| Authored by Andrew Perna - 1st February, 2012 - 10:18 am
 Baseball is a game of chance and often times a seemingly inconsequential event can lead to a major development down the road.
We saw the Yankees trade for Alex Rodriguez after Aaron Boone tore up his knee playing pickup basketball in February 2004. More recently, the Tigers signed Prince Fielder to a $214 million contract shortly after Victor Martinez suffered a knee injury that will cost him the 2012 season.
The cause and effect aren't as linear as Rodriguez to New York or Fielder to Detroit, but Cecil Fielder did help Pedro Martinez land with Boston despite never playing for the Red Sox.
During a recent public appearance, Brian Cashman lamented the chain of events that led to Martinez, who he called "the best right-handed pitcher I've ever seen," landing with the rival Red Sox in 1997.
On July 15, 1997, with the Yankees dominating the Indians, Fielder tried to score from first base on a double by sliding head-first. The "hustle" play resulted in a broken right thumb, which caused the designated hitter to miss eight weeks.
Always needing to remain competitive and in the race for a World Series title, the Yankees suddenly needed to swing a deal for a designated hitter. They would win the American League Wild Card, but lose to Cleveland in the divisional round of the playoffs.
In need of a bat, the Yankees acquired Mike Stanley from the Red Sox on August 13, 1997 -- the last time the two teams have traded -- for the postseason push. Stanley would hit .287 with three home runs and 12 RBI in 28 games. The catcher/first baseman had three hits in five plate appearances in just two games of New York's five-game loss.
In the trade for Stanley, the Yankees sent Tony Armas Jr. and a player to be named later to the Red Sox. The player to be named turned out to be Jim Mecir.
Armas, then in the minor-leagues, never appeared in a Major League game for either New York or Boston. He did, however, play a huge role in the fates of both franchises going forward.
The right-hander was part of the package that Boston sent to Montreal, along with Carl Pavano, for Pedro Martinez. Dan Duquette, then the general manager of the Red Sox, gave Martinez a six-year, $75 million contract shortly after the deal.
In seven years with Boston, Martinez went 117-37 with a 2.52 ERA and 10.9 strikeouts per nine innings. Martinez won two AL Cy Young awards and finished in the top-four on four other occasions. He was an All-Star four times and received MVP votes in five of his seven seasons, including a second-place finish in 1999. Many consider his stretch with the Red Sox to the be the most dominant since the mound was lowered.
In the 2004 ALCS, when the Yankees took a 3-0 lead and famously collapsed, Martinez rebounded from a very good effort in a losing effort (Game 2) to help put the Red Sox in position to win two other games (Game 5 as a starter, Game 7 as a reliever). He allowed nine earned runs in 13 innings against New York, but only lost one decision.
If Cecil Fielder never breaks his thumb, Pedro Martinez never wins two Cy Young awards and a World Series with the Red Sox. |
