A reason to trade

Baseball Reference is offering a wonderful new way to look busy at work with their new Franchise Trade Partner History. I went to check on trades between the Indians and Reds, since I could not remember what the Indians received in trade for Brandon Phillips*.

*Jeff Stevens. Now I remember why I wanted to forget.

Once entry struck me:

May 7, 1993: The Cleveland Indians traded Kevin Wickander to the Cincinnati Reds for a player to be named later. The Cincinnati Reds sent Todd Ruyak (minors) (June 4, 1993) to the Cleveland Indians to complete the trade.

After seven years in the organization, the Indians sent Wickander to the Reds despite showing some promise as a lefty bullpen arm. The Reds released him, and with a baby on the way and a possible strike in 1994, Wickander played in Taiwan for a year. As it turned out, the baby was a girl and Wickander could not name the baby Olin.

Wickander was the friend of Steve Olin, one of two Indians pitchers killed in a boating accident during spring training in 1993. Now, there is some dispute as to why the Indians traded Wickander, but most points moving the discussion away from the accident in the clubhouse, and people only seemed to want to talk to Wickander about the accident.

Of course, I bounced over to revisit Olin’s stats, and this jogged my memory.

In 1992, Olin pitched in 72 games, finished 62 and saved 29, while throwing 88.1 innings. He pitched anywhere from one-third to 3-and-2/3 innings. As the closer.

Checking for pitchers since 1990 who appeared in at least 70 games, finished at least 60 and had (saves + wins – losses) greater than 30, Olin is tied with Derek Lowe’s 2000 season for most innings per game (1.23). They were bested only by Doug Jones, also in 1992, and his 1.40 innings per game. Olin and Jones spent 1990 and 1991 working in the Indians bullpen, so perhaps they talked a bit.

Yeah, the Franchise Trade History is going to be a time waster.