The Top 10 Trades In Recent Detroit Sports History
By Will Burchfield @Burchie_kid
DETROIT (CBS DETROIT) - In November of 2013, the Tigers sent Prince Fielder to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Ian Kinsler. It was a bold move at the time but a brilliant one in hindsight. Indeed, between Fielders' recent "retirement" and Kinsler's continued excellence, it may be one of the best trades in recent Detroit sports history.
Does it rank next to such memorable heists as Bobby Layne for Bob Mann (1950), Norm Cash for Steve Demeter (1960) or Bill Laimbeer for Paul Mokeski (1982)? No – not yet, at least – but Kinsler-for-Fielder is certainly one of the greatest maneuvers by a Detroit sports team in the past quarter century.
To put it into perspective, let's rank the ten best trades by the Tigers, Red Wings, Pistons and Lions (well, maybe not the Lions) since 1990.
#10. Carlos Guillen to the Tigers; Ramon Santiago and Juan Gonzalez to the Mariners. January 2004.
Though his first four seasons in the MLB, Guillen had proven himself to be an average hitter at best. Then he came to Detroit and turned into an All-Star worthy slugger. Guillen hit .318 with 20 home runs, 97 RBI and a .921 OPS in his first season as a Tiger and was a key part of the franchise's mid-2000's turnaround. He went on to play eight seasons in Detroit, making three All-Star Games in the process. Santiago, meanwhile, played just 27 games for the Mariners before returning to the Tigers as a free agent after the 2005 season. Gonzalez was a career minor-leaguer.
#9. Larry Murphy to the Red Wings; future considerations to the Maple Leafs. March 1997.
In search of their first Stanley Cup in 42 years, the Wings added Murphy late in the '97 season for his playoff experience and steadiness on the blue line. The veteran defenseman was just what the team needed. Murphy chipped in 11 playoff points in the Wings' Cup triumph that year, before playing a key role on the championship-winning team the following season as well. Over four seasons in Detroit, the Hall-of-Famer tallied 171 points and a plus-56 rating and made the 1999 All-Star Game.
#8. Max Scherzer (and others) to the Tigers; Curtis Granderson to the Yankees, Edwin Jackson to the Diamondbacks. December 2009.
Included as part of the deal that brought Austin Jackson to Detroit, Scherzer soon emerged as the real prize of the package. Over five seasons with the Tigers, the hard-throwing righty was 82-35 with a 3.52 ERA and won the Cy Young award in 2013. He put together one of the finest pitching performances in recent memory that year, posting a record of 21-3 to go alongside a 2.90 ERA and a .970 WHIP. Though Scherzer was never able to lift the Tigers to a World Series title, he helped them reach the ALCS for three straight seasons including a trip to the World Series in 2012.
#7. Richard Hamilton (and others) to the Pistons; Jerry Stackhouse (and others) to the Wizards. September 2002.
Where Stackhouse was on the backside of his prime at the time of this trade, Hamilton's best years were still ahead of him. The lanky shooting guard became a central figure in the Pistons' mid-2000's renaissance, averaging 18.9 points per game from 2002-03 to 2007-08 and making the All-Star Game for three straight seasons from 2005-2008. Furthermore, he always seemed to elevate his game in big moments, scoring over 20 points per game in the playoffs during his Pistons' career. The Pistons had to give up a two-time All-Star to land Hamilton, but it was a move that paid long-term dividends.
#6. Ian Kinsler to the Tigers; Prince Fielder (and cash) to the Rangers. November 2013.
Three years removed from that trade, here's what we know: Fielder's career is over; Kinsler is in the midst of his best season ever. Fielder provided 0.3 wins above replacement through three seasons with the Rangers; Kinsler has provided 16.5 wins above replacement through three seasons (and counting) with the Tigers. Fielder often struggled to get on the field in Texas; Kinsler can't be kept off of it in Detroit. Not only did the Tigers free themselves of a ticking time bomb by trading Fielder to Texas, but they reeled in an All-Star second baseman to boot. (And as for the $6 million per year they owe Fielder through 2020, that's chump change for a team with a payroll north of $170 million.)
#5. Chris Chelios to Detroit; Anders Eriksson (and draft picks) to the Blackhawks. March 1999.
Just as the Wings added Murphy for veteran leadership in 1997, so did they bring in Chelios two years later. But who could have envisioned the then-37-year-old defenseman playing ten – ten – more seasons in Detroit? Along the way, he helped the Red Wings win two more Stanley Cups in 2002 and 2008, playing an especially large role in their '02 triumph when he logged a mighty 26:22 of ice time per game in the playoffs. Though Chelios' best years came in Chicago, his longest stint with one team came in Detroit, where the ageless blue-liner played until he was 47 years old.
#4. Ben Wallace (and others) to the Pistons; Grant Hill to the Magic. August 2000.
Knowing Hill was likely to sign with the Magic, the Pistons worked out a shrewd sign-and-trade deal with Orlando to acquire Wallace ahead of the 2000-01 season. The hard-nosed Wallace made an instant impact in Auburn Hills and went on to become the rock of the Pistons' defense in their first extended run of success since the Bad Boys era. He won four defensive player of the year awards in a five-year stretch and made four straight All-Star Games from 2003 to 2006. The Pistons' back-to-back Eastern Conference championships wouldn't have been possible without Wallace, who averaged a double-double in both playoff runs.
#3. Rasheed Wallace (and others) to the Pistons; Zelkjo Rebraca, Bob Sura and a draft pick to the Hawks, Chucky Atkins, Lindsey Hunter and a draft pick to the Celtics. February 2004.
If acquiring Ben Wallace laid the foundation for the Pistons' 2004 championship, trading for Rasheed Wallace finished the job. The two bruising big-men formed a dynamic defensive duo down low, giving the Pistons an edge they had lacked the year before when they lost in the conference finals. And where Ben was largely a one-way player, Rasheed was a difference-maker on the offensive end of the floor as well. He scored 13 points per game in the 2004 playoffs, which just about matched his six-year average as a member of the Pistons. Though a volatile, sometimes self-destructive player, "Sheed" will forever be remembered as the final piece to the Pistons' 2004 championship.
#2. Brendan Shanahan to the Red Wings; Paul Coffey, Keith Primeau and a draft pick to the Whalers. October 1996.
When reflecting on the Wings' run of dominance in the late '90s and early 2000s, Shanahan is one of the first players to come to mind. He arrived in Detroit early in the 1996-97 season and never looked back, scoring 46 goals in his first year before adding nine more in the team's Cup conquest that spring. Over a nine-year career with the Wings, Shanahan tallied 309 goals, played in six All-Star Games and won three Stanley Cups. But he was hardly just a goal-scorer, often dropping the gloves to stand up for his teammates, and Shanahan's gritty style of play appealed to the fans in Detroit. His 17 "Gordie Howe hat tricks" – a goal, an assist and a fight – are believed to be the most of all time.
#1. Miguel Cabrera (and others) to the Tigers; Andrew Miller, Cameron Maybin (and others) to the Marlins. December 2007.
Cabrera is far from done writing his legacy, but he has already established himself as one of Detroit's greatest athletes ever. His numbers since joining the Tigers are staggering. In nine seasons, he has a .325 average with 296 homers, 998 RBI and a .976 OPS. He won back-to-back MVP awards in 2012 and 2013 and has played in seven straight All-Star Games. The imposing slugger has become such a staple atop the offensive leaderboards one hardly has to check to know that he's there. Never was that clearer than in 2012, when Cabrera led the league in average, home runs and RBI to become baseball's first Triple Crown winner in 45 years. No trade in recent Detroit sports history has yielded as glamorous a player as Cabrera - who, yes, we accused of declining earlier this season. The nerve.