| 21 August 2009
I've been trying to get my head around this whole Brett Favre thing the last few days. Forgetting about the whole "retired-not retired-retired again-not retired again" thing, it's still a remarkably odd story: Favre, beloved to the point of worship in Green Bay, spurns his entire legacy to play one (or two) more season with the Packers' most bitter rival, their divisional foe, the Minnesota Vikings.
This isn't Orel Hershiser playing out the string of his career on teams like the Indians, Mets, andGiants. And this isn't Johnny Damon moving to the Yankees after a few (celebrated) years in Boston. True, those two were both fan favorites and even playoff heroes, helping lead the Dodgers and Red Sox to World Series victories, but neither are even close to the level that Brett Favre achieved in America's Dairyland.
In fact, the only analogue that I can think of that seems at all reasonable is a hypothetical one: the baseball equivalent of Brett Favre playing for the Vikings would be Cal Ripken leaving the Orioles after a falling out and then playing for the Yankees. The analogy is a little weak in that the Orioles-Yankees "rivalry" is laughable when compared to the Vikings-Packers (or any other major rivalry). Other than that, though, it works great. Favre and Ripken were both clean-cut, hard-working, "go out there and play everyday"-type guys who were the clear leaders on their teams and who penetrated the national consciousness like few others. "Golden boys", some might say (*ahem*Jose Canseco*ahem*). Favre may not have been a hometown boy who came up through the team's system like Ripken, but he was adopted as such pretty early on in his career. And, as good as they each were in their primes, they were both overrated as they aged, getting a little too much credit for their past successes when they were clearly beyond that talent-level (and I say that as someone who collected - and still owns - over 200 different Cal Ripken baseball cards as a child).
Let's imagine, then, the relationship between Ripken and the Orioles souring so much that he would leave the team to play for the Yankees: the strangeness of Cal in pinstripes, the animosity that O's fans might feel for him, the awkwardness that would follow him the first time the Yankees visited Baltimore... all of that is what is currently happening over in the NFL, and it's just ridiculous. I still don't know what Favre is thinking, and I live here in Milwaukee!
Anyhow, after all of that, I thought it might be interesting to see what the biggest names are to have ever moved to their rival team. Again, I'm not looking for the likes of Orel Hershiser or Johnny Damon on this list. Players like that, while strange to see in a different uniform, don't quite reach the levels that I'm thinking of. Using the Multi-Franchise or Multi-Team tool over at Baseball Reference, I looked at every player who played for both teams in some of MLB's greatest rivalries, searching for "big name players" who ended up playing for their main rival after achieving immortality with their first club. While the Cubs/Cardinals and Red Sox/Yankees had a few interesting candidates, the two best examples, by far, were found in the West Coast rivalry:
Duke Snider & the Giants: In April 1963, after playing for sixteen years with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers, Duke Snider was brought back to New York to join the Mets. He played the '63 season for the young franchise, batting only .243 and knocking out 14 home runs. That was good enough for a 115 OPS+, though. As the 1964 season was set to begin, the Giants purchased Snider's contract from the Mets in a strict cash transaction. It was an intriguing transaction, even at the time:
"Old -line Dodger fans and 'New Breed' Met rooters were dismayed by the second passing of the Duke. But Snider welcomed the move and the Giants, who have been after the veteran for some time, were equally happy.'You're just what we need to win the (National League) pennant,' Horace Stoneham, Giants president, told Snider via telephone after the deal was announced."
Snider had some thoughts on the deal, too:
"'Just the opportunity to play with a contender again should add a couple of years to my career,' Snider said before leaving for San Francisco. 'I think I can help the Giants. I think I can play quite a few games for them.'I never rooted for the Giants before - except in a World Series, but I'm sure rooting for them now.'"
It ended up being Snider's final season, as he was only able to bat .210 with 4 homers in 91 games as a Giant. He was finally voted into the Hall of Fame as a Brooklyn Dodger in 1980, his 11th year on the ballot.
Juan Marichal & the Dodgers: After 14 years as a San Francisco Giant (and after the greatest pitching debut ever), Juan Marichal left the Giants to play in Boston. After only 11 games in a Red Sox uniform in 1974, the Dodgers signed the aging and injured Marichal in March of '75, hoping that a healthy Marichal might be able to fit in as the No. 3 pitcher. From the UPI report that day:
"Well, as the man on network television says, listen to this: Juan Marichal is now a Dodger.Marichal, who in 1965 became Public Enemy No. 1 to the Dodgers when he walloped catcher John Roseboro with a bat, has agreed to a one-year contract with Los Angeles. Marichal had only a 5-1 record for the Boston Red Sox last season but has a 243-141 lifetime record in the major leagues and is viewed as a possible No. 3 starter for the Dodgers if Tommy John doesn't recover from surgery.
Dodger executives laughed off the wounds of 10 years ago when they announced the signing.
'Nobody hated Marichal more than I did when we competed against him and nobody hated Maglie more than I did before he came from the Giants to the Dodgers,' said director of player personnel Al Campanis.
'It's all right by me to have Marichal on the team,' commented Manager Walt Alston, 'Especially if he still can pitch.'"
(You have to love that reference to Tommy John's surgery.) Marichal's career with the Dodgers only lasted two starts, though. After not being able to make it through four innings in either start, Marichal knew it was over. On April 17, 1975, the day after his last start, Marichal walked into the Dodgers' front office and retired from baseball.
It wasn't the way Marichal intended his career to end, but it never is in these cases. Not everyone can be Mickey Mantle and retire at the first sign of decline, so it's inevitable that legendary players like Snider or Marichal will hang on long enough to don the rivals' colors. I'm just glad that most of them have the sense to do it in a more civil manner than Favre.
