February 25, 1972: A classic "my headache for your headache" trade is made. The Philadelphia Phillies trade Rick Wise to the St. Louis Cardinals, for fellow pitcher Steve Carlton.
Wise had won 17 games for a bad Phillies team, making the All-Star Game. But he had a habit of wearing out his welcome: He would be traded to the Boston Red Sox after 2 years, the Cleveland Indians after 4, and the San Padres after 2. And they released him after 3.
As far Carlton, he'd just had his 1st 20-win season, at the age of 25. And he'd made the All-Star Team for the 3rd time. So why would the Cardinals get rid of him?
Well, you see, the Cardinals were owned by August Anheuser Busch Jr., the chairman of Anheuser-Busch breweries, and, as he always reminded us, maker of Budweiser beer. Gussie was an autocrat: He rewarded loyalty, but punished anyone who complained, however benignly. Gussie was willing to offer Carlton $50,000 for the 1972 season. Carlton thought he deserved $60,000. This was while the reserve clause was still in effect, when a team owner could squeeze a player on salary. Gussie was a billionaire, so, to him, $10,000 was nothing. But he was infuriated that Carlton would demand more money. So he traded him.
Carlton won 241 games for the Phillies, more than any pitcher in the history of Philadelphia baseball, except for Eddie Plank, who won 284 for the Athletics. (Robin Roberts won 234 for the Phillies, Grover Cleveland Alexander 190. Lefty Grove won 194 for the A's.) Carlton won 27 in 1972 alone, a season in which the rest of the Phillies won only 32. He would tell his team, "It's Win Day." Despite their last-place performance, he was named the National League Cy Young Award winner. (But not the Most Valuable Player: That went to Johnny Bench of the Pennant-winning Cincinnati Reds.)
Slowly but surely, the Phillies were being built into a winner. When they finally got to the World Series in 1980, Carlton was given the starting assignment for Game 6, set to be the clincher. As their best player, Mike Schmidt, said, "It was Win Day." October 21, 1980. The Phillies were World Champions.
He won 329 games in his career, winning 20 games in a season 6 times, making 10 All-Star Games, becoming the 1st pitcher to win 4 Cy Young Awards, and becoming, briefly in 1983, the major leagues' all-time strikeout leader, trading the title back and forth with Nolan Ryan all season long, until Ryan began to pull away. Carlton became the 2nd pitcher, after Ryan, to strike out 4,000 batters. He struck out 4,136, becoming the 2nd all-time leader, and 1st among lefthanded pitchers. Through the 2021 season, Randy Johnson is the only lefty to surpass him.
*
February 25, 1972 was a Friday. Baseball and football were out of season. No games were scheduled for the NHL. There were 5 games played in the NBA:
* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Atlanta Hawks, 114-110 at The Omni in Atlanta.
* The Boston Celtics beat the Buffalo Braves, 117-115 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. John Havlicek scored 33 points for the Celtics. Elmore Smith scored 40 for the Braves.
* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 113-104 at The Coliseum in the Cleveland suburb of Richfield, Ohio.
* The Chicago Bulls beat the Phoenix Suns, 115-107 at the Chicago Stadium.
* And the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Cincinnati Royals, 109-88 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.
And there were 4 games played in the American Basketball Association:
* The New York Nets beat the Denver Rockets, 124-116 at the brand-new Nassau Coliseum. Rick Barry scored 38 points for the Nets.
* The Memphis Pros beat the Pittsburgh Condors, 115-111 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. George Thompson scored 38 points.
* The Dallas Chaparrals beat the Kentucky Colonels, 100-92 at the Moody Coliseum in Dallas.
* And the Utah Stars beat the Indiana Pacers, 117-107 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City.
No comments:
Post a Comment