that long since household names Pete, Johnny, Joe, Tony and the boys won back-to-back World Championships in 1975 and '76?

How can the same guy who can't remember to bring home a gallon of milk recite the "Big Red Machine" starting lineup?

Remembering your wedding anniversary? Maybe. Remembering Sparky Anderson's real first name? Definitely, by George.

Here are some of my highlights from the reunion:

A woman, probably about 20, nervously approached Pete Rose, banned from baseball since 1989 because he bet on the game, and said: "Mr. Rose, I hope you get into the Hall of Fame before I die."

Rose deadpanned: "I hope I get into the Hall of Fame before I die."

Davey Concepcion, the shortstop during the glory days, wore a parka while autographing in the chilly convention center. That stirred up memories for one Reds fan, who shouted: "If you're that cold Davey, we can put you in a dryer, close the door and turn it on."

It was a reference to a clubhouse prank in 1976, when Concepcion climbed into a clubhouse dryer and teammate Pat Zachry pushed the start button. A dizzy Concepcion emerged from the dryer with the hair on his legs singed.

Concepcion hasn't forgotten. As he autographed a 1975 World Championship team poster over the weekend, Concepcion pointed to Zachry and said: "He turned on the machine. I no like it. That not funny."

Concepcion was in the middle of most of the fun during the three-day reunion. He was one of the last to arrive to Friday night's cocktail party, and took quite a bit of ribbing for showing up nowhere near his playing weight of 150 pounds (think closer to 250).

When his former teammates finally stopped laughing, Concepcion flashed his smile and said: "My teeth are good."

Concepcion then spotted Ed Armbrister, the utility player best known for his bunt and collision with Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk that led to the controversial no-call in Game 3 of the 1975 World Series. Armbrister, who lives in Nassau, looks like he could still fit into his Reds uniform.

"Eddie," Concepcion grinned, "no food in Nassau?"

The following morning, Chris Roark, former football coach and teacher at Fenwick High School, showed Johnny Bench a picture from 1971. It was Roark, then 10 years old, getting Bench's autograph on a baseball during an appearance at the Elder-Beerman in Dayton. Bench was promoting his Batter Up, a hitting instructional tool.

Roark told Bench he used the Batter Up for several years, practiced day and night, but never hit like the hall of famer.

To that, Bench responded with a smile: "Maybe you were using it backward."

Mark Fugate, owner of Diamond Sports in Monroe, had some of the most interesting pictures autographed. One showed a young Cesar Geronimo, wearing a 1969 Houston Astros jersey, standing on the Crosley Field grass.

Fugate also found time to chat with Dan Driessen, an avid hunter and fisherman, who told Fugate he once killed a huge buck in Mason near Kings Island.

"It was a great place to hunt," Driessen said in his southern drawl.

And the convention center was a great place to harvest childhood memories.

Share your memories of the Big Red Machine