Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Cubs 365, December 19

On this day in 1935, future Cubs second baseman Tony Taylor was born in Cuba. Tony was the starting second baseman for the Cubs in 1958 and 1959 but was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1960 for Don Cardwell. The Cubs were clearing out a spot for their brand new acquisition, Don Zimmer.

When the Cubs got Zimmer from the Dodgers (for Ron Perranoski), they originally thought Zimmer would play 3B. But Ron Santo emerged, so they moved Zimmer to second base instead.

How did these trades work out for the Cubs? Perranoski ended up becoming one of the premier relief pitchers in baseball for the next decade. He pitched in two league championship series, and three World Series, winning two rings with the 1963 and 1965 Dodgers. He also led the league in saves twice, and saved a total 179 games between 1961 and 1971.

Tony Taylor, who was only 24 years old at the time of the trade, played another sixteen years in the majors with the Phillies and the Tigers. When he retired after the 1976 season he was the oldest player in baseball (40 years old). Don Zimmer was the manager of the Boston Red Sox at the time.