Here’s a trivia question:
For what three franchises did Reggie Jackson play?
Okay, it’s a trick question. The obvious answer would be the A’s, Yankees, and Angels. But there was a fourth: the Baltimore Orioles.
Even serious baseball fans can be forgiven if they forget Reggie’s stint with the O’s. After all, it lasted just a single season, 1976, sandwiched in between his storied tenures in Oakland and New York.
Free agency was a new thing back then, and A’s owner Charlie Finley didn’t want to pony up for the salary Reggie would inevitably demand after the 1976 season. So just before Opening Day, Finley traded Reggie (plus Ken Holtzman and a minor leaguer) to Baltimore in exchange for Don Baylor, Mike Torrez, and Paul Mitchell. Just the year before, Mike Torrez had gone 20-9 in his only season as an Oriole; like Reggie, he was a serious one-hit wonder.
In his lone season with the Orioles, Reggie was typically fantastic, putting up a .277/.351/.502 line in a league where the average batter hit .256/.320/.361. But the Orioles managed just a second-place finish, and Reggie ranked a distant 16th in MVP voting that fall. In November, he signed a fat contract with the Yankees, and history resumed its normal course. Incidentally, Baylor was a bust with the A’s, hitting .247 and slugging just .368 before signing with the Angels. Torrez, on the other hand, posted a 2.50 ERA in 39 starts for Oakland.
Today I’d like to look at some of the best ’76 Reggie-esque performances in baseball history – players who joined a new team, spent one great year there, and then left, never to return. Free agency has made one-season stints relatively common, though greatness is obviously still hard to come by. I worked up some crazy formula to take into account in-season performance, team success, and postseason excellence. Then I threw in a dash of subjectivity. I haven’t done an exhaustive search, so I’m sure I’ve missed someone. The rankings that follow are in no way definitive; I just thought it’d be a fun list to create.
Oh, and I’m only looking at seasons since 1900. And I’m not including seasons in the Federal League, since the whole league only existed for two years.
This was going to be a Top 25 list, but then I realized that I had missed a couple obvious players, so we’re going to make it a Top 27. I’m fairly certain I’ve missed more, but anyway, these are the best I’ve found:
27. Ernie Lombardi, 1942 Boston Braves
Schnozz hit .330 that year, winning his second batting title. He managed just 347 plate appearances, but under the rules at the time, you were eligible for the batting title if you played in 100 games, and Lombardi got into 105. The Braves were awful that year, though, and the following year they traded Lombardi to the Giants.
26. Greg Vaughn, 1999 Reds
Vaughn slugged 50 homers for the Padres in 1998, and the following February, he was traded to the Reds in exchange for (among others) Reggie Sanders. Vaughn was pretty good in his one year in Cincinnati - .245, 45 homers, 118 RBI, and, surprisingly, 15 steals in 17 attempts. He finished fourth in MVP voting for the second straight year, which was a little much. He then signed with the Devil Rays, back when they were obsessed with overpriced former stars.
The guy he was traded for, Sanders, almost made this list himself. He hit .285 with 26 homers and 36 steals for the Padres in 1999, then began his quest to play for every team in baseball. (In his last 10 years, Sanders played for 8 teams. He did manage to make the postseason 5 times in that span.)
25. Bobby Bonds, 1975 Yankees
The Giants never did appreciate how great Bonds was. The Yankees never did appreciate how great Bobby Murcer was. So in October 1974, they swapped their underappreciated outfielders in a classic challenge trade. The whole thing was pretty unsatisfying. Bonds had a typical Bobby Bonds season for the Yankees in ’75, 30-30, lots of walks and strikeouts. He was traded to California after the season. Murcer gave the Giants two good years before being traded to the Cubs.
24. Tom Henke, 1995 Cardinals
This is a weird one. Henke, of course, was the Blue Jays’ relief ace for years. He spent a couple seasons with the Rangers, and then in 1995, he gave the Cardinals 54 innings with a 1.82 ERA and 36 saves, winning the Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award at the age of 37. And then, inexplicably, he was done. This may be the greatest final season ever for a relief pitcher.
23. Todd Jones, 2005 Marlins
73 innings, 2.10 ERA, 40 saves. Jones took over the closer role from Guillermo Mota, then joined the Tigers after the season.
22. Kenny Lofton, 1997 Braves
The Indians won 99 games and the division title in 1996, while the Braves won 96 games and the NL pennant. On March 25, 1997, the Indians sent their star centerfielder Lofton (plus Alan Embree) to Atlanta in exchange for Marquis Grissom and David Justice. It was one of the great blockbusters of the 1990s. Justice worked out well, but Grissom was a huge bust with the Indians – his average fell to .262, with corresponding drop-offs in power and OBP, and he was gone after a year. Still, the Indians made it to the World Series. Lofton, meanwhile, hit .333 for the division champion Braves… but his home runs fell to five, and, oddly, he had a horrendous year on the basepaths, going just 27-for-47 as a base stealer. He became a free agent after the season, and he rejoined the Indians, replacing his own replacement.
21. Ron Gant, 1995 Reds
Gant had been a big star with the Braves in the early ‘90s, and they signed him to a big contract in 1994. Almost immediately afterwards, he broke his right leg in an ATV accident, and the Braves eventually released him. After a year off, Gant signed with the Reds, where he had a renaissance. He hit .276/.386/.554 with 29 homers and 23 steals in 119 games, winning the NL Comeback Player of the Year award. He left as a free agent after the season.
20. Will Clark, 2000 Cardinals
With Mark McGwire on hand, the Cardinals didn’t think they’d need another first baseman in 2000. But Big Mac got hurt, and at the trading deadline, the Cards picked up the 36-year-old Clark from the Orioles for next-to-nothing. Will the Thrill went on a tear like it was 1989, hitting .345 with 12 homers and a McGwire-esque .655 slugging percentage in 51 games down the stretch. The Cardinals won the division, and Clark went 10-for-29 with two homers in the postseason, including a .412/.500/.706 line in the NLCS loss to the Mets. And with that, he retired.
19. Randy Johnson, 1998 Astros
Another mid-season rental. The Big Unit had dogged it for his first 23 starts with Seattle, going 9-10 with a 4.33 ERA. He clearly wanted out, and at the trading deadline, he was shipped to Houston in exchange for Freddy Garcia, Carlos Guillen, and John Halama. The Mariners would be pretty happy with their return, but the Astros had nothing to complain about – in 11 starts in August and September, Johnson went 10-1 with a 1.28 ERA. The Astros won the division, but lost to the Padres in the playoffs. It wasn’t really Randy Johnson’s fault, though. He lost both his starts, but in 14 innings, he struck out 17 and gave up only 4 runs. That winter, he signed with the Diamondbacks.
18. Reggie Jackson, 1976 Orioles
17. Juan Gonzalez, 2001 Indians*
Juan Gone gets an asterisk because I’m breaking my own rule. See, Gonzalez returned to the Indians in 2005, but he appeared in just one game and got only one at-bat, so I’m letting him onto this list. He joined the Indians in 2001 after a disappointing year in Detroit. With Cleveland, he hit .325-35-140 and finished 5th in MVP voting. In the Division Series loss to the Mariners that fall, Gonzalez hit .348 and slugged .739. He rejoined the Rangers the following year, but he was finished as a star.
16. Mike Hampton, 2000 Mets
Coming off of his big 22-4 season with the Astros in 1999, Hampton was traded to the Mets with Derek Bell in exchange for Roger Cedeno, Octavio Dotel, and a minor leaguer. 2000 would be Hampton's walk year, and he was brilliant: 15-10, 3.14 ERA in 217 innings (142 ERA+). Of course, the rest of the story is that he signed an massive contract with the Rockies, tanked, went to Atlanta, resuscitated his career, disappeared for a few years, and is now in the midst of another attempted resurrection. Hampton was just 27 in his lone season as a Met, and while he's been through countless twists and turns, he's still only 35.
15. Joe McGinnity, 1900 Brooklyn Superbas
They called him “Iron Man”: from 1899 to 1907, Joe McGinnity threw 300+ innings per year. He was 29 in 1900, but it was just his second big-league season. His raw numbers are gaudy – a 28-8 record, 2.94 ERA – and the Superbas won the pennant by 4½ games. The next year McGinnity joined the new American League before becoming a real superstar with the Giants.
14. Dick Allen, 1971 Dodgers
Allen almost makes this list twice. In October 1969, the Phillies sent him to St. Louis in the Curt Flood deal. Allen spent one year there, hit .279-34-101 in 122 games. The Cardinals decided that that wasn’t enough to offset his baggage, so they traded him to the Dodgers for Ted Sizemore and Bob Stinson over the winter. In his one year in L.A., Allen hit .295/.395/.468, playing in 155 games. Considering era and park, that’s an MVP-caliber season, but Allen didn’t make the All-Star team or garner a single MVP vote. In December, the Dodgers traded him to the White Sox for Tommy John, a deal that worked out for both teams. Allen would win the American League MVP in 1972, and John gave the Dodgers seven years as a front-line starter.
13. Alfonso Soriano, 2006 Nationals
A 40-40 season for Soriano, followed by free agency.
12. Jack Morris, 1991 Twins
The Twins took a flyer on the aging Morris, and he had his best season in four years, going 18-12 with a 3.43 ERA. More importantly, he went 4-0 in the postseason, including his legendary 10-inning shutout in Game 7 of the World Series. The next year, Morris joined the Blue Jays and got himself two more World Series rings.
11. Moises Alou, 1997 Marlins
The only key player on the ’97 Marlins to spend exactly one season with the franchise. Alou had a strong year, .292-23-115, plus three homers in the World Series. He was traded to Houston after the season.
10. Billy Koch, 2002 A’s
Classic Billy Beane. Koch had been a pretty good closer with Toronto in 1999-2000, but he had a rocky year in 2001. Beane’s former assistant, J.P. Ricciardi, took over the Jays in November 2001, and one of his first moves was to send Koch to Beane’s Athletics in exchange for Eric Hinske and Justin Miller. With Eric Chavez at third, Beane had little use for Hinske, and with Koch coming off a poor year, it was the perfect time to buy low. Predictably, Koch rebounded in 2002, going 11-4 with 44 saves and a 3.27 ERA and winning the Rolaids Relief Award. Then in December, Beane sold high and bought low again – he traded Koch to the White Sox for embattled closer Keith Foulke. Koch turned out to be finished as a good pitcher, and Foulke put together a great season in ’03, winning that year’s Rolaids Relief Award. (Foulke signed with Boston after the season… He’d be on this list himself, but he re-joined the A’s this season.)
9. Carlos Delgado, 2005 Marlins
In January 2005, the Marlins signed Delgado to a long-term contract, and he was great in the first year, hitting .301/.399/.582 and finishing sixth in the MVP vote. Despite that, ten months later that big contract was a little too big for the Marlins’ taste, so they traded Delgado to the Mets for prospects.
8. Dave Winfield, 1992 Blue Jays
At 40, Winfield is easily the oldest player on this list. But he could still rake. His .290/.377/.491 line as a DH looks merely very good by today’s standards, but he earned 27 Win Shares and finished fifth in MVP voting, and the Blue Jays won their first World Series.
7. Carlos Beltran, 2004 Astros
The Royals sent Beltran to Houston in a three-team deal on June 24, 2004. He hit .258/.368/.559 with 28 steals in 28 attempts the rest of the way, and the Astros went on a roll late in the year to win the Wild Card. But it’s the postseason that puts Beltran this high on the list. He had arguably the greatest October performance ever, hitting a combined .435/.536/1.022 in the Division Series and NLCS. His eight home runs tied Barry Bonds’ record. From Game 3 of the NLDS to Game 6 of the NLCS, Beltran hit 7 homers and scored 17 runs in 9 games. But at the end of the day, the Astros lost to the Cardinals, and Beltran signed a fat contract with the Mets.
6. Ivan Rodriguez, 2003 Marlins
After a dozen years in Texas, Pudge v. 2.0 signed a one-year contract with the Marlins for his Age 31 season. He was coming off seasons of 91, 111, and 108 games played, and teams were understandably hesitant to offer a fragile veteran catcher a long-term deal. Signing with the Marlins, Rodriguez hoped to prove that he was still at the top of his game and thus earn a bigger contract after the season. And it all worked out as planned. He played in 144 games, hit .297/.369/.474, and won yet another Gold Glove. The Marlins won the Wild Card, and Pudge was outstanding in the playoffs, with 16 RBI in 11 games. The Marlins went on to win the World Series, and Rodriguez signed a long-term deal with the lowly Tigers over the winter.
5. Kevin Brown, 1998 Padres
The ultimate one-year rent-an-ace. Brown, one of the outcasts from the ’97 Marlins, went 18-7. His 2.38 ERA, 257 innings, and 257 strikeouts were all second in the league. The Padres won the division, and in his first three postseason starts, Brown allowed just one run on eight hits in 23.2 innings, striking out 32. He was mortal the rest of the postseason, and the Padres lost to the Yankees in the World Series. Brown finished third in Cy Young Award voting, behind Tom Glavine and teammate Trevor Hoffman, but he probably should have won the award. After the season, he signed a 7-year, $105 million contract with the Dodgers, becoming the first $100 million player.
4. Rogers Hornsby, 1928 Boston Braves
Hornsby was in the middle of a very strange three-year run. After a dozen seasons with the Cardinals, he spent successive seasons with the Giants, Braves, and Cubs. And in all three years, he was utterly brilliant. He had 40, 33, and 42 Win Shares. His batting averages were .361, .387, and .380, with Runs Created totals of 148, 153, and 188. By any measure, he was the best hitter in the National League. Yet he bounced from team to team, his breathtaking stats drawing interest and his foul attitude repelling it. The season before Hornsby arrived, the Braves lost 94 games. The year they had Hornsby, they lost 103. The year after he left, they lost 98.
3. Goose Gossage, 1977 Pirates
So the Goose had his first great year with the White Sox in 1975, with a 1.84 ERA in 143 relief innings. Manager Paul Richards got the bright idea to convert Gossage to a starter, and he responded with a 9-17, 3.94 season. That December, Goose was sent to Pittsburgh in a deal that netted Chicago Richie Zisk. Zisk actually was pretty good. He played just one year in Chicago, and while he didn’t quite make this list, he could have, as he hit .290-30-101 and made the All-Star team. Anyway, however good Zisk was, it was a colossal mistake, trading Gossage just as he was entering his prime. With the Pirates, Goose worked 133 relief innings, struck out 151 batters, and posted a 1.62 ERA. It was one of the greatest relief seasons ever, and the Pirates finished in second place with 96 wins. Then the Goose became a free agent, signed with the Yankees, and helped them defend their championship in ’78.
2. J.D. Drew, 2004 Braves
Drew has always seemed to be just this close to being a superstar. Once, though, he really delivered. He had one year left on his contract when the Cardinals traded him to the Braves before the 2004 season. It’s seasons like these that give rise to the myth – true or not – that players step up their games in walk years. Drew hit .305/.436/.569, earned a whopping 34 Win Shares, and helped the Braves win yet another division title. After the season, he signed with the Dodgers.
1. Rogers Hornsby, 1927 New York Giants
We’ve already seen Hornsby ’28. He came to the Giants in what was basically a challenge trade – second baseman Hornsby for second baseman Frankie Frisch, with has-been pitcher Jimmy Ring thrown in to offset the fact that Frisch was no Hornsby. But Frisch would spend the rest of his career in St. Louis, retiring a decade later, while Hornsby bounced around despite his brilliance.
Hornsby’s one season with the Giants was notable for many reasons. The team improved from 74-77 to 92-62. “Rajah” teamed with Travis Jackson to form arguably the greatest single-season keystone combo in baseball history. And the same year they had Hornsby, the Giants also had Hall of Fame spitballer Burleigh Grimes, who went 19-8. Grimes could also be on this list – after many years in Brooklyn, he spent 1927 with the Giants before moving on to Pittsburgh. It’s the best pair of “one and done” teammates I’ve yet found.
Anyway, after one year, even a great one, the Giants had had enough of Hornsby, and they shipped him to the Braves for a package that included Shanty Hogan, who would be their starting catcher for the next five years.