Cubs 365, January 25

Every day in 2012, the Just One Bad Century blog will feature a story about this day in Cubs history. We're calling it Cubs 365.

On this day in 1983, the Cubs made a rare blockbuster trade with the crosstown White Sox. The Cubs gave up Scott Fletcher, Randy Martz, Pat Tabler and Dick Tidrow and received Steve Trout and Warren Brusstar in return.

This was one of those rare good trades for the Cubs. Fletcher became the starting second baseman for the White Sox, but the Cubs had another youngster at that position named Sandberg. Tidrow was a serviceable reliever for the Sox, but he was near the end of his career.

Meanwhile, Steve Trout, the son of a man who had beaten the Cubs in the 1945 World Series, somehow became a fan favorite at Wrigley Field. In 1984 he was part of a great rotation that led the team to the brink of the World Series. In his only postseason start, Trout even won Game 2 of that series in Wrigley Field.