In a baseball scoreboards feature, we look at the top 5 surprising trades in basketball history. Trades often prove to be beneficial for one team, but leave the other team with nothing except to regret their move, or in some cases be glad about it! Players can lose or gain form after a trade, leaving some unexpected victors and losers.
Number 5: Montreal Expos deal with Seattle Mariners to trade in Mark Langston and Mike Campbell for Randy Johnson, Brian Holman and Gene Harris.
The Expos were on the losing end in this deal. They traded 3 young pitchers in exchange for absolutely nothing. Although the baseball scoreboards showed that Langston pitched wonderfully in 1989, what everyone didn’t know was that Langston would only last for a year for the Expos. The Mariners were on the better end as Brian Holman pitched relatively better than he usually did. The star of the trade was Randy Johnson, as he played really well for the team and also got 3 star players when they traded him.
Number 4: Boston Red Sox deal with Houston Astros to trade in Jeff Bagwell for Larry Andersen
Bostons were embarrassed to trade Bagwell for Andersen. They thought that Andersen would help them make a playoff run. He played really well for 15 games but when it came to the playoffs his form suddenly plunged. On the other side Bagwell did a fantastic job with 449 runs, 1529 RBI’s, an MVP and four star performances.
Number 3: Philadelphia deal with Chicago Cubs to trade in Larry Bowa and Ryne Sandberg for Ivan DeJesus.
This was the most astonishing trade made by the Phillies. They traded Sandberg for DeJesus? Why would they want DeJesus when they had Sandberg? Sandberg was at the high point of his career as he hit .285 with 282 home runs and 1051 RBI’s. His performance fetched him seven silver sluggers and nine gold hand gloves. He was a prominent performer with nine all star performances and an MVP. With this kind of career and performance one cannot not help but wonder why they traded Ryne Sandberg for DeJesus.
Number 2: Detroit Tigers deal with Atlanta Braves to trade in John Smoltz for Doyle Alexander.
The Tigers were on the losing end in this trade. They got Alexander who was a brilliant starter but he did not perform in the playoffs nor was he able to help Tigers win the World Series, which the Tigers thought he would. On the other hand Smoltz had an amazing impact by forming one of the best pitching rotations ever which led the Braves to winning the 1995 World Series.
Number 1: Seattle Mariners deal with Red Sox to trade in Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek for Heathcliff Slocumb
The Mariners thought that Slocumb was a decent pitcher and could help them win. However the result was not the same as the Mariners had expected it to be. Slocumb performed terribly with 4.3 ERA and just 10 saves. On the other hand, Boston benefitted from the trade as Derek was a great starter and closer. He was a major part of the 2004 World Series winning team. Varitek was a great player in the field and the captain of the team as well. He was largely responsible for the 2004 and 2007 World Series wins.
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