Best Tiger Deal Ever?

Let's take a break from our All Time Tiger Team Selection, and give some thought to the weighty question of, "What was the best horse-tradin' the Tigers ever did?" (assuming players don't mind being likened to horses.) I know it's not the same world it used to be with draft picks, long-term high-dollar contracts, etc., but let's have some fun.



Some thoughts:
  • Tigers acquire Norm Cash for Steve Demeter. Demeter goes on to play in only four more games for the Indians, Cash smashes 377 homers.

  • We dump the washed up Denny McClain, Elliot Maddox, and Norm McRae (norm who?) for Joe Coleman, Eddie Brinkman and Aurelio Rodriguez, two of the steadiest gloves in the AL. Coleman won 20 games twice.

  • We pick up Doyle Alexander and Woody Fryman, two proven, experienced pitchers, in a successful stretch drive to the ALCS. Oh yeah, they give up some kid with a funny name -- Smoltz.

What are your nominations? I'll put them all in a poll later this week.

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6 comments:

  1. Tom HagertyOctober 22, 2008 at 10:21 AM

    Another great trade: before the 1984 season we sent Glenn Wilson and John Wockenfuss o the Phillies for Dave Bergman and Willie Hernandez. What did Willie do in '84? 9-3, 32 saves, 1.92 ERA, 80 appearances, 140 IP, All Star, American League Cy Young Award winner and Most Valuable Player.

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  2. Bill BouieOctober 23, 2008 at 9:32 PM

    That my friend is in the top 5 of alltime Tiger trades. What a steal that was!!!!!

    What about Jeff Robinson for Mickey Tettleton? Another great trade. Tettleton hit missles for the Tigers and twice was an All Star catcher.

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  3. Tom HagertyOctober 24, 2008 at 5:16 AM

    I remember a Monday night game on national TV fairly early in the '84 season. Tiger Stadium. Game tied bottom of the 9th. Runners in scoring position. Two outs. Bergman has a full count and fouls off something like 10 straight pitches before delivering the game-winning hit. Sparky Anderson, never one given to hyperbole, called it the greatest at-bat he had ever seen.

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  4. Tom HagertyOctober 24, 2008 at 5:18 AM

    OK I know we're talking good trades but here's a bad one? Ben Oglivie to the Brewers for Jim Slaton. Slaton pitched one year w/ Detroit, did OK on a lousy team, then left as a free agent and re-signed w/ the Brewers. Oglivie turned into a fearsome slugger.

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  5. Tom HagertyOctober 24, 2008 at 5:21 AM

    OK my memory fails. From The Daily Fungo, here's the real story about Bergman's gamwinning at bat:

    "On June 4 in Detroit against the Blue Jays, Bergman had what Sparky called the greatest at bat he’d seen in his life. Let’s allow Captain Hook describe it, again from the pages of Bless You Boys:

    'Here’s the scene: Two out in the last of the tenth, two men on, and the score tied at 3-3. Reliever Roy Lee Howell (sic) pitched to a full count. Then Bergie took over. Bergie fouled off seven pitches and then picked one practically off the ground and drilled it into the upper deck in right.What a battle! Bergie was up there a full seven minutes. It seemed like a whole season. The house went wild.'

    Actually, Bergman’s homer came off Roy Lee Jackson, which surprised me because I thought it was Luis Leal.

    What made that game so much fun was that it was the season opener for ABC’s Monday Night Baseball, which was much bigger back then than ESPN’s Wednesday or Sunday night games are today. Also, school was almost out for summer and my friends and I were fired up for lots of excursions to Tiger Stadium’s bleachers."

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  6. Tom HagertyOctober 24, 2008 at 5:24 AM

    Here's another good trade: July 2006 the tigers get Sean Casey from Pirates for minor league hurler Brian Rogers.

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