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Mordecai “Three-Finger” Brown Photo Gallery
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Another Edition of:
The Most Lopsided Trades in Baseball History!
Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown Goes to the Cubs!
Brock for Broglio? Yeah, that was a pretty good deal…for the Cardinals that is. Not so good for us Cub fans, however! But how about getting Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown from the Cardinals almost for free?? Now that’s a deal!!
One hundred eighteen years ago, 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 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!
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-plus wins. His five-year span from 1906 to 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.
Funny how things like baseball trades have a way of evening out over time. You win some and you lose some. So while Cub fans like me still wince over the Brock-for-Broglio trade, let’s put it in perspective: Getting Mordecai “Three-Finger” Brown 118 years ago almost for free was a pretty darn good deal…for the Cubs!
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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Information: Excerpts edited from Mordecai Brown Wikipedia page; stats from Baseball-Reference.com
How about my Mets….Nolan Ryan for Jim Fregosi ranks right up there. To a lesser degree Amos Otis for Joe Foy.
That’s a good one too!
Sparky Lyle for Danny Cater
ranks up there.
Definitely a bad trade. The Jack Taylor you speak of completed 187 consecutive starts from June 14, 1901 to August 13, 1906. A record that will never be broken!
Not quite accurate. The Cubs traded rookie Fred Beebe and catcher Pete Noonan to get Taylor back. Noonan only played 1 more year as did Taylor, but Beebee went on to pitch over 1200 innings for the Cardinals.
The most lopsided trade of all time, in my opinion, is Christie Mathewson for Amos Rusie. Mathewson went on to win 373 games and Rusie pitched only 22 more innings and won 0. That was a one-sided trade.
Thanks for the comment. I agree about the Mathewson/Rusie trade. As far as Jack Taylor, all I said was “But what made this trade so lopsided in retrospect was that by 1906 Taylor was actually back with the Cubs!” I wasn’t commenting about Taylor for Beebe and Noonan. The Cubs got the great Mordecai Brown for Taylor, and then ended up getting Taylor back again.