“The Most Lopsided Trades in Baseball History”: Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown Goes to the Cubs!

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“The Most Lopsided Trades in Baseball History”: Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown Goes to the Cubs!

Brock for Broglio? Yeah, that wasn’t a bad deal…But how about getting Mordecai “Three Finger ” Brown almost for free?? Now that’s a deal!

One hundred thirteen years ago yesterday, December 12, 1903, the Cardinals traded future Hall-of-Fame right-hander Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown to the Cubs in exchange for pitcher Jack Taylor and journeyman catcher Larry McLean.

This lopsided trade is still described as one of the worst ever for the Cardinals, and is actually one of the most lopsided in major league history. But on the flip side, it worked out great for the Cubs and is certainly one of their best. I guess you could almost describe the Brock-for-Broglio deal as the Cardinals’ revenge!

Click on the link to see a nice photo tribute to Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown: http://wp.me/p7a04E-23x

What a pitcher “Miner” Brown turned out to be for the Cubs! Over his 14-year career (1903-1916), Brown, who lost parts of two fingers in his right hand in a farming accident, went 239-130 (.647), with a 2.06 ERA and 1375 strikeouts and was one of the elite pitchers of the Dead Ball Era. His career ERA is the third best in major league history among players in the Hall of Fame, and is the best in history for any pitcher with 200 or more wins.

Brown’s most productive period was his nine seasons with the Cubs from 1904-1912 when he went 188-86 (.686), including six consecutive seasons of 20+ wins. His five year span from 1906-1910 has to be one of the most dominant in major league history. Over this time, he went 127-44 (.742), with a 1.41 ERA, 38 shutouts, averaged 291 innings each year, and was the ace on four pennant winners and two World Series championships. All told, I’d say he turned out to be a pretty darned good pick-up for the Cubs!

And what exactly did the Cardinals get back in return for giving up the great Mordecai Brown? Jack Taylor was actually an above average pitcher, going 152-139 with a 2.65 ERA over ten seasons in the majors. He holds the major league record for consecutive complete-games in one season with 39.

But what made this trade so lopsided in retrospect was that by 1906 Taylor was actually back with the Cubs. He went 20-12 with a 1.99 ERA in 1906, and was part of a great Cubs’ pitching staff which posted a 1.76 team ERA. He also contributed to the World Series winning season of 1907 with a 7-5 record. So in essence, the Cubs got Mordecai Brown virtually for free.

The other player the Cards received was throw-in journeyman catcher Larry McLean, best known for his heavy drinking and violent behavior. At 6’5”, his biggest claim to fame was that he’s the tallest catcher in major league history. After the trade to the Cardinals, he bounced around the National League until 1913 when he landed with the Giants and became the backup catcher to Chief Meyers. He played in the 1913 World Series after Meyers was sidelined by injury.

In June 1915, McLean got into a brawl with Giants’ manager John McGraw and scout Dick Kinsella. During the fight Kinsella broke a chair over McLean’s head. He was released shortly after and was out of the majors for good. Six years later, he was fatally shot by a bartender in a tavern brawl.

-Gary Livacari

Photo Credits: All from Google search

Information: Excerpts edited from the Mordecai Brown and Jack Taylor Wikipedia page. Statistics from Baseball Reference.com

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