Brock for Broglio

Brock for Broglio

The phrase Brock for Broglio is sometimes used in the sport of baseball to signify a trade that in hindsight, turns out to be a ridicuously lopsided transaction.

The names in the phrase refer to Lou Brock and Ernie Broglio respectively, as on June 15, by|1964, the Chicago Cubs traded away Brock, who was struggling at the time and had been a disappointment to the club, for Broglio, who in turn was coming off some impressive seasons while pitching for the St. Louis Cardinals.

The trade was actually a six-player deal: Brock, Jack Spring and Paul Toth to the Cardinals for Broglio, Bobby Shantz, and Doug Clemens.

Almost immediately the effects of the trade were felt as Brock would bat .348 for the Cardinals and lead them to winning the 1964 World Series. Broglio went only 4-7 with a 4.04 ERA for the Cubs, and turned out to be a big disappointment for the rest of his career. He was out of Major League Baseball by 1966, while Brock played successfully for the Cardinals until by|1979.

This is sometimes referred to as the most lopsided trade ever in baseball.

Other lopsided trades

In the 1988 film, "Bull Durham", the character Annie justifies part of her life in her opening inner monologue with: "Bad trades are part of baseball; I mean who can forget Milt Pappas for Frank Robinson for gosh sakes."

Before 1950

After the 1900 season, the Cincinnati Reds traded Christy Mathewson to the New York Giants for 19th Century star pitcher Amos Rusie. Rusie pitched only three games in one season for the Reds. Mathewson pitched for the Giants until 1916, won 372 games, threw two no-hitters, and led the Giants to five National League pennants.

The Boston Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees after the 1919 season. The Yankees won 7 pennants in 15 the years that Ruth played for them. In terms of talent, this "trade" netted the Red Sox nothing.

On May 6, 1930, Red Ruffing was traded by the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees for Cedric Durst and $50,000.

1951 to 1980

Prior to the 1959 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates traded Frank Thomas to the Cincinnati Reds in a seven player deal. In the trade, the Pirates acquired Smokey Burgess, Harvey Haddix and Don Hoak—three men who would help the Pirates win the 1960 World Series.

During a contract dispute, the St. Louis Cardinals traded future Hall-of-Fame pitcher Steve Carlton to the Philadelphia Phillies for Rick Wise before the 1972 season.

The California Angels traded infielder Jim Fregosi to the New York Mets for another future Hall-of-Fame pitcher, Nolan Ryan, that same offseason. (Coincidentally, Fregosi would manage Ryan in 1978 and 1979, Ryan's last two years as an Angel.)

Ryne Sandberg, along with Larry Bowa, were traded from the Phillies for Ivan DeJesus. Sandberg would go on to a Hall-of-Fame career with the Cubs and Bowa was an all-star.

1981 to present

Looking for a relief pitcher to aid their playoff run, the Boston Red Sox acquired relief pitcher Larry Andersen from the Houston Astros for a prospect named Jeff Bagwell.

The Detroit Tigers trade prospect John Smoltz to the Atlanta Braves for starting pitcher Doyle Alexander. While the Tigers achieved their immediate objective with this trade (Alexander went 9-0 with a 1.53 ERA for the rest of the 1987 season to help the Tigers win the American League East), Smoltz went on to become one of the game's greats over the next two decades while Alexander retired just two years later.

After acquiring Bobby Abreu in the 1997 Expansion Draft from the Houston Astros, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays traded him to the Philadelphia Phillies for Kevin Stocker.

The Seattle Mariners sent Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for Heathcliff Slocumb.

New York Mets GM Jim Duquette opted for pitching that could help the team immediately, and traded Scott Kazmir to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for Victor Zambrano.

The San Francisco Giants acquired catcher A.J. Pierzynski from the Minnesota Twins for Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano and Boof Bonser. Pierzynski spent one season with the Giants, where his abrasive nature drew the ire of his teammates, then signed with the Chicago White Sox as a free agent. Nathan has become an All-Star closer, and Liriano and Bonser are talented starters for the Twins. Pierzynski went on to become a pivotal player with the White Sox' 2005 World Series championship.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Lou Brock — Infobox MLB retired name=Lou Brock position=Outfielder bats=Left throws=Left birthdate=birth date and age|1939|6|18 city state|El Dorado|Arkansas debutdate=September 10 debutyear=by|1961 debutteam=Chicago Cubs finaldate=September 30… …   Wikipedia

  • Ernie Broglio — Infobox MLB retired name=Ernie Broglio position=Pitcher width = 150 bgcolor1=#c41e3a bgcolor2=#c41e3a textcolor1=white textcolor2=white bats=Right throws=Right birthdate=birth date and age|1935|8|27 deathdate= debutdate=April 11 debutyear=1959… …   Wikipedia

  • Busch Memorial Stadium — For the current St. Louis Cardinals ballpark, see Busch Stadium. Busch Stadium Former names Civic Center Busch Memorial Stadium (1966 1981) Busch Stadium (1982 2005) Location …   Wikipedia

  • Wrigley Field — For the former ballpark in Los Angeles, see Wrigley Field (Los Angeles). Wrigley Field The Friendly Confines Cubs Park Wrigley Field in 2004 Former names …   Wikipedia

  • Cardinals–Cubs rivalry — St. Louis Cardinals – Chicago Cubs    History First meeting October 14 …   Wikipedia

  • History of the St. Louis Cardinals — The following is a history of Major League Baseball s St. Louis Cardinals.Timeline of Nicknames*Called St. Louis Brown Stockings in 1882 *Called St. Louis Browns from 1883 to 1898 *Called St. Louis Perfectos in 1899 *Called St. Louis Cardinals… …   Wikipedia

  • St. Louis Cardinals — MLB infobox name = St. Louis Cardinals established = 1882 misc = owner = William DeWitt, Jr. and Fred Hanser uniform WS = (10) colors=Red, Navy Blue, Whitecolor box|#df0000 color box|#0a2252 color box|white WORLD CHAMPIONS = 2006 • 1982 • 1967 •… …   Wikipedia

  • Dizzy Dean — Pitcher Born: January 16, 1910(1910 01 16) Lucas, Arkansas …   Wikipedia

  • Chicago Cubs all-time roster — The Chicago Cubs baseball club is an original member of the National League (1876 to date), established in 1874 or 1870. Here is a list of players who appeared in at least one regular season game beginning 1874. (Their 1870–1871 players are in… …   Wikipedia

  • Ozzie Smith — Shortstop Born: December 26, 1954 (1954 12 26) (age 56) Mobile, A …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”