November 29, 1971: The Cincinnati Reds trade 1st baseman Lee May, 2nd baseman Tommy Helms and utility player Jimmy Stewart to the Houston Astros for 2nd baseman Joe Morgan, center fielder César Gerónimo, outfielder Ed Armbrister, utility player Denis Menke and pitcher Jack Billingham.
May was a power-hitting All-Star, and gave the Astros 3 strong seasons before they foolishly traded him to the Baltimore Orioles. Helms, a former National League Rookie of the Year, a 2-time All-Star and a 2-time Gold Glove, gave the Astros 3 decent seasons, but stopped hitting in his 4th. Stewart stopped hitting, and only played 2 more seasons in the major leagues. Still, getting May in the trade meant that the Astros were not exactly robbed.
If Morgan had gotten hurt and done nothing for the Reds, this would still have been a good trade for them. Menke didn't do much for them, but Billingham was a good starting pitcher, Gerónimo won 4 straight Gold Gloves as their center fielder and even batted .307 in 1976, and Armbrister was a key reserve, famously involved in the play that won Game 3 of the 1975 World Series.
But Morgan became perhaps the best all-around player in baseball, the sparkplug of what had already been known since the 1970 season as "The Big Red Machine." In 1972, he led the NL in walks, on-base percentage and runs scored, and helped the Reds win the Pennant. In 1975 and 1976, he helped them win the World Series, and was named the NL Most Valuable Player both times. In the top of the 9th inning of Game 7, his RBI single was the Series' winning run. He stole 689 bases in his career, 406 of them in his 8 seasons with Cincinnati. He also surpassed Helms by winning 5 straight Gold Gloves.
Unfortunately for Reds fans, their team had a cheap organization, and when his contract ran out after the 1979 season, they didn't try to re-sign him. He went back to the Astros, and helped them win the 1980 NL Western Division title. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his 1st year of eligibility.
On this same day, another big trade was made: The San Francisco Giants, coming of a season in which they beat the Reds out for the NL West title, traded their best pitcher, Gaylord Perry, to the Cleveland Indians for their best pitcher, Sam McDowell.
Sam McDowell
It would be a huge mistake: "Sudden Sam" had succeeded Sandy Koufax as baseball's top strikeout artist, but his drinking was out of control, and he was out of the major leagues 3 1/2 years later, only 32 years old. He beat his problem to become one of baseball's foremost substance-abuse counselors.
Gaylord Perry
Perry won the American League's Cy Young Award in 1972, but the Indians made the trade less consequential than it could have been by letting him go too soon, probably for the same reason they traded McDowell: Salary concerns, as the Indians were always short on cash. In 1978, with the San Diego Padres, Perry won the NL's Cy Young Award, becoming the 1st man to win it in both Leagues. McDowell had been considered a possibility to join the 300 Wins and 3,000 Strikeouts Clubs, and the Baseball Hall of Fame. Perry actually did join them.
Two dumb trades in one day. Do I hear three? The Chicago Cubs traded pitcher Ken Holtzman to the Oakland Athletics for center fielder Rick Monday. Holtzman helped the A’s win 3 straight World Series, and Monday did little for the Cubs, until they traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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November 29, 1971 was a Monday. Baseball was out of season. No NBA, ABA or NHL games were scheduled. On ABC Monday Night Football, the Miami Dolphins beat the Chicago Bears, 34-3 at the Orange Bowl in Miami.
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