  |
|
|
|
Baseball's Best Trade Deadline DealsLou Brock, Rick Sutcliffe and Carlos Beltran Top the ListA good trade deadline deal can transform a contender into a World Series champion. Here are the five best such trades of the past fifty years.
Number 5. David Cone, 1995This deal solidified David Cone's reputation as a "gun for hire." Cone, whose deadline trade to the Blue Jays in 1992 is often cited as the major reason that Toronto won its first World Series title, was sent from the Kansas City Royals to the New York Yankees on July 28, 1995 for three minor league players. In the last two months of the regular season, Cone shored up a questionable Yankee rotation with a 9-2 record, which helped the Bronx Bombers reach their first postseason in 14 years. Alas, the Yankees lost to the Seattle Mariners in the first-ever American League Division Series, three games to two. But if the team hadn't gotten Cone at the trading deadline, they wouldn't have been playing October baseball in the first place. Cone remained a key piece of the New York rotation for years to come, hurling a perfect game in 1999 and helping the Yankees to four World Series titles between 1996 and 2000. Number 4. Randy Johnson, 1998As the 1998 trade deadline approached, the Seattle Mariners knew that they had three superstars who were approaching free agency in Johnson, Ken Griffey and Alex Rodriguez. With the team struggling in the standings and in the ledgers books, they decided to trade star pitcher Johnson to the Houston Astros for Freddy Garcia and John Halama. Prior to the trade, Johnson was a mediocre 9-10 with an ERA of 4.33. But the change in surroundings brought a change in the Big Unit. Down the stretch, the fiery, mullet-headed Johnson was nearly untouchable. In eleven starts, he won ten games and lost just one. His other numbers were equally impressive: a 1.28 ERA, a WHIP of 0.984, and 116 strikeouts in 84 innings. Johnson injected life into Houston's rotation, which helped the team win 102 games and run away with the National League Central division by 13 games. Unfortunately, as was the case with every Astros team before 2005, they failed to reach the World Series, losing the National League Division Series to the San Diego Padres in four games. In the offseason, Johnson signed with Arizona Diamondbacks, where he went on to win four straight Cy Young Awards and the 2001 World Series MVP. Number 3. Carlos Beltran, 2004Beltran was a young, emerging star when the Kansas City Royals traded him to the Houston Astros on June 24, 2004. With free agency looming, the Royals knew they didn't have the money to sign the five tool star to a long term deal, so they swapped him in a three-team trade that sent Mark Teahan and Mike Wood to Kansas City. Beltran had a strong second half, hitting 23 home runs, knocking in 53 runs and stealing 28 bases without getting caught once. But it was his post-season performance that made this deal so memorable. In 12 playoff games against the Braves and the Cardinals, Beltran was a baseball machine, batting .433 with 8 home runs and 14 RBI, and leading the Astros to within one game of the 2004 World Series. Like Johnson, however, Beltran left Houston after the season for greener pastures; "green" as in a seven year/$119 million contract from the New York Mets. Number 2. Rick Sutcliffe, 1984One could easily argue that this was the greatest trade deadline deal in history. By 1984, Sutcliffe was a proven ace with two 17-win seasons and one 20-win year. But he was struggling with Cleveland just before the trade. In 15 starts, Rick was 4-5 with an earned run average of 5.15, and a dangerously high WHIP of 1.64. So it may not have been a tough decision for the Tribe to swap Sutcliffe (along with Ron Hassey and George Frazier) to the Cubs for for Mel Hal and future World Series hero Joe Carter. Sutcliffe's second half was nothing short of sensationsal. In 20 starts, he won 16 games, lost only one, posted an earned run average of 2.69, and won the 1984 National League Cy Young Award. The Cubs also responded to his presence, winning 62 of their final 100 games and taking home the National League East crown for the first time in their history. Although they lost a heartbeaking five game series to the San Diego Padres in the NLCS, Cubs fans will always remember fondly the day they got Rick Sutcliffe. Number One. Lou Brock, 1964On the other hand, Cub fans will forever rue the day that their team traded speedster Lou Brock to the St. Louis Cardinals for declining starting pitcher Enrie Broglio. The deal catapulted the Cardinals to a World Series title in '64, and condemned that Cubs to mediocrity for the better part of two decades. For the entire story of the 1964 Lou Brock trade, click here.
The copyright of the article Baseball's Best Trade Deadline Deals in Baseball is owned by James Lincoln Ray. Permission to republish Baseball's Best Trade Deadline Deals in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
|
|
|
|
