|
EVENTS
Sportsman of the Year
Heisman Trophy
Swimsuit 2001
CENTERS
Fantasy Central
Inside Game
Video Plus
Statitudes
Your Turn
Message Boards
Email Newsletters
Golf Guide
Cities
CNNSI.com GROUP
Sports Illustrated
Life of Reilly
SI Women
SI for Kids
Press Room
TBS/TNT Sports
CNN Languages
COMMERCE
SI Customer Service
SI Media Kits
Get into College
Sports Memorabilia
TeamStore
|  |
| |
| React |
|---|
| CNNSI.com wants you to send us your memories of the day your heart was broken by a team, player or GM.
Then keep your eyes open for when we run the best and brightest of your reactions on CNNSI.com. |
| |
|
Sports fans love to reminisce over the days that it all went wrong: the wasted draft pick, the tragic trade or the defecting hero. These may not be, by definition, the worst roster moves ever made, but they were the ones that affected us on a personal level. These are the events that caused -- and still cause -- us to sit on our bar stools and lament the cruel twists of life.
With two Kansas City natives within its walls, the CNNSI.com newsroom hears more than it should about Royals history. We asked Senior Producer Dan George, who cut classes to attend the team's inaugural game, and Associate Producer of Multimedia Alyson Lamble, young enough to refer to the '85 Series as "old-school," for their list of five Royals blunders. Of course, it all starts with the David Cone trade in 1987; the Lou Piniella deal 14 years earlier; the Bret Saberhagen trade; the trade of up-and-comer Johnny Damon this past offseason; and the trade of young Cecil Fielder back in 1983.
March 17,
1987 |
Royals trade P David Cone and IF Chris Jelic
to the N.Y. Mets for C Ed Hearn, P Rick Anderson and P Mauro Gozzo |
| |
David Cone signed with the Royals before the 1991 season as a favor to owner Ewing Kauffman. Jonathan Daniel/Allsport |
|
CNNSI.com's Alyson Lamble: Yeah, Coney did come back to play two seasons for the Royals and, yeah, he won a Cy Young with the Royals, but this hurts for one reason above all: Coney is a K.C. native, Rockhurst High School class of 1982.
He came up with the Royals and we let him get away. We will never get that one back.
CNNSI.com: Call this the Mets' revenge for the Amos Otis-for-Joe Foy trade back in 1969. Cone became a star with the Mets, won a World Series with the Blue Jays, returned to K.C. to win the Cy Young in 1994 and then pitched a perfect game and won four more rings with the Yankees.
Hearn, on the other hand, strained his shoulder early in his first season with the Royals, and played only 13 games over two seasons. His life took one downward turn after another as he battled cancer, kidney failure, blood deficiencies and a sleep disorder. Once suicidal and constantly facing the unrelenting barbs of fans and media, Hearn thankfully managed to pull himself out of the depths of depression to come to grips with his place in baseball history. He has spent the past few years working as a motivational speaker.
Cone's chapter is sad from a Kansas City fan's standpoint, but Hearn's story puts a little perspective on things. And you can't tell Cone's story of triumph without telling Hearn's, too.
 |
Wonder Years: Cone Deal Still Echoes
Kansas City Star -- March 27, 1997
By La Velle Neal III
Ten years later, Royals personnel familiar with the deal laugh
about it -- because it's better than crying.
The memories come quickly to Art Stewart, the Royals' special
assistant to the general manager.
Stewart was in Sarasota, Fla., when he got the call from John
Schuerholz, then the Royals' general manager.
"We made the deal," Schuerholz said.
"Great. I'll go tell the players they have been traded,"
Stewart said.
But it wasn't the trade Stewart thought. The last he'd heard, the
Royals were sending [Isreal] Sanchez, a minor-league pitcher, with Jelic to
the Mets.
"No, no," Schuerholz told Stewart. "Cone." |
|
Life After Trade Sees Ex-Royal Turn Troubles into Major League Triumphs
Kansas City Star -- July 20, 2000
By Matthew Schofield
It's a Sunday in May and in moments the morning newspaper will haul off and slap Ed Hearn in the face. Hard.
He is sitting in his living room couch, flipping through a
section celebrating Kansas City's first 150 years. He wears a white
bathrobe and glasses. To his right, on a bookshelf, is a replica of
the 1986 World Series trophy given to him by the New York Mets. ...
... The newspaper pages whisper and crinkle as he turns them.
Articles about Count Basie and J.C. Nichols, Tom Pendergast and Harry
S. Truman - luminaries. Then he turns the page, and a headline stops
"Kansas City's Biggest Mistakes," it says. And beneath it:
"The Ed Hearn Trade. Too Unbelievable."
Hearn is stunned.
"One of Kansas City's biggest mistakes?" he thinks. "Why me?
Why still? Where's the rest of the story?"
The rest of the story always begins with the trade.
In 1987, Ed Hearn was a reserve catcher for the New York Mets
when the Royals traded for him. The man they gave up was a Kansas
City native and pitching phenom named David Cone. Cone went on to
stardom with the Mets. He returned to Kansas City, partially, he has
said, because then-owner Ewing M. Kauffman asked for a chance to
redeem the trade. In 1994, Cone won the Cy Young Award, and he now
pitches for the New York Yankees. Last year, against Montreal, he
became the 15th pitcher in baseball history to pitch a perfect,
nine-inning game.
As for Ed Hearn, early in his first season in Kansas City he blew
out the rotator cuff in his throwing arm. Eventually, he had surgery,
and at the end of the 1988 season, he played a few more games with
the Royals. Then he was demoted to the minor leagues, where he stayed
three more years while his skills and desire withered.
"One day, I'm sitting on top of the world, the brand-new
starting catcher for the Royals. I'm in New York, where we're playing
the Yankees and get a call from the Mets that my World Series ring
from the year before is ready and they'll bring it by ...
"And then, before I really knew what was happening, it's all
over. It seemed so fast, and it seemed like a such a long fall, like
a sad movie." |
 |
Chris Allison, Kansas City, Mo.
People in K.C. still cheer for Cone, who is from Liberty, Mo., no matter where the guy pitches, or how good his record is. |
|
Susie Hodson, Kansas City, Mo.
As a teen growing up a mere 10 minutes from Royals Stadium, I attended many games and followed the Royals for many years. When the Royals signed a Kansas City native and an ex-classmate of mine, I was thrilled. I would go every chance I got ... even if David wasn't pitching ... just to watch and think, "I knew him when."
When the Royals traded him for Ed Hearn, I cried. A few years later, they signed David AGAIN ... only to trade him AGAIN. I haven't been to a Kansas City Royals game since the mid-'80s, but have followed the career of David Cone avidly (no, not avidly enough to become a Yankees fan).
I remember a couple of years ago when our ABC affiliate cut a basketball game off to show the ninth inning of David's perfect game. Thanks for letting me pour my heart out.
David, if you are reading this, I'm sorry I laughed when your dad wouldn't let you play softball with us at Budd Park, saying he was saving your arm for the major leagues! |
December 7,
1973 |
Royals trade OF Lou Piniella and P Ken Wright
to the N.Y. Yankees for P Lindy McDaniel |
| |
CNNSI.com's Dan George: The Royals thought Lou, the AL Rookie of the Year in K.C.'s inaugural 1969 season, was too slow to play left on the artificial turf of their new ballpark. What they discovered was that McDaniel was too old to pitch effectively on any surface anywhere. He was soon out of baseball; Lou went on to several World Series, making himself a constant pain in the Royals' collective ass along the way.
| |
When Lou Piniella isn't throwing bases or kicking water coolers, he's a pretty fun guy to have on your team. Otto Greule Jr. /Allsport |
CNNSI.com: The Royals weren't the first team to give up on Piniella ... but they were the last when he spent the last 11 years of his career with the Yankees. He had come up in the Washington system, and played four games with Baltimore in 1964 and six games with Cleveland in 1968 before going to the expansion Seattle Pilots.
But Piniella's fiery temperament didn't sit well with the Pilots, who traded him to the other expansion team in Kansas City just before the season. The Pilots sagged through their one and only season in Seattle, while Piniella batted .282 with 68 RBIs to earn Rookie of the Year honors at age 26 with K.C.
Piniella starred in Kansas City for the next three seasons, but his average dipped 62 points from .312 in 1972 to .250 in 1973. That winter he was traded to the Yanks.
The Royals survived, finishing first or second in the AL West 14 out of their first 20 years, but no thanks to McDaniel who went 6-5 with two saves in two seasons. And Piniella became a pivotal figure as the Yankees beat the Royals three times in four ALCS meetings between 1976 and 1980.
| |
Dirty deal: Piazza trade hits fans hard
Kansas City Star -- May 16, 1998
By Mike Vaccaro
Baseball executives have been crumbling hearts forever. This
really shouldn't be a newsflash. Blockbuster trades have demanded
reams of newspaper copy since the day someone invented the sports
page.
Popular players have been shipped far away.
Babe Ruth was traded. Ted Williams was almost dealt, straight up,
for Joe DiMaggio, after one long night of drinking by Tom Yawkey and
Larry MacPhail.
I asked Sister Mary Brock, my second-grade teacher and a fellow
Mets sicko, to say a prayer that Seaver wouldn't get traded in that
early summer of 1977, but that didn't help at all. You remember where
you were when you heard the Royals traded away Bret Saberhagen, the
first day you really started to question Herk Robinson's sanity.
Older fans still gasp when they think of Lou Piniella-for-Lindy
McDaniel. It happens. Always has. |
|
The Pride and the Passion
M's Manager Lou Piniella Brings Emotion
and a Fierce Will To Win To Seattle Baseball
The Seattle Times -- April 1, 1993
By Bob Sherwin
In Portland, Anita got some early signs of her husband's personality. In one game, he struck out to kill a rally. When he went to his outfield position, he kicked the fence, only to have it fall on top of him. He had to be pulled from under it.
"He was the hothead of all time," said Stan Williams, a former Portland teammate and his Reds pitching coach. ...
... He also broke his first water cooler in K.C., costing him $ 200. Another time, after striking out, he lay down and screamed, "Lord, please let this stadium fall on me. Don't let it hurt anyone else, just me."
On Dec. 7, 1973, Piniella was traded to the Yankees for pitcher Lindy McDaniel. He played 11 seasons in New York, hit .319 in four World Series, won two world championships and, like other Yankees in the days of the Bronx Zoo, went toe-to-toe with Steinbrenner.
"If I hit a home run, George would say it wasn't long enough," Piniella said.
Steinbrenner would get on Piniella for his weight, once fining him $1,000 a pound, $7,000 overall.
Piniella did not suffer in silence. He called Steinbrenner "Colonel Klink." Once, when Steinbrenner walked into the Yankee clubhouse, Piniella jabbed at the Boss' own weight, yelling "hide the Hershey bars!" |
January 8,
2001 |
Royals trade OF Johnny Damon, SS Mark Ellis
and a player to be named later to Oakland in a three-team deal that nets P Roberto Hernandez,
SS Angel Berroa and C A.J. Hinch |
| |
CNNSI.com's Alyson Lamble: Admittedly, it's recent. And, yes, everyone saw it coming from miles away. But it still hurts -- Damon had been touted for years as the organization's "next George Brett," the next really big guy to come out of K.C. If only he were as loyal ...
| |
After this season, you can expect Oakland will have the same problems trying to re-sign Damon that the Royals had. Otto Greule Jr. /Allsport |
CNNSI.com: Damon was coming off a monster second half of the 2000 season and the Royals were desperately trying to get him to sign a long-term deal. When Damon refused, the Royals felt they had no choice but to get something for him.
"It's bittersweet for me as a general manager," Allard Baird said after making the deal. "I signed Johnny Damon when he was 18 years old. This was the first player for me as a scout who got to the big leagues. He's a quality player, a quality human being -- and I've said it over and over -- arguably the best leadoff hitter in the game."
Damon hardly built a long-lasting legacy in Kansas City, but his departure is hurtful to Royals fans because it is so indicative of a small-market club that won't be able to hang on to any of its young stars for very long. Royals management and the local media put a positive spin on the deal, saying at least they got something for a guy who wasn't coming back anyway.
It's kind of like giving away your kid's puppy and saying, "but I got you this nice sweater instead ... and besides, that dog was going to die someday."
| |
Johnny be Gone!;
Hats Off to One Great Deal
Kansas City Star -- January 9, 2001
By Joe Posnanski
You know, there was a time when you could look at a baseball
trade and just say who won and who lost. Lou Brock for Ernie Broglio.
Good trade for the Cardinals. Frank Robinson for Milt Pappas. Bad
trade for Cincinnati. Greg Everson for Jerry Don Gleaton. No winner.
Now, though, baseball trades have more detours than I-70 through
Kansas. Nothing is as it appears. Monday, the Royals traded Johnny
Damon for Roberto Hernandez - with prospects sprinkled in - and on
paper it just doesn't make sense. On paper, the Royals dealt the best
leadoff hitter in the game for a 36-year-old relief pitcher.
And I'm here to tell you it was a great trade for Kansas City.
Not a good trade. A great one.
Here's why: Johnny Damon is a rent-a-player. He's a hired gun. He
will become a free agent next year, and if you think there was even
the slightest chance he was going to come back to Kansas City, well,
I'll meet you out in the woods later for a little snipe hunting.
Damon's a nice guy, and he genuinely likes Kansas City, but he's
going to the highest bidder. Hey, you don't hire super-agent Scott
Boras to be your canasta partner on the weekends.
Damon was leaving. And everybody knew it. That gave the Royals
exactly zero leverage. Zippo.
The last two months, teams have been coming at the Royals with
some of the most underwhelming trades you ever saw. One team actually
offered two pieces of licorice and a 1974 Al Fitzmorris card. And
that was one of the better deals. Fitzy had a good year in '74. |
| |
Mark Crouser, Manhattan, Kan.
Johnny Damon, the premier leadoff hitter in the league for Roberto Hernandez, a guy that won't be in the league in four years. That one was tough to swallow for all Royals fans. |
December 11,
1991 |
Royals trade P Bret Saberhagen and IF Bill Pecota to the N.Y. Mets for IF Gregg Jefferies, IF Keith Miller and OF Kevin McReynolds |
| |
Since this is an odd-numbered year, don't count out Bret Saberhagen from making a comeback. Jonathan Daniel/Allsport |
|
CNNSI.com's Alyson Lamble: Sabes got traded after the '91 season. He won his second Cy Young in '89, but as you can tell from his stats, even years tend to be not good for him. (very bizarre phenomenon) .We got very little production from Miller and Jefferies, although Miller for some reason became a bit of a fan favorite. Sabes' production declined a bit in his years with the Mets, so from a baseball standpoint it was a good deal but it was the beginning of the end for the guys from the '85 World Series team.
| |
Sabes' Saga
Kansas City Star -- May 7, 1998
By Mike Vaccaro
This is what Mark Gubicza recalls: a party, lots of good
friends, lots of good cheer. Yes. Gubicza remembers all of it. This
was around Dec. 1, 1991, and the festive mood was contagious. Why
not? Kansas City was frosted with snow that night. The holiday season
had begun. People were laughing; the food was good; life was good.
Bret Saberhagen was at the bash, of course, because in those days
there were few places in town where one would show up without the
other. They had come up through the Royals' farm system, won a world
championship when they were impossibly young. Gubicza was the
godfather of Saberhagen's daughter, Brittany.
Saberhagen was in a dark mood.
"Hey, Goobie," he said, sidling up alongside his friend. "You
hear?"
"Hear what?"
"My butt's on the trading block, that's what."
Gubicza laughed out loud. The trading block? Saberhagen? Barely
six years earlier - Oct. 27, 1985 - Saberhagen had pitched a five-hit
shutout that gave Kansas City its crowning baseball memory, an 11-0
stomping of the St. Louis Cardinals in game seven of the World
Series. Gubicza laughed because he knew, as all of the city knew,
that if George Brett were the acknowledged king of Kansas City
baseball, then Saberhagen, simply Sabes to his friends and fans, was
the crown prince. ...
... The news broke on Dec. 11.
"It was devastating," said George Brett, who had roomed with
both Saberhagen and Gubicza when the kid pitchers were breaking in,
teaching them not only how to play like major-leaguers, but how to
live the part, too. "He was such a strong personality in the
clubhouse, such a competitor. It was stunning."
Gubicza is more blunt: "It was like breaking up a family." |
|
Can Royals Save Face?
Orlando Sentinel Tribune -- February 29, 1992
By George Diaz
The Kansas City Royals didn't just trade away one of the best pitchers in baseball last December. The people of Kansas City considered Bret Saberhagen a native son, despite his Chicago roots.
| |
Bret Saberhagen.
Bruce Swartzman /Allsport |
Pitching coach Guy Hansen, who signed him in 1982, treated him like a brother. Pitcher Mark Gubicza and his wife, Lisa, were godparents to Bret and Janeane Saberhagen's daughter, Brittany. Their wives cried on the phone when the news came from the winter meetings in Miami Beach.
General Manager Herk Robinson braced himself for criticism. Baseball fans in the city overwhelmingly voiced their disapproval. More than 90 percent of callers responding to a telephone poll in the Kansas City Star indicated that the trade should not have been made. Jerk Robinson, fans protested in bitter sarcasm. |
| |
Jeff Hurn, Hiawatha, Kansas
Back in the late '80s and early '90s, I was a big Kansas City Royals fan. A good friend of mine called me one day out of the blue and told me to turn on SportsCenter. I turned it on to see Bret Saberhagen's picture on the screen.
This was not too long after Saberhagen's no-hitter in Royals Stadium. I was stunned, and still am, by this trade. To me, that was the very day that the Kansas City Royals died as a franchise. I point to that day as the exact time that they quit trying to contend and became willing to be the league doormat that they now are year after year. Talk about sad. No other trade will ever compare to it in my view, not even close. |
February 5,
1983 |
Royals trade 1B Cecil Fielder to Toronto
for OF Leon Roberts |
| |
| |
Cecil Fielder had 130 homers and 389 RBIs from 1990 to 1992. Leon Roberts had zero and zero.
Bill Hickey /Allsport |
CNNSI.com's Dan George: Talk about an unheralded player who blossomed for another team: Well, Cone qualifies here, too, since he was 0-0 in just 22 1/3 IP when the Royals dealt him. But here's another one: Cecil Fielder.
The Royals traded him to the Blue Jays (hey, at least it wasn't a New York team) in 1983 for Leon Roberts. Fielder kicked around for several years with the Jays, then spent a year in Japan, but when he blossomed with the Tigers in 1990, he really blossomed: .277, 54 HR, 132 RBIs. Roberts spent only two years in K.C., hitting .258 and .222 with eight homers ... total.
|
Copyright © 2001
CNN/Sports Illustrated
An AOL Time Warner Company.
All Rights Reserved.
|
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.
|
|
