Username:	Password:

Remember me

Forgot your username/password?

Print Email

Home>Articles

Cliff Lee: Best Pick-Up Ever?

By Dave Fleming

November 8, 2009

Speaking as someone who writes about baseball, I enjoy this time of the year. The mad rush of the season is over, the stats are all in, and there are no more games left watch. The winter trade talks aren’t in full swing yet, and with next season four cold months away, it’s too early to start thinking about 2009.

So we have a nice break: a chance to sit back, relax, and ponder all of those questions that we were too busy to spend time on during the h adequate time to during the regular season.

Let’s get the off-season started: First question: was Cliff Lee the best mid-season pitching acquisition ever?

What Are We Looking For?

There are a few ways we can evaluating a mid-season pitching acquisition.

Take, for instance, Larry Andersen: Andersen was acquired by the Red Sox halfway through the 1990 season, in an effort to shore up the Boston bullpen for the stretch run. And Andersen did exactly that, posting a 1.23 ERA over fifteen games and helping Boston win a close race for the American League East.

The only hitch? The guy Boston sent to Houston was Jeff Bagwell.

Looked at from the perspective of the 1990 season, the acquisition of Larry Andersen was a success: Andersen pitched extremely well, and the Red Sox won a close pennant race. Looked at it from a slightly broader perspective, Anderson’s twenty-two innings for Boston probably wasn’t worth trading away Jeff Bagwell’s Hall-of-Fame career.

For the sake of this essay, we’re going to consider pitchers only within the contexts of the seasons for which they were acquired. For our purposes, it doesn’t matter whether Carlos Carasco or Jason Knapp, two of the players traded to Cleveland for Cliff Lee, turn out to be All-Star talents. All we care about is what Cliff Lee did for the Phillies in 2009.

And because a central purpose of a mid-season pickup is to get to the postseason, we’re going to give attention to whether or not the team acquiring the pitcher advanced to the postseason. Furthermore, we’ll give weight to how well the pitcher did in the postseason.

Two more things: first, we’re talking about starting pitchers. Second, I’m only listing starting pitchers since 1975. Why?

First, it’s the start of the free-agency era: in December of 1975 the reserve clause was overturned, and the free-agent era began. Second: there is a huge drop in the number of quality starting pitchers who were traded mid-season, one that stretched from 1940 to about 1975. (And, just for the record, by quality starters, I mean starting pitchers who won 15 or more games during the season when they were traded). A quick table:

Decade	# of Starters
2000's	7
1990's	6
1980's	7
1970's	7
1960's	3
1950's	1
1940's	2
1930's	10

This gives the broad picture, but it isn’t perfect. By starting in 1975, we lose Jim Kaat’s 1973 season, which wasn’t a terrific season: Kaat wouldn’t make the top-fifteen list.

There were two pitchers in the 1960’s: Larry Jackson and Ken Johnson. Neither of them would make the top-fifteen list, though they had excellent seasons.

Virgil Trucks was the only pitcher in the 1950’s traded in mid-season who posted good numbers: his 1953 season wouldhave made the top-fifteen list. But that was fifty-some years ago. Trucks was the only pitcher from 1940-1975 who would make the top-fifteen list. I don’t feel too bad about leaving him off.

And he doesn’t fit anyway. A mid-season acquisition didn’t have the same meaning in 1953 that it has in 2007. Acquiring Virgil Trucks in 1953 meant the White Sox were acquiring all rights to him. Nowadays, a team acquires a player for the length of the player’s contract.

And the motivation to acquire talent has changed, too: in acquiring Trucks, the White Sox thought they were building to something: even if they didn’t win in 1953, they could win later: they were adding a piece for the long-term. In the modern version of the mid-season pickup, the motivation is different: most of these acquisitions are made by teams in contention who want an extra push now;this year. This is why the Phillies acquired Cliff Lee; it’s why the Brewers traded for CC Sabathia in 2008.

So I think in trying to play Cliff Lee’s season within a context, it makes sense to start in 1975. I don’t think there is anything to be gained by comparing him to Wes Ferrell (1938), Bobo Newson (1937), or Sugar Cain (1936).

Anyway, enough preamble. Let’s get to it.

The Greatest Mid-Season Pitching Pickups (Honorable Mentions)

Before we get to counting down the twelve greatest mid-season pitching acquisitions, let’s show a list of honorable mentions.

		1st Team	2nd Team	Pennant Race/	Postseason
Name	Year	W-L, ERA	W-L , ERA	Postseason?	W-L, ERA
Carl Pavano	2009	CLE 9-8, 5.37	MIN 5-4, 4.64	Yes, Yes	0-1, 2.57
Greg Maddux	2006	CHC 9-11, 4.69	LAD 6-3, 3.30	Yes, Yes	0-0, 9.00
Denny Neagle	2000	CIN 8-2, 3.52	NYY 7-7, 5.81	Yes, Yes	0-2, 4.29
Kevin Appier	1999	KCR 9-9, 4.87	OAK 7-5, 5.77	Yes, No (2nd)	N/A
Denny Neagle	1996	PIT 14-6, 3.05	ATL 2-3, 5.59	Yes, Yes	0-0, 3.29
David Wells	1995	DET 10-3, 3.04	CIN 6-5, 3.59	Yes, Yes	1-1, 2.21
Don Sutton	1985	OAK 13-8, 3.89	CAL 2-2, 3.69	Yes, No (2nd)	N/A
Bert Blyleven	1985	CLE 9-11, 3.26	MIN 8-5, 3.00	No, No (4th)	N/A
R. Honeycutt	1983	TEX 14-8, 2.42	LAD 2-3, 5.77	Yes, Yes	0.0, 21.60
Don Sutton	1982	HOU 13-8, 3.00	MIL 4-1. 3.29	Yes, Yes	1-1, 7.00
Rudy May	1976	NYY 4-3, 3.57	BAL 11-7, 3.78	Yes, No (2nd)	N/A

Alright: so these guys aren’t so honorable. But there are a few interesting names:

-Denny Neagle appears twice, having been dealt from Pittsburgh to Atlanta in 1996, and then from Cincinnati to the Yankees in 2000. It’s worth noting that Neagle wasn’t particularly helpful to either of the teams that acquired him.

-Don Sutton also appears twice, and he did more to help his teams advance.

-Sutton is one of two 300-game winners, with Maddux being the other. Both pitchers were nearing the end of their careers when they show up here. Two other excellent pitchers, Bert Blyleven and David Wells, make appearances earlier in their distinguished careers. They won’t be the last ones.

Let’s get to the countdown:

The Greatest Mid-Season Pitching Acquisitions, #16-#7

#16 – Gaylord Perry, 1975

1st Team	2nd Team	Pennant Race?	Postseason	Postsea.
W-L, ERA	W-L , ERA	Postseason?	W-L, ERA	Result
CLE 6-9, 3.55	TEX 12-8, 3.03	No, No (Tex. 3rd)	N/A	N/A

After a few disagreements with Cleveland player/manager (remember those?) Frank Robinson, Perry was traded to the Texas Rangers, where his cheatin’ ways were more tolerated by Billy Martin He turned in a terrific half-season for Texas, but it didn’t matter too much, as Texas finished 3^rd in the league, with a sub-.500 record. Incidentally, Perry won more games over the rest of his career than the three pitchers sent to Cleveland.

#15 – Bartolo Colon, 2002

1st Team	2nd Team	Pennant Race?	Postseason	Postsea.
W-L, ERA	W-L , ERA	Postseason?	W-L, ERA	Result
CLE 10-4, 2.55	MON 10-4, 3.31	Yes, No (Mon. 2^nd)	N/A	N/A

This was the famous trade: in exchange for seventeen starts, Montreal gave up Brandon Phillips, Grady Sizemore, and Cliff Lee. And you thought Bagwell was bad.

The Expos finished in second place, 19 games behind the Braves and twelve behind the Wild Card winning Giants. Still, there is little doubt that the Expos acquired Colon to try to win a pennant. And he did what anyone could expect, exactly mirroring his record with Cleveland. Had the Expos gotten into the playoffs, it is possible the king’s ransom they paid for Colon might’ve saved the franchise.

#14 Mark Langston, 1989

1st Team	2nd Team	Pennant Race?	Postseason	Postsea.
W-L, ERA	W-L , ERA	Postseason?	W-L, ERA	Result
SEA 4-5, 3.56	MON 12-9, 2.39	No, No (Mon.4th)	N/A	N/A

Another famous trade: guess what lefty the Mariners got back for Mark Langston? That’s right: Randy Johnson.

Langston, one of the great strikeout pitchers of the late 1980’s, was another brief rental by Montreal, and like Colon, he couldn’t keep the Expos in the race. He did pitch brilliantly: a 2.39 earned-run average in 24 starts.

#13 Dennis Rasmussen, 1988

1st Team	2nd Team	Pennant Race?	Postseason	Postsea.
W-L, ERA	W-L , ERA	Postseason?	W-L, ERA	Result
CIN 2-6, 5.75	SDP 14-4, 2.55	No, No (SDP 3rd)	N/A	N/A

The Padres weren’t quite in the race: they acquired Rasmussen for the long run, and he made good during his first year in San Diego. Rasmussen’s nickname, incidentally, was “Count Full Count.”

#12 Dick Ruthven, 1978

1st Team	2nd Team	Pennant Race?	Postseason	Postsea.
W-L, ERA	W-L , ERA	Postseason?	W-L, ERA	Result
ATL 2-6, 4.11	PHI 13-5, 2.99	Yes, Yes	0-1, 5.79	lost NLCS

Ruthven, acquired by a Phillies team that traded him away in 1975, helped the Phillies win the NL East title by a game and a half over the Pirates. He lost his only start in the NLCS, and the Phillies lost the series.

#11 Tom Seaver, 1977

1st Team	2nd Team	Pennant Race?	Postseason	Postsea.
W-L, ERA	W-L , ERA	Postseason?	W-L, ERA	Result
NYM 7-3, 3.00	CIN 14-3, 2.34	Yes, No (Mets 2nd)	N/A	N/A

This trade was in-tense. The Mets General Manager refusal to consider Seaver’s contract demands, coupled with a New York Daily News article alleging that Seaver’s wife was pushing for more money because she was jealous of Nolan Ryan’s wife, led to Seaver demanding a trade. In what was referenced by the hyperbolic New York sportswriters of the 1970’s as the “Midnight Massacre,” Seaver was shipped to Cincinnati. At the time, Seaver was the Mets most popular player, and just as obviously, Seaver was the team’s best player: the Mets quickly slipped to the bottom of the NL East. In 1978 G. Donald Grant, the Mets GM, was fired.

#10 David Cone, 1992

#9 David Cone, 1995

1st Team	2nd Team	Pennant Race?	Postseason	Postsea.
W-L, ERA	W-L , ERA	Postseason?	W-L, ERA	Result
NYM 13-7, 2.88	TOR 4-3, 2.55	Yes, Yes	1-1, 3.21	Won WS
TOR 9-6, 3.38	NYY 9-2, 3.82	Yes, Yes	1-0, 4.60	lost ALDS

Ah, David Cone. As Bill once wrote about Cone: “Have arm, will travel.” Cone was twice a mid-season acquisition, first going from the Mets to the Toronto Blue Jays, in time to help the Jays become the first non-U.S. team to win a World Series. Three years later, in 1995, he jumped ship to the Yankees, where, happy to be on a perennial contender, he managed to stay for six years.

#8 Burt Hooton, 1975

1st Team	2nd Team	Pennant Race?	Postseason	Postsea.
W-L, ERA	W-L , ERA	Postseason?	W-L, ERA	Result
CHC 0-2, 8.18	LAD 18-7, 2.82	No, No (LA 2nd)	N/A	N/A

No other mid-season pickup won more games than Burt Hooton, who went 18-7 for the Dodgers after getting swapped from the Cubs. The Dodgers didn’t make the postseason in 1975, finishing a distant second behind Cincinnati. That said, Hooton was a key member of the 1977, 1978, and 1981 Dodgers teams, posting a 6-1 record and a 3.17 ERA for the Blue.

#7 Woody Williams, 2001

1st Team	2nd Team	Pennant Race?	Postseason	Postsea.
W-L, ERA	W-L , ERA	Postseason?	W-L, ERA	Result
SDP 8-8, 4.97	STL 7-1, 2.28	Yes, Yes	1-0, 1.29	Lost NLDS

Why is Woody Williams ahead of Hooton? In part, he’s ranked ahead here because Williams played a significant role in getting the Cardinals to the postseason (they were the Wild Card winners, though St. Louis tied Houston for the best record in the National League in 2001). Without Williams’ 7-1 mark down the stretch, there is a good chance the Giants, Cubs, Phillies, or Dodgers might have caught up.

Williams pitched well in the postseason, outdueling Randy Johnson to win his only NLDS start. Still, the Cardinals couldn’t get past the Diamondbacks, who would go on to win the World Series.

A Quick Digression Which Doesn’t Have a Point

Taking a breath here.

I think it’s worth noting that the majority of these trades don’t work out for the teams acquiring the hired guns. Bagwell for Andersen obviously favored the Astros. Sizemore, Phillips, and Lee for Colon: the Expos probably want that back. Randy Johnson for Mark Langston? You get the idea.

A few traded did work out. Gaylord Perry was better than all of the pitchers he was traded for. Same with Tom Seaver: Seaver was swapped for Steve Henderson, who had a few good years at the plate, and three guys who were washes (Doug Flynn, Dan Norman, and Pat Zachery).

That said, getting into the playoffs is a big damned deal, and there are plenty of good reasons that teams in tight pennant races go-for-broke trying to acquire mid-season talent. When it pays off, the reward outweighs the cost. The Brewers gave up talent for CC Sabathia, but Sabathia carried them into their first postseason since 1982. That matters.

What am I getting at? I’m a Red Sox fan, and I sure as hell would’ve liked Jeff Bagwell playing in Fenway all those years. But they made the postseason in 1990, and that was a big deal for us. They made a trade, and the trade gave Boston a chance to win the pennant, a chance to play in the Series. I think, sometimes, you have to take a shot.

(Alright: maybe not on thirty-seven year-old middle relievers…)

The Final Countdown (#6, #5, #4 #3, #2, #1)

#6 Mike Torrez, 1977

1st Team	2nd Team	Pennant Race?	Postseason	Postsea.
W-L, ERA	W-L , ERA	Postseason?	W-L, ERA	Result
OAK 3-1, 4.44	NYY 14-12, 3.82	Yes, Yes	2-1, 3.10	Won WS

Which is more important: getting your team to the postseason, or pitching well in the playoffs?

Mike Torrez, acquired by the Yankees early in 1977, helped the Yankees win a close race over Baltimore and Boston (both teams finished 2.5 games back of New York). That said, just how much did Torrez help? He finished 14-12, with an ERA a few ticks better than the league average. Burt Hooton was 18-7. Seaver was 14-3.

But the Yankees did make the playoffs. Torrez made one start in the ALCS, losing to Kansas City. (Let me just say that again: the Yankees lost an ALCS game to Kansas City.)

But in the World Series, Torrez pitched extremely well: he made two starts against the Dodgers, going the distance both times and getting two wins, including the clinching Game 6. For that reason, he ranks ahead of the mid-season acquisitions who had better records, but less luck in the postseason.

(And here’s a fun bit of trivia: anyone remember who lost that Game 6? Burt Hooton, of course.)

#5 CC Sabathia, 2008

1st Team	2nd Team	Pennant Race?	Postseason	Postsea.
W-L, ERA	W-L , ERA	Postseason?	W-L, ERA	Result
CLE 6-8, 3.83	MIL 11-2, 1.65	Yes, Yes	0-1, 12.27	Lost NLDS

Only Doyle Alexander played a bigger role in getting his team into the postseason than CC Sabathia did last year.

When Milwaukee acquired Sabathia in early July, they were in third place in the NL Central, four games behind the Cubs and a half-game behind St. Louis. In all, there were seven teams within five games of the NL Wild Card Race.

Milwaukee ended up winning the Wild Card, finishing a game ahead of the Mets. It was Sabathia, pitching a four-hit shutout against the Cubs on the last day of the season, who won the Wild Card for the Brewers.

As for the postseason, an exhausted Sabathia was hit hard by the Phillies, losing his only postseason start.

Still, Sabathia’s work down the stretch was the reason the Brewers made it into the postseason: no other pitcher arriving in mid-season has ever had a greater impact on a team’s playoff chances than Sabathia in 2008.

#4 Randy Johnson, 1998

1st Team	2nd Team	Pennant Race?	Postseason	Postsea.
W-L, ERA	W-L , ERA	Postseason?	W-L, ERA	Result
SEA 9-10, 4.33	HOU 10-1, 1.28	Yes, Yes	0-2, 1.92	Lost NLDS

Johnson joined a Houston team that was 3.5 games ahead of the pack in the NL Central, and he helped them pad their lead, going 10-1 down the stretch, with a microscopic 1.28 ERA. The Astros would run away from the division, winning by 11 games.

In the postseason, Johnson lost a 2-1 pitching duel against Kevin Brown in Game 1 of the ALDS, and then lost Game 4. In both games, Johnson pitched well (1.92 ERA, 17 strikeouts and just two walks in fourteen innings), but the Houston offense couldn’t do anything against San Diego, with Bagwell, Biggio, Alou, Derek Bell, Carl Everett, and Brad Ausmus all posting batting averages under .200.

Johnson pitcher extremely well, but there is a good chance Houston would have won the Central Division without him. He pitched exceptionally well in the postseason, but the Astros failed to advance. Had Houston advanced, Johnson would be a strong contender for the #1 spot.

#3 Doyle Alexander, 1987

1st Team	2nd Team	Pennant Race?	Postseason	Postsea.
W-L, ERA	W-L , ERA	Postseason?	W-L, ERA	Result
ATL 5-10, 4.13	DET 9-0, 1.53	Yes, Yes	0-2, 10.00	Lost ALCS

Alexander, who I missed on the first incarnation of this article, was acquired by the Tigers in early August. At that point in the season, Detroit was 1.5 games behind the Blue Jays and 1.5 games ahead of the New York Yankees.

Alexander made eleven starts down the stretch, and Detroit won every game he started. During the last week of the season, Alexander faced the Blue Jays twice. As reader ‘ mikeclaw’ points out, Alexander threw 10 and 2/3 innings in his first start, giving up one earned run before turning the ball over to the Tiger bullpen. In his second start, with first place on the line, Alexander gave up three earned runs in seven innings, and the Tigers won 4-3.

It was an incredible run: Alexander finished fourth in the AL Cy Young voting, and even received a first-place vote from one of the writers.

As valuable as he was down the stretch, Alexander was hit hard in the postseason. In Game One of the ALCS against Minnesota, he have up six earned runs in seven-plus innings (though it is worth noting that the bullpen allowed two of those runs to score). In the decisive Game 5, Alexander was pulled after giving up four runs in 1-and-2/3 innings.

And the player traded to Atlanta? John Smoltz.

#2 Cliff Lee, 2009

1st Team	2nd Team	Pennant Race?	Postseason	Postsea.
W-L, ERA	W-L , ERA	Postseason?	W-L, ERA	Result
CLE 7-9, 3.14	PHI 7-4, 3.39	Yes, Yes	4-0, 1.56	Lost WS

Like Randy Johnson 1998 Astros, it is safe to say that the 2009 Phillies were well on their way to winning the division when Cliff Lee arrived. At the end of July, when Philadelphia acquired Lee from Cleveland, the Phillies were six games ahead of Atlanta and Florida. That’s exactly where they ended up.

Lee pitched well down the stretch, but his performance wasn’t as dominant as those of Sabathia or Alexander or Randy Johnson. Where Lee excelled was the postseason: no other mid-season acquisition ever did more to help their team in the postseason than Cliff Lee did this season. Only Mike Torrez comes close.

As an aside, it’s interesting that the sixteen mid-season acquisitions mentioned here who made the playoffs have generally done very poorly in the playoffs. Cumulatively, the players listed here are just 12-12 in postseason starts, with half the pitchers posting ERA’s over 4.00. Take Lee out, and the record gets much worse.

The Phillies won all five games Lee started: the only time Lee didn’t get a decision was Game 4 of the NLDS, when Ryan Madson and the Philly defense blew an 8^th inning lead. The Phillies won anyway.

#1 Rick Sutcliffe, 1984

1st Team	2nd Team	Pennant Race?	Postseason	Postsea.
W-L, ERA	W-L , ERA	Postseason?	W-L, ERA	Result
CLE 4-5. 5.15	CHC 16-1, 2.69	Yes, Yes	1-1, 3.38	lost NLCS

Why is Rick Sutcliffe ahead of Cliff Lee? Three reasons.

First, Sutcliffe had the better regular season record: wins and loses aren’t the best way to make an argument, but 16-1 is a significantly better Win-Loss record than 7-4. Cliff Lee pitched very well, but Sutcliffe turned in a near-perfect season for Chicago.

Second, the Cubs weren’t in first place when they acquired Rick Sutcliffe. On June 17^th, Chicago was in third place, two games behind the Phillies and a half-game behind the Mets. The Cubbies were also riding a four-game losing streak, which Sutcliffe stopped with a shutout in his first start. So Sutcliffe, like CC Sabathia, played a big role in the pennant race: had he not gone 16-1 down the stretch, it is unlikely that Chicago would have passed the Phillies and Mets.

Lastly, Sutcliff pitched extremely well in the postseason. He was 1-1, but that doesn’t tell the full story. Sutcliffe and the Cubs won Game 1 of the NLCS easily: Sutcliffe left after seven innings, with Chicago winning 13-0.

In the deciding Game 5, the Cubs had a 2-0 lead going into the sixth inning. In the bottom of the 6^th, Sutcliffe gave up two singles and a walk before inducing two sacrifice flies and a groundout: after 6 innings, the game was tied 2-2.

Sutcliffe came back out for the seventh, and it was clear he was struggling. He walked the first batter on four pitches. The next batter, Gary Templeton, sacrificed the runner to second. Tim Flannery, the third batter of the inning, reached on an error by the first baseman, resulting in one run.

With the heart of the order coming up, Chicago manager Jim Frey elected to keep Sutcliffe in the game. Alan Wiggins singled, moving Flannery to second. Tony Gwynn doubled, driving in two runs. Steve Garvey singled, bringing in Gwynn. Season over.

So we have three measures:

-Measured by how well he pitched during the regular season, Sutcliffe ranks with Sabathia, Alexander, and Randy Johnson, probably a little better than those guys. It is likely that no other mid-season acquisition pitched as well as Sutcliffe did in 1984, for as long as he did.

-Measured by how much he impacted the pennant race, only CC Sabathia and Alexander did more to help his team make the postseason than Sutcliffe. So Rick is third by that measure.

-Measured by postseason success, only Cliff Lee, Mike Torrez, and (perhaps) Randy Johnson did better in the postseason than Sutcliffe, who threw 14 shutout innings for Chicago before the Padres managed to get to him.

Rick Sutcliffe is still the greatest mid-season pitching acquisition ever.

Dave Fleming is a writer living in Iowa City, IA. He welcomes questions, comments, and Charlie Manuel’s explanation for leaving Pedro Martinez in to pitch to Hideki Matsui with the bases loaded in Game 6, both here and at dfleming1986@yahoo.com

COMMENTS (19 Comments, most recent shown first)

glkanter
Three of the top five traded away by the Indians. Two within the last 18 months. Cliff Lee was a year before it was necessary. But no, I'm not bitter. How was anyone in the front office to know that Cy Young winners make for winning teams?
11:02 AM Nov 18th

jsc1973
I've argued with all sorts of people about that Bartolo Colon trade. That wasn't a bad trade at all, under the circumstances. It looks bad now, but consider the context of time and place. None of those guys were close to being productive major-leaguers in the summer of 2002. Cliff Lee and Grady Sizemore didn't help the Indians until 2005. Brandon Phillips didn't do anything in the majors until 2006, after he had moved on from Cleveland. Cleveland got really lucky on the prospects they received, but a lot of GMs of a contending team would have made that deal. None of those prospects were anywhere close to helping the Expos, and the Expos had to go all in. They couldn't afford the luxury of being bad for three more years and hoping their prospects all panned out.
4:39 PM Nov 16th

nettles9
The reason "Kansas City" was emphasized is because some who are reading this might not remember that the Kansas City Royals were a model franchise in baseball, from the early 1970s until the early 1980s when they decided to start acquiring players such as Jerry Martin and a washed-up Vida Blue.

Another thing: those Strat-O-Matic cards for Sutcliffe and Alexander were beyond great! Hits and walks were like mirages in a desert.
9:29 PM Nov 14th

ventboys
Ok, Evan, I'll give you that one...

Worst mid season pickup? Brad Pitt, trading Jennifer Aniston for Angelina Jolie.

He gave up player with tons of long term (looks) value for one that lost most of her value about 15 minutes after he made the deal. He traded humor, girl next door sex appeal and a clean image for one that rivals Dick Allen for past baggage, embarrasing youtube videos and plastic surgery. His new player, in the years since the trade, has saddled him with about 70 kids, most of them from countries that haven't ever heard of hollywood.

I got that thing, about the "pickup". It took me just long enough to be halfway through this mess and I couldn't stop.....
1:22 AM Nov 12th

Kev
Kick-start and a beauty!

11:29 AM Nov 11th

evanecurb
The best midseason pickup ever was the 1965 Ford F-150 that was released in March, six months prior to the new models in September of that year.

You left out Ernie Broglio, who catapulted the '64 Cubs into eighth place.
10:47 AM Nov 10th

evanecurb

In 1976, the Orioles and Yankees created two midseason honorable mention list members by including Doyle Alexander and Rudy May in the same trade. This was an unusual trade in that it involved intradvisional rivals swapping a large number of players. Three of the players involved in the trade became key players for the O’s for several years and played on the excellent O’s teams of 1979-83. The players involved in that trade were:

From O's to Yanks: Doyle Alexander, Jimmy Freeman, Elrod Hendricks, Grant Jackson, and Ken Holtzman

From Yanks to O's: Rick Dempsey, Tippy Martinez, Scott McGregor, Rudy May, and Dave Pagan.

1976 was the first season after the Messersmith ruling that allowed players to declare themselves to be free agents at year end. No one knew exactly how to navigate the process at the time, but the O’s were dumped four veterans who were eligible to become free agents and received four prospects and one veteran in return. At the time, the key player in the trade was Ken Holtzman, who was 30 years old and had been an effective starting pitcher for the Cubs and A’s since 1966. The O’s had acquired Holtzman in April of ’76 along with Reggie Jackson in exchange for Don Baylor and Mike Torrez (Torrez made Dave’s list the following season with the Yankees). Holtzman pitched effectively in 13 starts for the O’s (5-4, 2.86 ERA, 115 ERA+), but by comparison pitched poorly for the Yankees (9-7, 4.17, 83 ERA+), and was never the same pitcher after that. Alexander (10-5, 3.29) pitched very well as a starter and Jackson (6-0, 1.69 in 21 appearances) was lights out in relief that year.

After 1976, Alexander pitched for 13 more seasons and won 140 more games before retiring in 1989. Jackson pitched effectively for five seasons with Pittsburgh. Not sure why the

10:46 AM Nov 10th

mikeclaw
My two cents, Dave - I would put Doyle Alexander '87 in the 2 hole behind Sutcliffe. Just checked retrosheet ... in his last two starts that year, he went head-to-head with the Blue Jays, who finished two games back of the Tigers. In the first one, he pitched 10 2/3 innings and allowed one earned run but took no decision in Detroit's victory over the Jays. In the second one, he pitched seven innings for the victory in the game that moved Detroit into a first-place tie with the Jays with two days left in the season.

I'd say Alexander '87 is #2 behind Sutcliffe.
6:25 AM Nov 10th

papahans5
forgetting doyle alexander on a list of great mid-season pick ups is kind of like overlooking reggie jackson on a list of great world series performances. Doye's 9-0 run for the tigers in a down-to-the-last-game pennant race (remember pennant races?) is simply the greatest mid season pick up ever, with the possible exception of rick sutcliffe.
1:38 AM Nov 10th

Kev
Dave,

After an otherwise excellent job all year, Charlie suddenly goes temporarily insane, reverts to Grady Little 101 doctrine and plunges forward with the same pitcher. No wonder Pedro was such a great
pitcher--he was a hypnotist. (I must say that I thought Manuel's seeking out and telling an isolated Pedro it's over, was touching, and classy as well in its manner).

But hey, yes that was dumb, but it pales in comparison to two incidents in the same at-bat by the team (my team), that ever since Casey (when on top), has prided itself on "playing the game the right way":
Incident of Matchless Stupidity Number 1: Girardi, with runners on 1st and 2nd, none out, orders his best situational hitter to sacrifice. With a man aleady in scoring posiiton and a high-average contact hitter possessed of more experience than any player in either dugout, and who can hit to the right side almost at will approaching the plate, I sit back and await the dagger, which is:
Girardi takes the bat out of Jeter's hands and attempts to present Philly with an out via a sacrifice. (Tell me, what do you think Manuel thought of this? Xmas--what else?)

Incident of Matchless Stupidity Number Two, surpassing by far IMS #1: Jeter takes the bat out of his own hands. He bunts foul for strike three. Jeter is widely and justly regarded as one of the smartest players in the game--if Charlie is temporarily bonkers, then Derek is certifiable, and needs to be separated from normal
people. There's no rational explanation. "Loes Picks Yanks in Six" at least has some Loes-esque precedent. But Jeter?

Despite, or maybe partly because of the less than perfect aesthetics, this was a good, very good Series. Close, intense, and suspenseful; (When, Ryan, WHEN?). For me at least, it was enjoyable, and after all, that IS why they play the game isn't it?

12:13 AM Nov 10th

ventboys
I thought of Doyle first, too....

Another old timer that's interesting is Hank Borowy. He was a rotation starter for the Yankees, came up in 1942 and went 15-4, 2.52 era as a rookie but got hammered in his one postseason appearance. He was 14-9 (2.82 era) in 1943 and pitched 8 strong innings in winning his only Series start. The Yanks missed the postseason in 1944, but Borowy was 17-12, 2.65 era. In 1945 he started out 1945 by going 10-5 with a 3.13 era for the Yankees, and was sold to the Cubs on July 27th for 97,000 dollars. Weird, that they would sell someone that good, but he was 29 and his entire career was spent facing wartime competition. Anyway..

He was 11-2 in 14 starts, 11 complete games down the stretch for the Pennant winning Cubs. His 2.13 era led the league, though revisionist historians have taken it away from him because he only pitched 122 innings for the Cubs. Under the rules of the time, he was awarded the title. He tossed a shutout in game one of the WS, and lost game 5. He had pitched 5 innings, 4 hits and 1 run allowed, before giving up 4 straight hits to start the 6th inning and being removed. All 4 runners scored.

He then came on in relief in game 6 the next day, tossing 4 shutout innings and got his 2nd win of the series. There was one offday, and Borowy was given the ball to start game 7. He had pitched 5 and 4 innings in back to back games, and had one day off. He wasn't up to it. He gave up 3 straight singles to start the game and was relieved. He took the loss, giving him a 2-2 record, getting the decision in each of the last 3 games of the series over 4 days. He gave up 8 runs in 20 innings, all but one of them in the 6th inning of game 5 (4) and starting game 7 (3). 5 of the 7 were inherited runners that the relievers gave up.

I wondered earlier if the Yankees might have made a mistake selling him. Well, he was not the same after the Wartime players came back. His era jumped up over a run in 1946, and almost 2 runs from 1945 to 1947 and over 2 runs in 1948. He never had another winning record after going 12-10 in 1946, and his era was below league average every year until he retired after the 1951 season.
11:04 PM Nov 9th

DaveFleming
Sorry guys...I missed Doyle Alexander.

I knew I was going to miss someone. I started following baseball in the late 1980s, and even then (in that pre-internet age), I pretty much followed the Red Sox. We didn't had a newspaper subscription then, so what I knew about baseball was reserved to the backs of cards and the Red Sox games I watched on television.

The problem, with regards to this article, were the parameters I set on the baseballreference search engine: I couldn't find any way to search for players who split time between teams, so I had to come up with some other standard. So I went with 15 wins: I looked at the list of all 15 game winnners in baseball, back to 1920 or so, and I wrote down the guys who played for two teams.

So Alexander, who won 14 in 1987, should be on the list. He also had a pretty good half for the Yankees in 1976, 10-5, 3.29 ERA. Like Neagle and Cone, he's a two-time two-timer.

So I'll throw him in the article somewhere, and as a way to atone for my error, I'll let you guys tell me where that 1987 season should rank. 9-0 down the stretch, played a huge role in getting the Tigers to the postseason, and was roughed up in two starts against the Twins in the ALCS.

Where do you want him?

(And 77royals: it was just a note of sarcasm: I only meant that it's easy to forget that the Royals were once as talented as the Yankees.)
10:57 AM Nov 9th

jrickert
When removing the pre-1975 pitchers, I thought that Hank Borowy (11-2 2.13 and 2-2 in the Series) merited explicit dismissal.
I also agree with the folks who've mentioned Alexander. The Tigers came from behind the last week (1.5GB with 4 left to play) and won the division by 2 games. It's unlikely they'd have sprung their "bear-trap" (http://www.thebaseballpage.com/blog.php/108stitches/article/the-bigges/) without Alexander.
It's worth noting that even at the time the sentiment among the media was "We know that Smoltz will be a great one, but Alexander is 7-0 (then 8-0, 9-0) and is giving us exactly what we want to win the division. We're willing to pay that price." There was some gnashing of teeth after the Twins knocked the Tigers out, but the general feeling was that local hero Smoltz was a price that had to be paid. Considering where the Tigers went in the 90's it's not clear that Smoltz would have led them to the post-season or stayed with the Tigers.
9:56 AM Nov 9th

PeteDecour
I did not think of him originally either, but I think Doyle Alexander deserves a spot on the list too. at least in the top 5 and probably ahead of Torrez, I would think
9:40 AM Nov 9th

PeteDecour
first, pedro had as good a chance to get hideki out as anyone. It isnt as if Charlie had any reliable options.
Second, I know I may be dating myself here, but when Bill wrote about Sutcliffe's trade back in the day, he compared it to that made for hank borowy, and you left him out of the list of people you were leaving out. He would have been a good person to add. Interesting article, and well-reasoned and written. thanks
9:38 AM Nov 9th

chasfh
I am completely knocked out that the word "Alexander" appears nowhere in the article. Either you have such an obvious reason for not including Doyle that you didn't even feel need to include the reason, or this was an oversight of egregious proportions.
9:29 AM Nov 9th

mikeclaw
Am I missing something here, or are you missing something here ...

Doyle Alexander (1987) - Traded to Tigers, went 9-0 with a 1.53 ERA in 11 starts and pushed the Tigers to a division title in a tight pennant race.

Yeah, it cost them John Smoltz's career, as we well know, but in the context of that one season, he's got to be one of the top five mid-season pickups, doesn't he?
8:24 AM Nov 9th

77royals
What was the big point about the Royals beating the Yankees in a game in the '77 playoffs. The Royals won 102 games that year, and had the best record in baseball.
11:07 PM Nov 8th

sabraham
Most of these seem like good choices, but it seems hard to develop a list of 25 plus examples without including the Tigers' acquisition of Doyle Alexander in 1987. The Tigers were locked in a tight race with Toronto for the AL East title and weak in the startng staff. Alexander came over and went 9 and 0 with a 1.53 ERA down the stretch and Detroit came from behind to edge the Jays the final weekend. This would seem to compare favorably to most of the cases you have listed. What made it especially interesting was that to get Alexander the Tigers gave up a talented minor leaguer who would have a pretty good career of his own. His name is John Smoltz.
8:39 PM Nov 8th

Cliff Lee: Best Pick-Up Ever?

COMMENTS (19 Comments, most recent shown first)

Leave a comment

Report inappropriate comment


Type of Abuse:
Comments: