Trading Maris actually helped Kansas City

The Maris myth.

After more than four decades, it simply refuses to go away.

I suppose I'll always remember the last time I saw Roger Maris. I bumped into him on the main concourse at Royals Stadium not that long before he died. Maris got a bad rap from the press. I didn't find him to be all that aloof and all the things they said about him. To me, he was always friendly.

Maybe it was because Maris knew I was a small town guy, the antithesis of the smarmy, smart alecky New York types he dealt with after his trade to the Yankees. I suppose, in most cases, people treat you as you treat them.

Be that as it may, all types of myths have grown from the legacy of Roger Maris, simply because he had that one, stellar season. For one glorious summer, Roger Maris was the biggest thing in America, especially after his running mate, Mickey Mantle, went down with a hip abscess. Mantle was the guy who made it all possible, but more of that later.

Cedric Tallis once told me the perfect trade in baseball is one that helps both teams. He said this after the Royals had fleeced John Mayberry from the Astros in exchange for two pitchers named Lance Clemons and Jim York.

But back on Dec. 10, 1959, there was this trade (one of many) between the Kansas City Athletics and New York Yankees. The A's got Norm Siebern, Hank Bauer, Don Larsen and Marv Thronberry for Maris, Kent Hadley and Joe DeMaestri.

Just why the A's would want two first basemen (Siebern and Thronberry) in the same trade is beyond me. Overall, though, the deal was just fine for Kansas City. Maris, it must be remembered, had hit only 16 home runs in 1959. What the Yankees needed was a right fielder to replace the aging Bauer. Maris, a lefty, was a perfect fit. Siebern was a first baseman, something the Yankees had a surplus of. They even exchanged numbers. Both wore nine.

What we must get straight at this point is the fact that Maris would not have hit anywhere near 61 home runs for the 1961 A's.

With the Yankees, Maris was batting ahead of Mantle. You can only imagine what kind of pitches he was getting to swing at. Maris did have 30 solo shots and zero grand slams.

Remember, too, that Maris hit five home runs against Kansas City pitchers in '61. And guess who the top three pitchers in the league were that year? Whitey Ford, Ralph Terry and Luis Arroyo were tops, percentage wise. All were Yankees, meaning Maris didn't face any of them. Hmm. And remember too that Maris' home run production dropped into the cellar after Mantle went down and it took him until the final game to get that 61st with Mantle sitting down.

I have long thought that this was a deal that worked out well for both teams. Maris might have hit 35 or 40 home runs in back-to-back years for Kaycee. But he certainly wouldn't have hit 61 with Leo Posada or Deron Johnson hitting behind him.

Siebern had some fine years with Kansas City. He lacked the power of Maris, but did wind up with a considerably higher lifetime average.

The A's also acquired the aging Bauer. At age 38, he hit .275 in 1960, but played in only 95 games. He became player-manager the following season, but played in just 43 contests. Thronberry didn't do much and had been traded to Baltimore by the time he got famous as one of the 1962 Amazin' Mets.

People tend to forget that Siebern hit 25 Home runs, knocked in 117 runs and batted .308 for the 1962 A's. And that .308 was coming off a .298 mark. Not bad. They also walked him 110 times that year. It was him they traded for Jim Gentile in order to get more power in 1964.

While Siebern didn't have the power of Maris, he hit for a high average and was at worst, a decent fielder.

Sure, Maris had those two really good years with New York, but I submit that if the A's hadn't traded him to the Yankees, we would scarcely know the name Roger Maris today. The Yankees made a good deal because they needed a right fielder. The A's had so many holes, it didn't matter. A good player in one position was as good as a good player anywhere else. They got a pitcher and filled two holes, despite Bauer's age.

I repeat, Maris would never have hit 61 home runs, facing Whitey Ford instead of Ray Herbert. That folks, is a baseball fact.