The Orioles' Biggest Trade
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by LouGehrig
(Harold Friend)
On September 16, the American League approved the exchange of its St. Louis franchise for one in Baltimore. During their entire existence in St. Louis, the Browns never won a World Championship, and the only time they won the pennant, they lost the [www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1944_WS.shtml World Series] to the St. Louis Cardinals. But the Baltimore Orioles would not be the St. Louis Browns, although for the first few seasons, it appeared that the futility would continue. The Orioles lost 100 games in 1954 but didn’t finish last because Philadelphia lost 103.
The Orioles and Yankees Traded Seventeen Players
Paul Richards was the Orioles general manager. He loved to trade players and he wasted no time with the new franchise. A major Richards' trade involved more players than any other trade in baseball history. On November 17, 1954, the Orioles and Yankees exchanged seventeen players, with the Orioles sending young pitchers Bob Turley, Don Larsen and other players to New York in exchange for pitchers Harry Byrd and Jim McDonald, catchers Gus Triandos and Hal Smith, clutch hitting outfielder Gene Woodling, and other players.
Orioles' Fans Screamed
The Orioles’ fans screamed that their team had been fleeced, but Paul Richards was not surprised. Richards knew that trading star pitcher Bob Turley was a gamble, but he felt that one pitcher was not going to win the pennant and that trading Turley would add players who would strengthen the team. “This deal puts us in business,” Richards told reporters. “We’re a ball club now. It was either take a big gamble or watch Turley pitch every fourth day. Everybody knows when you take young ball players you’re gambling.” Fans disagreed. “Richards must have lost his mind.” “When my son saw the paper he groaned so loud I thought his best friend had died.” The fans were right.
The New Orioles
Gus Triandos became a solid catcher, but was never a star. He batted .244 with 167 home runs, a .322 on base average, and a .413 slugging average. Hal Smith hit .271 for the Orioles in 1955 and was traded during the 1956 season to Kansas City. The highlight of his career came in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series when he hit a three run home run off Bobby Shantz to give the Pirates the lead over the Yankees in the game that made Bill Mazeroski famous. Gene Woodling was traded to the Indians during the 1955 season, Harry Byrd was traded to the White Sox during the 1955 season, and Jim McDonald was traded back to the Yankees on July 30, 1955.
Turley and Larsen
Bob Turley won the Cy Young Award in 1958 when he was a twenty-one game winner. In the World Series, with his team down, three game to one, Turley shut out the Braves in Game 5, saved Game 6, and then took over for Don Larsen in the third inning of Game 7 and was the winning pitcher as he finished the game. Turley was no longer the same pitcher after that much work. He never again won more than nine games in a season. Don Larsen had a mediocre career with one game that has made him famous. In Game 5 of the 1956 World Series, he pitched the only perfect game in World Series history. Larsen never won more than eleven games in a season, and he won in double figures only one other year. In 1959, he was part of a package that brought the Yankees Roger Maris.
Fans Were Right
The Orioles’ fans were right in their assessment of the trade, but one must wonder what would have happened if Turley and Larsen had remained with the Orioles. Larsen was 3-21 in 1954 but had potential. If Turley had not been overused in the World series, he would have probably had a longer career. Of course, that is speculative, but one never knows.
References:
Drebinger, John. “Woodling, Byrd Go to Baltimore; Orioles Also Said to Obtain McDonald, Robinson, Smith, and Miranda of Yanks.” New York Times. 18 November 1954, p.44.
“Richards Made Deal Though Sure of Adverse Reaction in Baltimore.” New York Times. 19 November 1954, p.28.
Baseball-Reference
