In the list of “worst trades in baseball history,” few names draw more ire than Larry Andersen.
Line up the longtime reliever with the likes of Ivan de Jesus, Doyle Alexander, Ernie Broglio, Milt Pappas, and Jim Fregosi, and you have enough bile-generating hot stove fodder to last a lifetime…even if the crosshairs are sometimes misplaced.
Sure, some of these guys, and others on the valley end of “lopsided” deals, may not have delivered on expectations following their big trades, but others lived up to their part of the bargain, and then some.
That was certainly the case for Andersen, regardless of how history looks at the trade that sent him from the Astros to the Red Sox on August 30, 1990.
Here’s how it all went down…
The Red Sox spent most of that summer in the thick of the American League East race and had held the lead a total of 56 different days heading into that fateful day. That included being tied for or alone in first every day since July 31, and a late push had Boston up six games on second-place Toronto.
Even so, the Red Sox had the worst record among all division leaders and their bullpen didn’t inspire a lot of confidence. Only closer Jeff Reardon looked like a lock for a sub-3.00 ERA.
Meanwhile, the Astros lost on Opening Day to start the season a game in the hole, and it only got worse from there. By the end of the day on August 29, they were 58-72, mired in fifth place and sitting 17 games behind the first-place Reds in the National League West.
Not much of that was Andersen’s doing, though, as the right-hander had fashioned a 5-2 record with a 1.95 ERA and six saves on the strength of 8.3 strikeouts per nine innings and a stingy 1.154 WHIP.
So it made sense that the two teams would hook up at the trade deadline, with the Astros sending bullpen help to the Sawx in exchange for a bet on the future. More on that wager in a moment.
Andersen debuted with Boston on September 2, closing out a blowout over the hated Yankees at Fenway Park…but also giving up New York’s only run when he hit Kevin Maas and fielded a sacrifice from Jim Leyritz after inheriting Steve Sax and Rick Cerone as baserunners from starter Tom Bolton.
That run (scored by Sax) wasn’t charged to Andersen, and he didn’t give up a score of his own until his 12th Boston appearance, on September 26. In all, Andersen pitched 22 innings in 15 games for the Red Sox, posting on 0-0 record with 1.23 ERA, a 0.955 WHIP, a save, and 10.3 K/9 IP.
The Sox needed pretty much all of Andersen’s 1.2 WAR, too, as they held off a charging Toronto in the final weekend of the season by winning two of three over the White Sox to take the division by two games. To be fair, Andersen did give up two runs in the middle game to blow a save, but Boston bailed him out with a 4-3 win.
Boston proved no match for the A’s in the ALCS, as Oakland swept in four games. Anderson fared even worse, giving up two runs in an inning of relief in Game 1. He did manage two scoreless innings combined in Games 2 and 4, but ended the series with an ugly 6.00 ERA.
While Boston was getting their tails kicked, Houston was tucking theirs, heading into the offseason to plan for the future. After finishing in fourth place at 75-87, things would get worse — their 97 losses in 1991 were the most in franchise history to that point (also “accomplished” in 1965 and 1975).
But the Astros were making moves, including trading first baseman Glenn Davis to the Orioles in January 1991 for Steve Finley, Pete Harnisch, and Curt Schilling. How could they afford to ship out a key member of their offense without getting a ready replacement?
Why, because they were already sold on the youngster they acquired in exchange for Larry Andersen, that’s why!
And so, on Opening Day 1991, Jeff Bagwell took the reins at first base for the Astros in his big league debut. He went hitless against the Reds but drew a walk, something he’d do 1400 more times in the next 15 years. By the time he hung up his spikes in 2005, Bags looked to be a likely Hall of Famer, a destiny he fulfilled in 2017.
Larry Andersen also played on Opening Day in 1991, pitching a scoreless ninth in relief of a 7-4 win…for the Padres.
Yep, after his late-season heroics and ALCS villainy for the Red Sox, Andersen signed as a free agent with San Diego in the postseason. But if the Boston faithful needed a reminder of what they had lost, they could always pop open a pack or few of 1991 baseball cards, where they’d find Andersen in his “B” cap, like you see up there on his Upper Deck card.
And later that year, when UD issued their “Hi” series, Sox fans could glimpse the upcoming National League Rookie of the Year in his new uniform. Jeff Bagwell’s Upper Deck rookie card checked in at #755.
So, yes, the Andersen-for-Bagwell trade ended up being pretty lopsided from a historical perspective. But the Sox got exactly what they bargained for — a division title — in the process.
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