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So why in the heck is Bob Howsam not in the Hall of Fame? So what seems to be the most lopsided trade in baseball history, or was it? Not after Howsam got through with it. Another thing that made the Robinson trade look even more lopsided was that the Orioles gave up Milt Pappas, who was their #2 starter. Pappas's place in the rotation was taken by a 22 year old kid named Jim Palmer, who was a greater asset to the Orioles than Robinson. In 66 he was the youngest player to pitch a shutout in the World Series.
Pappas was a OK pitcher for the Reds and was traded to the Braves in the middle of the 68 season in a multi player deal. The Reds got Clay "the Hawk" Carroll, who pitched for the Reds through the 75 season, and was traded to the White Sox for two pitchers who never pitched for the Reds.
The second player they got was Jack Baldchun, who was 1-5 for the Reds in 66 and released. He was the closer on the Phiilies collapse of 64.
There was a "throw in" in outfielder Dick Simpson. After two lackluster seasons with the Reds Howsam traded him to the Cardinals for a somewhat disgruntled outfielder Alex Johnson. Johnson was inserted in the starting lineup and became an immediate success hitting over .300 for two years. With Bernie Carbo and Hal McRae ready to come up, Johnson was traded to the Angels for three pitchers. Jim McGlothlin pitched for them a couple of years, pitching in the 72 World Series. McGlothlin died of cancer in 1975. I often consider Pedro Borbon, alonh with Cesar Geronimo, the unsung heroes of the Big Red Machine. Whe a starter got bombed, Borbon came in a pitched enough innings for the Reds to get back in the game. He pitched at least 120 innings of relief from 72-77 Vern Geisherdt never pitched the Reds. When Bobby Tolan was knocked out for the 71 season, they needed someone to play center field. What they got was not a good center fielder (Geronimo came with Morgan the following winter), but Geisherdt along with Frank Duffy was traded for George Foster. In 1977, Foster was the only player in the 70s to hit 50 home runs, and was the most feared hitter in the National League in the late 70s.
So is five World Series Rings a suitable reward for the worst trade in baseball history? The Perez trade was awful, but John Wettland (a Red for a week) for Willie Greene was a lot worse. Over a decade of Jim Bowden was close to torture. And Bob Howsam died without going into the Hall of Fame.
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