Trade Links: Billy and Santo

Here are a couple more trade links, starting with my all-time favorite player, Billy Williams.

The link starts with Billy, who was signed by the Cubs in 1956.  He had cups of coffee with the Cubs in both '59 and '60 and then stuck for good in 1961, winning the Rookie of the Year.  By the mid-seventies, he was aging (as was the rest of the team), though he was one of the last of the '69 Cubs to be sent packing.  That sad day was October 23, 1974.  He went to Oakland and in return the Cubs got three players including...

....second baseman Manny Trillo.  Trillo became a mainstay in the Cubs infield for the next four seasons.  On February 23, 1979 he was part of a trade with the Phillies that included a total of eight players.  Among those coming to the Cubs was...

...outfielder Jerry Martin.  Martin had the two most productive seasons of his 11-year career with the Cubs. But the second season saw his average plummet by 45 points and he was dealt to the Giants.  In exchange the Cubs got...

....Joe Strain.  Who you say?  A second baseman that barely hit his weight with the '81 Cubs (.189) and brought Billy Williams' trade link to an abrupt end.

Billy trade link was just four players , but because of his long tenure with the Cubs there was a 25 years span.

Ron Santo is the other player I'll take a look at today.

  
His link starts when the Cubs signed him out of high school in 1958.  He came to the Cubs in 1960 and stayed with the team through the 1973 season.  The Cubs traded Santo to the Angels after the season, but Santo became the first player to invoke the 5 and 10 rule, vetoing the trade.  With their hands somewhat tied, he was traded to one of the teams that he would OK, the crosstown White Sox.  Of the four players that the Cubs got in return, only one would have a link that would go further,

...catcher Steve Swisher.  He came to the Cubs with alot of hype, but never lived up to it.  After four very mediocre seasons, he was sent packing to the Cardinals.  The Cubs got back another lousy catcher (Dave Radar) and....

outfielder Hector Cruz, or was it Heity Cruz.  Cruz' time with the Cubs was only 2½ months.  Needing pitching, he was moved to the Giants in exchange for...

Lynn McGlothen.  During his time with the Cubs, McGlothen was a .500 pitcher and an innings eater.  By 1981 the workload was catching up to him.  His career was heading south...side...of Chicago.  The Cubs sent his to the White Sox and picked up...

...Bobby Molinaro.  The Cubs didn't actually get Molinaro until the following spring, since the McGlothen deal was for a player to be named later.  The best years of his career were with the Sox.  His time with the Cubs was brief (65 games) and lousy (.197 BA, 1 HR, 12 RBIs).  The Cubs sold him to the Phillies on August 31, 1982, and that brought the Santo trade link to an end.

Santo's link was five players stretching from 1958 to 1982, a very healthy 24 years.

Tomorrow I'll look at the trade links of the current Cubs.  You won't see any 20+ spans.