We have all lived through it. A roster change made by our team which made us scream, cringe, or just plain feel sick to our stomach. Maybe you felt it when we didn’t re-sign Nick Swisher or Raul Ibanez, or maybe it was when we signed Jason Giambi and let Tino Martinez go to the Cardinals. But if you’re going to talk about a Hall of Shame for Yankees trades, you have to talk about the Jay Buhner trade for Ken Phelps.
For those of us who were watching at the time, the Yankees lived under the illusion that they were one trade away from a World Series team. It was the era of George Steinbrenner, a time when he would make a trade without the consultation of his front office or management. George loved hitting. He loved home runs. He especially loved trading his farm system for the proverbial missing piece which would bring him an immediate World Series win.
Jay Buhner was tearing up AAA ball in 1987 and 1988. He developed a reputation as an excellent power hitter, hitting 31 home runs in 1987 and another 8 over 38 games in 1988. Having been promoted to the majors, his success was not so striking. His grand total is three home runs in the majors for the Yankees, over 32 games spanning the 87-88 seasons. I’m sure the Boss’ need for instant gratification turned to major disappointment at the lack of home runs and his paltry .188 average.
Then he saw Ken Phelps. Phelps had 14 homers – about one every 16 at-bats. Phelps had a batting average about a hundred points higher than Buhner. He couldn’t really field – he was a career DH, never playing an inning in the field - but who cares about fielding? We want homers! So on July 20 1988, with the Yankees just a game out of first place and missing just one piece in the championship puzzle, the Yankees traded the 23-year old Buhner for the 34-year old Phelps. For those of us who knew the implications of this trade, our feelings were forever immortalized by Frank Costanza – “What the hell did you trade Jay Buhner for?!? You don’t know what the hell you’re doing!!!”
Unfortunately, we were right to be mad. The deal didn’t work out the way George hoped. Phelps’ average dropped about 20 points before the season ended. The Yankees went 32-38 after the trade, dropping to 5th place. Phelps had only two more seasons left in him, being traded to Oakland the following year. Ironically, he won a World Series title with Oakland that year, though only contributing a double over two at-bats in postseason play.
Jay Buhner went on to a stellar career. He recorded 310 career home runs, with his biggest years happening between 1995 and 1997. He had a rifle for an arm, and a great power swing. He was selected to the All-Star team in 1996, the same year he won his Gold Glove. We remember his most for his success against the Yankees in the 1995 ALDS, where he hit .458 against them. Personally, I remember thinking that had he stayed with the Yankees, he would have been the missing piece that year for a World Series run. Funny how that worked out.
--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Writer
Twitter: @KingAgamemnon
My blog is: Shots from Murderer's Row
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Thems were strange days in Yankeeland indeed.
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