Through 52 games in 1964, 25-year-old Lou Brock was hitting .251 with 10 stolen bases. The Cubs saw a chance to land Ernie Broglio from St. Louis and jumped.
On the surface, it looked like a great deal for the Cubs. They got a 28-year-old pitcher who went 18-8 in 1963 for a slow-to-develop outfielder. Really, who wouldn’t have made that trade in 2013?
Well, you know the rest of the story. Broglio developed a sore arm and faded to oblivion. Meanwhile, Brock took off with the Cardinals and went straight to the Hall of Fame.
Here is the link to his stats.
Oh what have been, Cubs fans.
Here’s what no one remembers: After the 1962 season, the Cubs traded outfielder George Altman, to the Cardinals for Larry Jackson and Lindy McDaniel. Altman had been an All-Star in 1961 and 1962 and was highly regarded personally as well.
Altman went to the Cardinals, had a couple of disappointing, if not bad, seasons and then was traded away and quickly was out of the Majors. Jackson went on to be a valuable starter for the Cubs, even winning 24 games in 1964, and McDaniel had great success out of the bullpen for the Cubs. Both players were subsequently traded for key parts of the ’69 Cub team.
While this trade does not measure up to the imbalance of the Brock/Broglio trade, it ended up definitely weighted heavily in the Cubs’ favor.
And anyway, Brock had conclusively shown he could only play left field. The Cubs had that covered with Billy Williams.
Right…But the trade always will be part of Cubs legend.