The "BIGGEST" Trade of the 1960s

TRIVIA QUESTION: While Frank Howard and Ken McMullen both had more than 600 plate appearances during the 1968 campaign for the Senators, they did not lead the team. Who did with 690?
 
ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN:  There were three players on the 1960 Chicago Cubs who hit at least 10 home runs during the season. Ernie Banks led the club with 41, while George Altman had 13. The third player to smack homers in double digits was Frank Thomas who hit 21, and would go on to hit 27 the following season and 34 more with the first year New York Mets.

There were some pretty momentous trades in the 1960s. Frank Robinson to the Orioles for Milt Pappas, Lou Brock to the Cardinals for Ernie Broglio, Dean Chance to the Twins in the Don Mincher deal and Matty Alou to the Pirates for Joe Gibbon. Probably none bigger however (literally) than the trade which sent 6'7" Frank Howard to the Senators in the Dodgers major trade in 1964.

On December 4, 1964, Howard was traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers with a player to be named later, Ken McMullen, Phil Ortega and Pete Richert to the Washington Senators for John Kennedy, Claude Osteen and $100,000. The Dodgers sent Dick Nen (December 15, 1964) to the Washington Senators to complete the trade. 

How big was this deal? Osteen became the missing cog in the rotation, eventually taking over for Johnny Podres who was a holdover from the Brooklyn Days. Osteen was an immediate hit. Despite his 15-15 record, he helped the club make it to the World Series by working 287 innings with a 2.79 ERA. He teamed with Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale to make a formidable 3-legged rotation boasting the best in baseball at the time. He would go on to pitch a 5-hit shutout in Game 3 of the Series which the Dodgers won in seven games. He would twice win 17 games before the decade ended and in 1969 was a 20-game winner with 7 Shutouts. 

Kennedy never could hit but he proved a valuable late inning replacement defensively on both the 1965-66 pennant winners. A liability on defense for a time in Washington, his wizardry and only 12 errors in two seasons in Los Angeles gave an assurance to manager Walter Alston in the late going. 

While Washington never made the Series, Howard (the Washington Monument) was not the only player to emerge as a solid player for the Senators from the trade. He was the biggest certainly. The slugger would clobber American League pitching with 44, 48, 44 homers from 1968-1970. Four times he drove in 100+ runs and never failed to homer in double figures until his final two seasons midway through his 30's. Drafted by the Philadelphia Warriors of the NBA he signed with the Dodgers and was named 1960 NL Rookie of the Year.

Ortega won 39 games in five seasons and was a work horse before retiring in 1969. McMullen was an immediate hit in Washington. He had solid seasons hitting double figures in home runs and batting for a respectable average during his five-plus seasons in the nation's capitol. In 1969 he hit 19 homers and .272 with 87 RBI for his best season. 

Richert immediately won 15 and 14 games as a starter his first two seasons as a Senator but really had his best success as a specialty reliever later in his career. In 1968 he became a bullpen pitcher and closer with 51 saves over seven seasons. In 1970 he registered 13 Saves, 1.98 ERA and 66 strikeouts in 54 innings. He finished his 13 year career with a respectable 3.19 ERA and an 80-73 record.

Dick Nen was a good defensive player with an occasional hitting stroke. He made only 16 errors in six seasons mainly at first base. His best season in Washington was his first with a .260 BA, six homers and 31 RBI in 69 games. His career ended with the 60s. His bigger claim to fame may be as the father of former reliever Robb Nen. His only hit as a Dodger was a memorable home run off Bob Gibson over the roof to tie a game and help the Dodgers move closer to the pennant in 1963.

To boot the Dodgers got a hundred grand in the deal, which they may have used when Drysdale and Koufax held out for a hundred grand apiece. Only Mr. O'Malley knows where that money went.

 

Need to get out of a baseball hitting slump, or a golf swing slump? Order my new book "Beating the Slump; An athlete's guide to a better career." See it on Amazon for only $5.99. That is for the Paperback, you can also order Kindle on that link. You can also order paperback copies directly from me via the email below for my other books.

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Cubs Double Duo

TRIVIA QUESTION: During the 1960 season only three Chicago Cubs hit at least 10 home runs. Ernie Banks had 41, George Altman 13 and a third player belted 21. Who was that player?
 
ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN:  There were two brothers who played over a two year period for different expansion teams in the 1960s; Bob and Ken Aspromonte. Ken, who came up with Boston in 1957 played for the expansion Angels in 1961, and Bob, who came up as a Brooklyn Dodger in 1956 went on to play with Houston's Colt 45's in 1962. Ken was actually taken in the expansion draft by Washington and then traded to Los Angeles. Bob was drafted by Houston from the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

From 1965 to 1973 the Chicago Cubs were blessed with one of longest running double play combinations of the modern era. While the duo of Bill Mazeroski and Gene Alley were setting records in Pittsburgh in the 1960s, the pair of Don Kessinger at short and Glenn Beckert at second were turning them over game after game. They also put up numbers at the plate to drive the Cubbies for years.

While Beckert debuted in 1965, Kessinger came up a year earlier for a cup of coffee. Neither one of them hit their first year together for much of an average, but it was obvious the Cubs were planning their infield around this pair. With Ron Santo at third and Ernie Banks at first, they were just about the most solid and consistent infield in the big leagues.

Kessinger's .201 and Beckert's .239 that 1965 season were not spectacular but the following seasons were different. Starting in 1966 the light hitting Kessinger would average about .250 while his counterpart would be up around .285, occasionally crossing the .290 mark. It was in the field however where they did the most damage.

Beckert twice would cross the 100 mark in double plays turned from 1966-1968 with two other seasons registering 89 each. Kessinger would reach 101 and 97 with a few other seasons right around 70. They were not anywhere near perfect. Kessinger's errors were pretty consistent with one season (1966) reaching 35. Between them they averaged about 50 errors per season. Today that would drive their market value down to someplace around "we're moving you to left field" to give some kid a chance. This was the 1960's however, and with Banks and Santo anchoring the corners, the Kessinger-Beckert duo stuck around a long time.

Beckert won a Gold Glove and appeared in four All-star Games. Kessinger appeared in six All-star games and won two Gold Glove Awards. He was also named the recipient of the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award. In 1968 and 1969 Kessinger led the NL in double plays at Short, while in 1968 Beckert was second in the category to Cookie Rojas of the Phillies. 

Between them they played the most games at their positions during the time period, than most others, and together it seemed like they were one name; Kessinger/Beckert. In 1968 Beckert led the NL in runs scored. In 1969 Kessinger led the league in games played at Short, double plays, put-outs, assists, errors and fielding percentage! Now that is an accomplishment.

Kessinger would retire after 16 seasons, spending his last few years with the Cardinals and the White Sox, while Beckert would call it a career after 11 seasons. The final two were with the Padres. While neither will make the Hall of Fame, there is no denying their impact on the late 1960s Chicago Cubs, helping the club to a second place finish and a pair of third place finishes from 1967-1969. 

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You can get a signed paper back copy of the above book

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Use PayPal to brillpro@prodigy.net or contact us at the same email for other payment. 

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Expansion Vs. Free Agency - the 1960s

TRIVIA QUESTION: Which two brothers played for expansion teams over a two year span,  during the 1960s?
 
ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN:  There were two teams in the 1960s which had three World Series appearances. They were the Dodgers and the Orioles. The New York Yankees led all Series teams with five.

Today when it comes to the wholesale movement of players we talk about "free agency." In the 1960s the wholesale movement of players only happened during "expansion." There was no Free Agency as players were tied to their clubs via the Reserve Clause. Expansion happened twice during the 1960s and it wasn't the best players who switched teams as today, but it was the has been and the young players the established clubs had given up on.

Names which were prominent who made those expansion clubs were the likes of Maury Wills, Jim Bouton, Don Mincher, Richie Ashburn, Gil Hodges, Hal Smith, Bobby Shantz, Frank Thomas, Clem Labine, Dick Donovan, Mudcat Grant, Roy Face, Donn Clendenon, Ron Fairly, Manny Mota, Rusty Staub, Bob Baily, Albie Pearson, Ted Kluszewski, Ryne Duran, Leon Wagner, Tommie Davis and Jim Fregosi. 

While some of those players would go on to have a few good years, three players arguably, stand out. Two were at the beginning of a career, the other the tail end but who saw his career extended beyond belief. 

 Jim Fregosi, selected in the 1961 draft by the Los Angeles Angels was a 19 year old shortstop with promise. Few figured he'd play for 18 big league seasons, make several all star teams, and become a Gold Glove winner in leading the Angels to their best play in the 1960s. His lifetime .265 BA and 151 home runs were not as important as his leadership as a young player on a team of veterans. They should have figured he would become a good manager and he did, winning two pennants. 

Ron Fairly was the Dodgers clean-up hitter for much of the mid-1960s. He was a steady defensive player who did enough damage with his bat during the Koufax/Drysdale era and was one of the most feared hitters on a weak hitting team. For Fairly, who came up in 1958, also as a 19 year old kid, few would have suspected him of sticking around for 21 seasons, having his best years with the expansion Montreal Expos. 

Fairly was an instant hit, along with Rusty Staub in Canada. In his initial season in 1969, Fairly only played in 70 games with barely 250 at bats. But he found the stroke to hit 12 homers and drive in 39 while batting .289. For six consecutive seasons he homered in double figures while driving in an average of 64 runs a season. He finished with 215 homers, a .265 BA and over 1000 RBI. Fairly passed away recently during the Washington Nationals (formerly the Expos) World Series run.

The third member of the trio was pitcher Dean Chance, a 20 year old when the Angels traded for him after he was selected by Washington in the expansion draft. In 1962, his second season in the big leagues, Chance showed he was there to stay. A 14-10 record with a 2.96 ERA in 206 innings, he helped the Angels to a third place finish in only the club's second season. 

Chance would go on to win 20 games twice, and in 1964 led all pitchers in most categories including the ERA title at 1.65, while going 20-9. He had 15 complete games, 11 shutouts and 278 innings either leading or tying for the league lead in those categories. In 1967 he led Minnesota with a 20-14 record, completing 18 of 39 starts and pitching 283 innings, all league leader stats. His 128-115 record with a lifetime ERA of 2.92 is among the best of his era.

Others who had true post expansion careers were Staub (who played for three of the expansion teams), Bailey (113 homers over six straight seasons), Dave Giusti (recorded 145 Saves) and Mike Marshall (led his league in Saves three times and had 188 career Saves).

Expansion gave a lot of players who would not have gone on to play any longer, the chance to extend their careers by a year or two, or in some cases even more. When you look over the rosters of those expansion teams, it is fun to imagine what having some of those players in their prime on the same team, would have been like.
 
"NEW SPECIAL OFFER"

Need to get out of a baseball hitting slump, or a golf swing slump? Order my new book "Beating the Slump; An athlete's guide to a better career." See it on Amazon for only $5.99. That is for the Paperback, you can also order Kindle on that link. You can also order paperback copies directly from me via the email below for my other books.

You can get a signed paper back copy of the above book

"Tales of My Baseball Youth - a child of the sixties"

for $15 Shipping Included 

Use PayPal to brillpro@prodigy.net or contact us at the same email for other payment. 

Thank you to those of you who purchased my book after reading this column.

Also: Please check out our new Western Short Film. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/iron-gun-western-feature-film/#/
 
Please share this blog with your friends and colleagues and leave a comment at the bottom of the blog if you have one. Thank YOU VERY MUCH!! Please pick up a copy of my book "Tales of My Baseball Youth; A Child of the 60's" at www.bobbrillbooks.com, or on Amazon.