On June 29, 1972, the Oakland A’s and Atlanta Braves become the first teams to trade former MVPs for one another. Oakland sends Denny McLain to Atlanta for Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda. McLain will win just three of eight decisions with the Braves, while Cepeda will come to bat only three times with the…
On May 11, 1972, the New York Mets acquire Willie Mays from the San Francisco Giants for pitcher Charlie Williams and $50,000. Three days later, the future Hall of Famer will hit a game-winning home run against the Giants in his Mets’ debut.
On April 5, 1972, the New York Mets acquire outfielder Rusty Staub from the Montreal Expos for a package of three players: Ken Singleton, Tim Foli, and Mike Jorgensen. Staub will help the Mets to the National League pennant in 1973.
On March 22, 1972, the New York Yankees make one of the best trades in franchise history. The Yankees acquire reliever Sparky Lyle from the Boston Red Sox for infielder Danny Cater. In seven seasons with the Yankees, Lyle will post a 57-40 record with 141 saves and a 2.41 ERA, win a Cy Young…
On March 4, 1972, the Texas Rangers trade former two-time Cy Young Award winner Denny McLain to the Oakland A’s for minor league pitchers Don Stanhouse and Jim Panther. McLain, who lost a league-leading 22 games pitching for the Washington Senators in 1971, will last only five starts in Oakland before being traded to the…
St. Louis Cardinals trade future Hall of Famer Steve Carlton to the Philadelphia Phillies
The New York Yankees acquire outfielder Johnny Callison on a conditional basis from the Chicago Cubs. The Yankees will end up keeping him and completing the deal by shipping pitcher Jack Aker to the Cubs on May 17th.
Nolan Ryan becomes and Angel
1971 – Major league teams engineer eight trades, involving a total of 30 players. In the biggest trades, P Doyle Alexander is sent by the Dodgers along with P Bob O’Brien, C Sergio Robles, and OF Royle Stillman to the Orioles, for OF Frank Robinson and P Pete Richert. After acquiring Robinson, the Dodgers send 1B Dick Allen to the White Sox for P Tommy John and IF Steve Huntz. The White Sox also send IF Rich McKinney to the Yankees in exchange for P Stan Bahnsen as the Yankees get IF Bernie Allen from the Rangers in a deal for two pitching prospects. Finally, 1B John Mayberry is sent by the Astros to the Royals in a four-player transaction.
On November 29, 1971, six teams are involved in a series of blockbuster trades. In a swap of star pitchers, the San Francisco Giants send Gaylord Perry to the Cleveland Indians for Sam McDowell. Perry will win the Cy Young Award in 1972 and later become the first pitcher to win the award…
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