Summertime
Well, I have delivered my last deliverable and submitted my last bill for fiscal year 2005, and am now officially on hiatus from my professional responsibilities until September. I have been planning and looking forward to this break for some time. Since there are several fairly significant things planned for the summer, including the annual pilgrimage to the San Diego Comic-Con, I don’t expect to be totally shiftless and idle. I’m also gathering information to start working on a book, about which more later.
Summer being heavenly-pleasant here in Seattle, I am inclined to put the problems of the world behind me as often as possible and focus on the really important things in life: beer, baseball, comics, and driving fast with the top down.
In that spirit, I saw the other night on ESPN that Atlanta Braves 1B Julio Franco has been on fire lately, hitting a grand slam Tuesday night and becoming the second-oldest player to hit a triple the following night. Franco has a special place in my heart because he is so old that he’s a link to my baseball-loving adolescence, and a reminder of exactly how frustrating it was to be a Philadelphia Phillies fan in the 1980s.
Back in 1980, when I was a 13 year-old Phillie Phanatic, the Phils won their one and only World Series title. Julio Franco was the up-and-coming star in the minor leagues, a fleet-footed, sure-handed shortstop with the ability to hit for power and average. Along with a bunch of other talented rookies in the Phillies system, Franco appeared to ensure the success of the Phillies Championship dynasty for years to come.
Or would have, had not the Phillies front office embarked on one of the most protracted series of boneheaded personnel moves in baseball history, sabotaging the team’s chances for an entire decade. Here are a few highlights:
- Franco, traded to the Cleveland Indians in 1981, for C Bo Diaz. Diaz had a good year or two and died in 1990. Franco has had a borderline Hall of Fame career and is still playing (and playing great) in the Major Leagues!
- Fan-favorite shortstop Larry Bowa, traded to the Cubs in 1981 for SS Ivan DeJesus, who hit .194 the previous year. Thrown in to the deal was a minor league infielder named Ryne Sandberg, who won the NL MVP award in 1984 and is likely on his way to the Hall of Fame.
- Traded P Mark Davis to the Giants in 1982 as a throw-in to a deal that brought veteran 2B Joe Morgan and P Al Holland to the Phils. Holland and Morgan were key parts of the 1983 Phillies team that went to the World Series (and lost to Baltimore), but aged quickly and were let go. Davis won the NL Cy Young award in 1989.
- This one is a personal favorite. During Spring training of 1984, the Phillies sent relief pitcher Willie Hernandez to Detroit for useless outfielder Glenn Wilson. Hernandez won both the Cy Young award and the MVP that same year, leading the Tigers to the 1984 World Championship.
- In May, 1986, the Phils gave up on P Dave Stewart, giving him his outright release with no compensation. Stewart signed with the Oakland A’s and won 20+ games for the next four consecutive years as the staff ace of the A’s title teams.
Yeah, they made some OK personnel moves during that time as well and managed to put a decent team on the field most years. Also, with young players, sometimes it’s hard to know who’s going to be a superstar. Still, has any team ever had such a run of having the players they got rid of in stupid deals turn out to be such studs for their new teams, consistently, over a 6-7 year stretch?
So Julio, you go! I’m still cheering for you, 25 years later. As for the Phillies, it’s hard to say they’ve gotten any smarter, though the 1993 NL Champ team was fun to watch (right up until the final inning, when it got painful!).
9:50:42 AM 
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