Baseball World Shake-up: Insider Look at the Trade That Made Headlines in Cardinals History
In October 1969, a significant trade took place between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Philadelphia Phillies that would have far-reaching consequences for both teams and Major League Baseball as a whole. The trade involved Curt Flood, Tim McCarver, Joe Hoerner, Byron Browne, Dick Allen, Cookie Rojas, and Jerry Johnson.
At the heart of the trade was Dick Allen, a 27-year-old superstar who had already led the league in On-Base Percentage (OBP) and Slugging Average (SLG) in separate seasons. Allen averaged a 2.10 ERA over four seasons with the Cardinals, including 19 wins and 59 saves. He was joined by Cookie Rojas, primarily a second baseman in Philadelphia, who had an All-Star appearance in 1965, and Jerry Johnson, a young starter who had moderate success in his first two big league seasons and ended 1969 throwing very well.
The Cardinals aimed to get younger and acquire a slugger to address their power deficiency in the lineup. However, the trade was more than just a simple baseball deal. It led to a series of court battles that eventually ended in the Supreme Court, resulting in a new agreement between players and owners, allowing for arbitration and eventually the abolition of the reserve clause.
The Phillies sought to start over after a strained relationship with Dick Allen. Allen, despite his stellar performance, had hit 20 or more home runs in six consecutive years, with a high of 40 in 1966. His tenure with the Phillies was marked by controversies, and the team felt it was time for a fresh start.
The trade took place before the political implications that overshadowed the baseball ramifications. Curt Flood, aged 31, had just received his seventh consecutive Gold Glove in centerfield. A well-rounded catcher, Tim McCarver served in two All-Star Games and finished as the MVP runner-up in 1967. Byron Browne, a mid-20s reserve outfielder, had previously played for the Cubs and Houston and was now with the Cardinals.
Despite the haul of Allen, Rojas, and Johnson, all three players would only play one season (or even less) in St. Louis. Subsequent years saw Rojas' offensive abilities sputter, and his batting average declined for each of the four years leading up to the trade. Allen continued his successful career, winning an MVP in 1972, while Cookie Rojas later played in four All-Star Games with Kansas City, and Jerry Johnson became a closer for the Giants, finishing sixth in the NL Cy Young voting in 1971.
The decision to trade Steve Carlton a year later severely cost the Cardinals' top organizational talent, leading to a difficult decade for the franchise in the 1970s. The Curt Flood trade, while initially seeming to benefit both teams, ultimately proved to be a turning point in the history of baseball, reshaping the power dynamics between players and owners and forever changing the landscape of the sport.
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