Sports Illustrated

One question: Why did this happen? There was really no sound on-the-field reason for it. Sure, owner John McMullen was trying to save money, and he acquired pitchers Rick Rhoden and Jim Clancy, hoping they could fill the void left by Ryan. What did the Astros get for McMullen's thriftiness? Clancy, the losingest pitcher of the '80s, was 9-25 with a 5.02 ERA in 2 1/2 years in Houston. Rhoden was 2-6 with a 4.28 ERA in his only season with the Astros.

On the other hand, Ryan only pitched two no-hitters, notched his 300th victory and 5,000th strikeout, and gave the Rangers a drawing card in his five seasons in Arlington. But forget the fact that Ryan clearly outpitched the two men who took his place -- this is all about a public relations nightmare. Ryan went into the Hall of Fame in 1999 as a Ranger, though he lives just outside Houston city limits in Alvin.

The Book on Nolan Ryan: Chapter 5: The Parting The Houston Chronicle -- October 3, 1993 By Alan Truex Nolan Ryan could not believe what he was hearing as he sat in the office of Bill Wood, general manager of the Astros, on an October day in 1988. After playing nine years for the team and winning 106 games, including 12 in the season just completed, Ryan was being asked to accept a salary reduction. He was being marked down, like damaged goods, or something too long on the shelf. Almost five years later, as he related the scene, Ryan's face tightened, seemingly muffling a flash of anger. "I stayed there nine years and never had a raise,'' he said, "and suddenly they want me to take a 20 percent cut." But Ryan, owner of two banks and a shrewd businessman himself, soon came to understand the bottom-line strategy as designed by John McMullen and executed by his loyal general manager, Wood. "John McMullen wanted to cut me 20 percent to make a statement about reducing salaries," Ryan said. "He felt if he could get me to take a pay cut, he could use that as leverage in his negotiations with some other guys. "He knew Mike Scott and some other people were sitting there looking at long-term contracts. "I think McMullen was on a mission, and that was to make a statement that he was going to reduce salaries. He felt I would be the cornerstone of that policy. "And it backfired on him." Now, Ryan's face registered a touch of glee. "If they had just come back and said they wanted me to stay another year at my same salary, I probably would have taken it and not thought anything about it."

Topps

Houston gave division rival Cincinnati some key elements for its Big Red Machine.

Morgan claimed back-to-back NL MVP awards in 1975-76 and the Reds won the World Series in both seasons. Geronimo blossomed into an excellent defensive center fielder to strengthen Cincinnati up the middle. Billingham became a consistent starting pitcher and even Armbrister contributed as a bit player, helping win Game 3 of the '75 Series on a controversial bunt play.

May was a solid power hitter for the Astros and eventually brought them third baseman Enos Cabell in a trade with Baltimore. Helms and Stewart's contributions were minimal.

To put this trade in perspective, the Reds won 108 games in 1975 en route to a World Series title. The Astros finished in last in the NL West that season with a club-record 97 losses, 43.5 games behind Cincinnati.

Joe Morgan Repays a Debt The New York Times -- October 12, 1980 By Dave Anderson For nearly a decade, Joe Morgan wore the red-trimmed uniform of the Cincinnati Reds as if he were born to it. Twice the National League's most valuable player, he was so much a part of the Reds' success that many people had almost forgotten that he had been the Houston Astros' second baseman for seven years until he was traded to the Reds after the 1971 season. But he never forgot. Joe Morgan was saying before the Astros lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-3, yesterday to create tonight's decisive fifth playoff game for the National League pennant: "I told the writers here that I hoped someday to come back to the Astros and help them win a pennant because they were the only organization willing to sign a 5-foot, 140-pound second baseman. I always wanted to repay the Astros for that. And if we win this pennant, I've repaid them."

Andujar was nicknamed "One Tough Dominican" and his ornery attitude fit that description. However, his numbers in Houston did not despite occasional flashes of brilliance. He never won more than 12 games in 5 1/2 seasons in Houston and was shipped to the Cardinals before the strike.

Once in St. Louis, Andujar's career took off. He went 6-1 in '81 with the Cards before winning 15 in 1982 to help St. Louis win its first World Series since 1967. He won 20 in 1984 and 21 in 1985 as the Cards came within a blown Don Denkinger call at first base of winning their second World Series in four years.

Meanwhile, Scott never hit higher than the .293 average he posted in 55 games in '81. Known for his speed, Scott's highest stolen-base total in Houston was 18 in 1982, when he hit just .239 in his only full season as a starter for the Astros.

In a perfect world, Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling would be teammates in Houston, not Arizona. Ezra Shaw/Allsport

This was addition by subtraction when the deal was made.

Schilling's attitude made him a pain in the butt to Astros management and he was just 4-9 with 11 saves in four major league seasons when this trade was completed.

Schilling won 14 games in his first year in Philly and 16 the next in helping the Phillies to the '93 World Series. Grimsley? He never even pitched in the bigs with Houston and was in Cleveland by 1993.

Then-Phillies GM Lee Thomas wasn't charged with theft in this heist, but maybe he should have been.

Astros Still Losing on Schilling Trade The Houston Chronicle -- August 16, 1997 By Neil Hohlfeld It has been five years, two operations on his arm and one World Series ago, but Curt Schilling still remembers that April day in 1992 when the Astros gave up on him. After one season as a relief pitcher for the Astros, Schilling was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Jason Grimsley, one of the most lopsided deals in the history of a franchise that has been on the wrong end of some lulus (see: Joe Morgan, Kenny Lofton, Ken Caminiti). Every time Schilling faces the Astros, he reaches a little deeper, trying to make sure no one in Philadelphia or Houston forgets the trade. Friday night in the Astrodome, Schilling beat the Astros 5-1, working eight overpowering innings to improve to 13-10 overall this season and 3-0 against the Astros. In his career, Schilling is 7-4 with a 2.85 ERA against the Astros. "I don't have a vendetta against anyone or anything like that, and I'd like to think I still have some very good friends over there," said Schilling. "But, yes, it still means a lot to me to do well against the Astros. They were the team that gave up on me after the 1991 season. "I know that none of the same (management) people are over there, but any time you go against the team that gave up on you, you want to pitch well. And I've always liked pitching here."

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