There were quite a few Cubs trades in ‘57. None of them had any great impact on the team.
The Cubs were coming off a 94-loss season in 1956, and they tried quite a few changes to make a difference in ‘57. It didn’t work, as the Cubs lost 92 in 1957.
And as bad as a 90+ loss season is now, remember that back then there were eight fewer games to do it. The 60-94 season of 1957 is a .390 winning percentage, or equivalent to 63-99 in a 162-game season.
I’d like you to take note of the photo here, which features two players the Cubs acquired during the season, Dale Long and Lee Walls. Not only is Rogers Hornsby wearing a garishly ugly shirt, but this photo shows off the style the Cubs wore only in 1957 — a cap with stripes, and the entire team name CHICAGO CUBS on the road jersey. The photo above was taken in spring training in 1958, because for many years — even as late as the 1970s — the Cubs used the previous year’s uniforms in spring camp, probably to save money and not wear out the uniforms for the new season (remember, there were no special spring uniforms back then). Also, as Long and Walls were both acquired during the 1957 season, they couldn’t have been in spring camp that year. Lastly, Hornsby worked as a coach for the Cubs only from 1958-60.
On to the trades! This was John Holland’s first full year as Cubs general manager.
January 9: Acquired Bill Henry from the Red Sox for Frank Kellert
Kellert was a first baseman who’d played in 71 games for the Cubs in 1956 and batted .186/.254/.318. He played in the minor leagues for three years after the deal but never played in the majors again.
Henry, who had been an off-and-on starter for the Red Sox from 1952-54, had spent the following two years in the minors.
It was a great deal for the Cubs, who got two really good years out of Henry. It would have been a far better deal if they’d just kept him instead of trading him after 1958, as we learned in the last installment of this series.
Even when the Cubs fleeced another team, they wound up fleecing themselves.
April 16: Acquired Bob Lennon and Dick Littlefield from the Giants for Ray Jablonski and Ray Katt
Lennon, no relation to John Lennon, played in nine games for the Cubs and went 3-for-21.
Littlefield, no relation to future Pirates GM Dave Littlefield, posted a 5.35 ERA in 48 games (two starts) in ‘57 and then the Braves acquired him from the Cubs for cash consideratons.
Katt, who had been acquired by the Cubs the previous December, never played for them and hit .230/.294/.297 in 72 games for the Giants.
Jablonski never played for the Cubs either, having been acquired from the Reds the previous November.
This deal was literally completed on Opening Day. The traded players gave zero value to the Cubs. The acquired players combined for -1.1 bWAR.
They might as well have not bothered.
April 20: Acquired Bobby Del Greco and Ed Mayer from the Cardinals for Jim King
I’m telling you, these deals were just like throwing pies at a wall. Del Greco lasted 20 games with the Cubs (.200/.360/.250) before playing most of the year in the minor leagues, eventually sent to the Yankees for cash considerations. Mayer posted a 4.31 ERA in 22 games for the Cubs in 1957 and 1958.
Jim King? Now there’s a guy they should have held on to. He eventually wound up with the expansion Washington Senators and hit 24 home runs in a 2.4 bWAR season in 1964.
The Cardinals, though, didn’t get much from him, just 22 games before they sent him to the Giants — for Ray Katt! — in early 1958.
Man, these guys got around.
May 1: Acquired Dale Long and Lee Walls from the Pirates for Gene Baker and Dee Fondy
Baker and Fondy had been mainstays for the Cubs in the mid-1950s, Baker as Ernie Banks’ double-play partner and Fondy the regular first baseman from 1951-56.
Fondy was out of baseball after 1958 and Baker suffered some serious injuries, though he did get a World Series ring with the Pirates in 1960.
Long had set a MLB record in 1956 when he homered in eight straight games, a mark that still stands. He was a bit past his sell-by date when the Cubs got him, but he did post 4.8 bWAR and hit 55 home runs in 375 games for the Cubs from 1957-59. Walls appeared to be on the verge of stardom when he hit .304/.370/.493 with 24 home runs in 1958 and made the NL All-Star team (a 4.4 bWAR season at age 25), but after that injuries and declining production shortened his career, though he did get a World Series ring with the Dodgers in 1963.
This was a useful deal for the Cubs.
May 23: Acquired Don Elston from the Dodgers for Jackie Collum and Vito Valentinetti
Now, you have to admit “Vito Valentinetti” is a great baseball name.
Great baseball player? Eh… not really. He played in just three games for the Dodgers, who sent him to Cleveland later that year in a cash deal. Collum, a lefthanded pitcher, posted an 8.89 ERA in 14 games for the Dodgers, Indians and Twins.
Elston’s reacquisition (he had been dealt to the Dodgers in 1953 in a deal we’ll cover later) was an excellent move by the Cubs. He made the All-Star team in 1959 and overall gave the Cubs 10 bWAR before retiring after 1964.
This was a great trade for the Cubs. But as the team began the season 14-32 and was already 13 games out of first place by early June, you can see why they didn’t bother to make any trades the rest of the season.
November 16: Acquired Ben Johnson, Chick King and Leonard Williams from the Braves for Casey Wise
Wise, an infielder, never did much for the Braves, posting -1.0 bWAR for them in two seasons. He did play in the World Series for them in 1958.
Johnson posted a 3.91 ERA in 21 games for the Cubs in 1958 and 1959. King was 2-for-11 in a Cubs uniform before they dealt him to the Cardinals. Williams never played in the major leagues.
Another “why bother” trade.
December 5: Acquired Taylor Phillips and Sammy Taylor from the Braves for Eddie Haas, Don Kaiser and Bob Rush
This all-Taylor deal was kind of a nothing for the Cubs. Phillips, a lefthanded pitcher, posted a 5.01 ERA and -0.8 bWAR for the Cubs. Taylor, a catcher, had a decent year in 1959 (13 home runs, 1.5 bWAR) but his performance declined and he eventually wound up on the famed 1962 Mets. So that must have been fun.
Kaiser never pitched in the major leagues again. Haas, an outfielder, played in 41 games for the Braves and went 12-for-46 after having gone 5-for-24 in 14 games for the Cubs. He hit his only big-league homer July 22, 1960 at Wrigley Field — off Don Elston, of all people.
Rush had been the Cubs’ best pitcher for most of the 1950s, and made two All-Star teams (1950, 1952). He posted 110 wins in 10 Cubs seasons — that ranks 18th in franchise history. He was only 31 at the time of the deal and he had a fine season for the Braves in 1958, posting a 3.42 ERA and throwing a pair of shutouts, and started Game 3 of the ‘58 World Series for the Braves. He wound up finishing his career with nine games with the 1960 White Sox.
Despite being a solid pitcher for the Cubs for a decade, Rush never seemed to be included in reunions of old-time Cubs or make any appearances at Wrigley, though he lived a long time after his playing career, passing away at age 85 in 2011.
This trade didn’t get much for the Cubs and Rush might have helped them in 1958 and 1959, when they did contend briefly.
December 10: Acquired Freddy Rodriguez from the Giants for Tom Poholsky
Poholsky had some decent years for the Cardinals, but predictably when the Cubs got him his performance went south: 4.93 ERA in 28 games (11 starts). He never played in the majors again after 1957.
Rodriguez had a 7.36 ERA in seven games for the Cubs in 1958.
Once again — they might as well have not bothered.
The deals to acquire Elston, Long and Walls were good ones. The others were either bad or useless, so I’ll give them a C- for 1957.
This series will resume on Monday.