August 30, 1990: The Boston Red Sox trade 1st baseman Jeff Bagwell to the Houston Astros for pitcher Larry Andersen.
Bagwell, a Boston native with a swing tailor-made for Fenway Park, went on to hit 449 home runs, win a Rookie of the Year, a Most Valuable Player award, 4 National League Central Division titles and a Pennant for the Astros. His batting stance became one of the most recognizable in the game. They retired his Number 5, and he has been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
In contrast, Andersen is better known for his sense of humor as a Philadelphia Phillies broadcaster later on than his pitching then, pitched just 15 games for the Red Sox, and they traded him away. This has been called one of the worst trades of all time.
In my opinion, it wasn't. The Red Sox didn't really have a place for Bagwell: He was 22 at the time, hadn't yet reached the majors, and his position was 1st base, where they already had the heavy-hitting Mo Vaughn. And, as they always seem to be, they were loaded with potential DHs. They didn't need him. What they did need was a better bullpen, and Andersen had a 1.23 ERA in those 15 games. They would not have won the American League Eastern Division title without him. So while the Astros made out like bandits, the trade did what the Red Sox needed it to do.
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August 30, 1990 was a Thursday. These games were played in Major League Baseball:
* The New York Yankees lost to the Baltimore Orioles, 6-1 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Pete Harnisch went the distance for the win, while Dave LaPoint didn't get out of the 4th inning. Cal Ripken went 1-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Don Mattingly did not play.
* The New York Mets beat the San Francisco Giants, 12-2 at Shea Stadium. Sid Fernandez was the winning pitcher, striking out 12. Darryl Strawberry, Howard Johnson and Gregg Jeffries hit home runs.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-2 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Atlanta Braves, 5-3 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Terry Pendleton hit a sacrifice fly in the top of the 12th inning, to score Todd Zeile with the winning run.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 9-2 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-5 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-3 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
* The Oakland Athletics beat the Kansas City Royals, 6-5 at the Oakland Coliseum. Rickey Henderson went 3-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs. George Brett went 0-for-2 before being pinch-hit for.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Seattle Mariners, 3-2 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Ken Griffey Jr. went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.
* And the California Angels, the Houston Astros, the Milwaukee Brewers, the Montreal Expos, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the San Diego Padres, the Texas Rangers and the Toronto Blue Jays were not scheduled.
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