Mail Day: Joe Carter, 1b/of, Cleveland Baseball
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Joe Carter. For a while in the 1980s, Cleveland had a decent enough offensive team. Guys like Brook Jacoby, Cory Snyder, Brett Butler, and Joe Carter at least made watching Cleveland games fun. Of those players, Joe Carter had probably the longest lasting impact on the franchise because of what it took to get him, and then what they got when it was time to trade him away.
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Joe Carter came to Cleveland in 1984 as part of a package that cost the club ace Rick Sutcliffe. Sutcliffe went on to have a nice career, but so did Carter. With Cleveland, and from 1984-1989, he averaged 25 HR a season and a 112 OPS+.
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When Joe Carter was traded to the Padres in 1989, Cleveland netted three players: Sandy Alomar, Carlos Baerga and Chris James. Of course, Alomar and Baerga would go on to form the foundation of the mid-90s Cleveland powerhouse.
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Of course, we can keep pulling this trade string! Baerga would eventually be traded in 1996 for two players: Jeff Kent and José Vizcaíno. Jeff Kent…future Hall of Famer Jeff Kent…would never really get a shot in Cleveland, and following the season would be traded to the Giants for 3B Matt Williams. Matt Williams was good in his one season with Cleveland (32 HR, 101 OPS+), but would be traded the following season to Arizona for 3B Travis Fryman. Fryman would have a very nice four seasons in Cleveland, averaging 15 HR and a 100 OPS+.
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Fryman would retire following the 2002 season, ending the trade tree that started in 1984.