Happy Birthday Jackie

On this day... Dallas Green steals Sandberg

On this day in 1982 the Phillies made one of the worst trades in club history. The deal was engineered by former Phillies manager Dallas Green, who had recently left Philadelphia to become the General Manager of the Chicago Cubs.

The Phils were in the middle of a general dismantling of the team that won the 1980 World Series. The off-season following the 1981 strike and playoff loss to the Montreal Expos was very busy... as the club traded Lonnie Smith, Bake McBride, Bob Boone, Keith Moreland, Dickie Noles and Larry Bowa.

Bowa, whose best days were behind him, was in the middle of a contract dispute that angered owner Bill Giles. Rather than negotiate with Bowa, he was sent to the Cubs for shortstop Ivan DeJesus. At the time, the trade seemed like a good deal for both teams. The Cubs needed Bowa's veteran leadership and the younger DeJesus  had more range, and a cannon of an arm. Despite his lack of offense, he fit the needs of a contending team like the Phillies.

From the book Almost A Dynasty by William C Kashatus:

Sandberg was a "throw in" in the deal. He had only played 13 games for the Phillies in 1981 and hit an unimpressive .167. Nor did he fit into the team's immediate plans. "The Phillies knew they weren't going to win another championship without a proven shortstop and that shortstop wasn't going to be Larry Bowa because of his bitching with Bill Giles" said Green, downplaying the notion that he fleeced his former employers. "Ivan DeJesus was a proven - and marketable - shortstop. At first the Phillies tried to keep Ryne Sanberg from us. But I insisted on him if was going to make the deal. I think the Phillies knew Ryne was a good athlete. They just had no place for him for two or three years. They were going for a pennant and there was some skepticism he could play shortstop in the majors. Schmidt was at third. I always thought Ryne could play center field, but Maddox was there. The Phillies never really thought of him as a second baseman, and besides, Trillo was already there."

Ryne Sandberg went on to become the finest second baseman of his generation. In Chicago became the face of the Cubs franchise after he won an MVP and nine Gold Gloves, made ten All Star teams and hit 282 HRs. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2005.

Ironically, DeJesus did something Sandberg never could... playing in the World Series after the Phillies won the 1983 NL pennant. He was traded the Cardinals in 1985.

Happy Birthday Rich Schu

Happy 51st Birthday to former Phil Rick Schu. Best remembered as the man promoted to replace Mike Schmidt at third base for the Phillies.

In 1984, Schu hit .301 with 12 HRs and 82 RBIs for the (Phillies AAA team) Portland Beavers. In 1985 he was hitting .284 in Portland when his life changed.

In May of 1985, desperate to infuse some youth into what had quickly become a bad baseball team, the Phillies promoted Schu to big leagues. It was announced he would be taking over for Mike Schmidt at third base. Assuming the move would help his ailing knees and add a few more years to his hall-of-fame career, the struggling Mike Schmidt would be move to first.

Never a considered a major prospect, Schu wasn't terrible the rest of the 1985 season in Philadelphia. He played 112 games, hitting a respectable .252 with seven homers and 21 doubles.

However, Mike Schmidt was less than happy and obviously dismayed with his sudden move to the right side of the infield. By the start of the 1986 season... Michael Jack was back in his comfort zone at third and went on to have a monster season, winning his third NL MVP award. Schu became a bench player and never really got another chance to play regularly again.

He was eventually traded to the Orioles in 1988 in the deal the brought Jeff Stone to Philadelphia.

1982 Mike Schmidt Topps redux

The Mike Schmidt Project continues on...

I have had several requests to share the Photoshop templates used to make these cards.

Here are links to files I have used in this project so far:

1971  1972  1973  1974  1975  1976  1977  1978  1979  1980  1981  1982

Earl Weaver & Stan Musial

Tough day for baseball yesterday

Earl Weaver 1930 - 2013

Stan Musial 1920 - 2013

1981 Mike Schmidt Topps redux

It has been a couple of months since I added a new card to the Mike Schmidt career redux project.
Here is the 1981 submission to the project.

2013 Gypsy Queen

The 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen set won't be available until April...
but that didn't stop me from creating a new Dick Allen card to add to the Legacy Card Project.

DAHoF Infographic #3: On-Base Plus Slugging