In the spirit of the Winter Meetings in Nashville, it's time to discuss yet another trade! On December 5, 1990, Fred McGriff and Tony Fernandez of the Toronto Blue Jays were traded to the San Diego Padres for Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter. All four of these players were solid, but who got the better deal in the long run, the San Diego Padres or the Toronto Blue Jays?
Padres' Acquisitions: McGriff and Fernandez
Crime Dog actually did pretty well in southern California. From 1991 through half of the 1993 season (he was traded to the Braves in the middle of '93), McGriff batted .281 with 84 homers and 256 RBIs. He even made the 1992 All Star Game and won the home run title that same year with 35 dingers. Fernandez also played two and a half years with the Pads (he was traded to the Mets midway through '93) and also did well. A fellow member of the 1992 NL All Star Squad, Tony had 323 hits in his time in the luckiest city in the US. The Padres posted over-.500 records in '91 and '92, but tanked in '93 after they traded away their stars. They never won a division title with McGriff and Fernandez.
Blue Jays Acquisitions: Alomar and Carter
Roberto Alomar played in an All Star Game every single year he was in Toronto, from 1991-1995. The slick-fielding second baseman was a runs and hits machine for the boys above the border and batted .347 for the Jays in World Series play. His time in Canada was probably a huge reason why he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011. Carter, meanwhile, was a five-time All Star for the Blue Jays from 1991-1997 and totaled 203 home runs and 736 RBIs during that span. Oh yeah, I almost forgot: he also became the second hitter in baseball history to hit a walk-off, World Series-winning home run when he walked off the Blue Jays for their second consecutive World Series title in 1993. Yeah, that's right: the Blue Jays won back-to-back World Series in 1992 and 1993 thanks in huge part to this trade.
The Winner of the San Diego-Toronto Swap: Toronto Blue Jays
If the Padres had kept Alomar and Carter, would they have a World Series championship? Would Alomar have become the Hall of Famer we now love? Would Fred McGriff continue his murdering of MLB pitching if he stayed in Toronto? Would the Blue Jays ever win a World Series? So many questions to be answered! Anyway, thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."
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ReplyDeleteHey Matt,
ReplyDeleteGreat job with this article! You have a bright future ahead of you, keep at it.
I think this was a very even trade---the blue Jays got more milage out of their haul, the Padres didn't keep Fred or Tony around that long. It's hard to imagine the blue jays winning back to back WS championships without Carter and Alomar--so nod goes to Toronto for making a move that put them over the top! :-)