July 31, 1997: The McGwire and "White Flags" Trades

July 31, 1997: The Major League Baseball season comes to its trading deadline. From 1923 until 1986, the deadline had been June 15.

Despite his already having hit 34 home runs this season, the Oakland Athletics trade Mark McGwire to the St. Louis Cardinals for Eric Ludwick, T.J. Mathews and Blake Stein. They were 3 pitchers, and, between them, they went 30-30 for the A's. By the trading deadline 2 years later, July 31, 1999, none of them were still with the A's; by July 24, 2002, none of them were even in the major leagues anymore.

McGwire finished the 1997 season with 58 home runs; 1998, a new record of 70; 1999, 65. When he retired after the 2001 season, he had 583 home runs, and was one of the most beloved players of all time. Of course, it was eventually revealed that he did it with steroids, costing him so much goodwill. Perhaps no player in history, except for Pete Rose, ever had such a fall from grace.

Less publicized, but more shocking, was the trade the Chicago White Sox made. They sent pitchers Danny Darwin, Wilson Alvarez and Roberto Hernandez to the San Francisco Giants, getting pitchers Keith Foulke, Bob Howry, Lorenzo Barcelo and Ken Vining, shortstop Mike Caruso and outfielder Brian Manning.

The White Sox were only 3 1/2 games behind the Cleveland Indians in the American League Central Division, but it looked like they were giving up. They were mocked as "The Chicago White Flags." To make matters worse, the Giants ended up winning the National League West that season.

Was it a good trade anyway? Well, Foulke did help the White Sox win the Division in 2000. And he did help the Sox win the 2004 World Series -- but that was the Boston Red Sox. For a team that had made just 6 postseasons and won just 5 Pennants in their 1st 97 years, maybe 1 postseason made the trade worth it. On the other hand, the White Sox did win the World Series in 2005 (not as a result of this trade), while the Giants had to wait until 2010 to do so.

UPDATE: Since the 2023 Collective Bargaining Agreement, the deadline is no longer a constant: It can fall between July 28 and August 3.

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July 31, 1997 was a Friday. These games were played:

* The Montreal Expos beat the San Diego Padres, 9-2 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Tony Gwynn went 1-for-2 with an RBI. Rickey Henderson was with the Padres that season, and went 1-for-3.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-1 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Midre Cummings singled Gregg Jeffries home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Ricky Bottalico was the winning pitcher, in relief of Curt Schilling, who struck out 11 batters in 9 innings.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Atlanta Braves, 1-0 at Pro Player Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida. Troy Saunders pitched 7 innings of 4-hit shutout ball, and 3 relievers completed the 4-hit shutout. They outpitched Paul Byrd. The only run came in the 4th inning, when Darren Daulton singled Édgar Rentería home.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Colorado Rockies, 4-1 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Seattle Mariners, 2-1 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Ken Griffey Jr. went 1-for-4.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Boston Red Sox, 3-2 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Dave Nilsson singled Fernando Viña home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Anaheim Angels, 14-12 at Edison International Field of Anaheim (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Yes, that's a baseball game, not football.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Oakland Athletics, 4-0 at the Oakland Coliseum. The game was scoreless after 10 innings. In the top of the 11th inning, the O's scored 4 runs on 1 hit, 3 walks (1 of them intentional), a hit-by-pitch, and an error.

* And the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, the Cincinnati Reds, the Cleveland Indians, the Houston Astros, the Minnesota Twins, the San Francisco Giants and the Texas Rangers were not scheduled.