5. Philadelphia Athletics trade Shoeless Joe Jackson and Morrie Rath to the Cleveland Indians for Bris Lord – July 23, 1910
With the Philadelphia Athletics in the midst of their first Golden Era, manager Connie Mack was looking for players he could trust during the stretch run. One of those was former A’s outfielder, and owner of one of the greatest nicknames in MLB history, Bris Lord. Brought back to Philadelphia, Lord hit well, helping the team to World Series titles in 1910 and 1911.
However, the cost for those championships would prove to be a high one. In exchange for Lord, Mack sent infielder Morrie Rath and a player to be named later to Cleveland. Rath would play in 23 games with the Indians, posting a .194/.299/.2239 batting line before heading back to the minors, and eventually, out of the Indians system.
It was tha tplayer to be named later that made the trade. A week later, the A’s sent the rights to young outfielder Shoeless Joe Jackson to Cleveland, who immediately brought the youngster to the Majors. He produced a .387/.446/.587 batting line in 20 games, then became a true star the following year.
That year, Jackson would set the stage for a career that would leave him as one of the great hitters in baseball history. He produced a .408/.468/.590 batting line, notching 233 hits, 45 doubles, 19 triples and 41 stolen bases. While he never hit above .400 again in his career, Jackson was a superstar for the rest of the 1910’s, one of the best all around hitters the league had seen.
We all know how his career ended, as he was banned for life due to his involvement in the 1919 White Sox throwing the World Series. Yet, that does not take away from the type of player he was. While the A’s did win those two titles with Lord, they certainly could have used a hitter like Soeless Joe in their lineup.
Next: A big steal