The REAL Worst Trade

There was a diary several weeks ago about the worst trades in MLB history. I believe this one was mentioned deep in one of the posts, but it just doesn't get the credit, and in my personal opinion, I consider it truly horrific, the worst trade the Indians ever made ... and, of course, it was a Frank Lane special, way worse than trading Rocky for Harvey Kuenn (although that was bad enough).

After the close 1959 pennant race, where the White Sox edged out the Indians, on Dec. 6, 1959, Lane pulled a gem. He got John Romano, Bubba Phillips, and Norm Cash from the White Sox for Minnie Minoso (nearing the end of his productive career), Dick Brown, Jake Striker, & Don Ferrarese.

Even without Cash - Romano & Phillips made that a great trade for the Tribe. And, of course, it WAS without Cash. Because on April 12, 1960, 5 days before he traded Colavito to the Tigers, Lane sent Norm Cash to Detroit in exchange for Steve Demeter.

So Cash never played a game for the Tribe. He played first base for Detroit for 15 years, hitting 373 homeruns with 1087 RBI. He had 1025 walks and 1082 Ks in his years with Detroit. His career OBP was .374 ... this by a guy as slow as Colavito. He finished as high as #4 in the MVP voting (1961), and he was in the voting 6 times.

Demeter played 4 games for the Indians, 5 ABs, no hits, and his major league career was over.

Maybe Lane's focus was on his income tax return. He sure had a helluva bad week. You really can't top this one.