John Purdin Keeps Getting Sold to Hawaii!

Ex-Dodger week continues with John Purdin. Purdin was a pretty good starting pitcher during a time when that was not good enough to make the Dodgers' rotation. He bounced a bit between AAA and the big club, and was pretty effective in 1968, but couldn't get going in 1969 and found himself back in the minors.

In 1970, Purdin goes from Spokane to Hawaii during the season, in a move described on his Baseball reference major league page as: 

July, 1970: Sent from the Los Angeles Dodgers to the California Angels in an unknown transaction. (Date given is approximate. Exact date is uncertain.) 

Unknown no more!  From the Daily Chronicle of Centralia, WA of July 18, 1970...

“Purdin Sale Told SPOKANE (AP) The Spokane Baseball Club announced the sale Friday night of Indian hurler John Purdin to the Pacific Coast League Hawaii Islanders. Purdin compiled a 6-6 season record with the Indians and holds a 3.40 earned run average He went to the mound in (25?) contests, started in 14 games and was credited with five saves. Purdin was sold for an undisclosed amount.”

Friday would have been July 17. Hawaii was the Angels' AAA at the time.

Purdin was then picked up by the White Sox in a trade for spring training. The new Sox manager, Chuck Tanner, was a fan of Purdin's at Hawaii and wanted to give him a shot. Purdin, however, didn't make the club and went back to Hawaii, and the Padres' organization, in this deal:

From the Pottstown Mercury of April 2, 1971... 

 “The Chicago White Sox reduced their roster to the opening day 25-player limit Thursday when outfielder Pat Kelly was optioned to the White Sox’ Tucson farm club and pitcher John Purdin was sold to Hawaii of the Pacific Coast League.”

..and that is where Purdin finished his career. Another ex-Dodger next time!

Purdin pic from www.tradingcarddb.com

John Werhas: Traded Halfway Across the World

John Werhas is an interesting fellow. A major athlete at USC, he didn't quite break into major league stardom, though he did have time with the Dodgers and Angels. His major league Baseball Reference page has just his first signing as a free agent with the Dodgers, and his subsequent trade to the Angels as transactions. He had a few more stops to go.

Somehow, he goes from the Angels in 1967, to the Phillies' San Diego AAA club in 1968. This article from the Buffalo Courier Express of March 15, 1968 does NOT help straighten things out:

In an article previewing the 1968 Buffalo AAA season: "Heading the list of candidates for the third base job is John Werhas.....Werhas, a third baseman most of his career, was purchased by the parent Washington Senators form the California Angels during the winter."

Well, that is wonderful. EXCEPT HE DIDN'T PLAY FOR BUFFALO THAT YEAR.

He went to San Diego, and then Hawaii in 1969. I haven't been able to find anything on those deals yet.

Then comes this for 1971 in the Times record of Troy, New York of Nov. 19, 1970..

"John Werhas, 32, an American Third baseman formerly with Los Angeles, California and the Pacific Coast league's Hawaii Islanders will play for the Central League's Taiyo Whales in 1911, Hie Japanese professional baseball club announced today."

This scanned article  from, I believe, a Honolulu newspaper, mentions Werhas was sold by Hawaii to Taiyo.

Werhas returned to the Hawaii club in a historical trade. From this SABR Asian Baseball Committee timeline entry:

'Former New York Yankee third-baseman Clete Boyer, now with the Pacific Coast Hawaii Islanders, is traded to the Taiyo Whales of Japan for John Werhas in what is billed as a “history-making deal … the first time that players were exchanged by American and Japanese teams.”

Werhas stayed with Hawaii until he was dealt to Eugene in a deal covered in the Joe Moeller blog entry last time.

Werhas is now a Senior Pastor at The Rock Community Church in Anaheim Hills, CA!

Chuck Cottier: An Angel Traded By the Pilots to the Indians

Just searching around for my next topic I stumbled across the minor league Baseball Reference page of Chuck Cottier.

He bounced around quite a bit as a player, and finished with a short stop as an Angel in 1968 and 1969.

His last two transactions listed on his major league page ...

• February 16, 1967: Purchased by the California Angels from the Washington Senators.
• April 6, 1970: Released by the California Angels. 

...that would make sense enough, but doesn't explain a 1968 stop at Portland in the Cleveland Indians system.

The truth is very strange. From  Spokane Daily Chronicle of May 14, 1968...

“The Portland Beavers and the Seattle Pilots have traded two second basemen.

The Pilots, an American League baseball team, paid an undisclosed amount of cash and traded Chuck Cottier of the Seattle Angels for Gus Gil of the Beavers.

Both the Angels and the Beavers are members of the Pacific Coast League.

The Cleveland Indians, the parent club of the Beavers, said Cottier will play for the Beavers beginning today. Gil will play for the Angels until the end of the 1968 season.”

SO. The PILOTS traded Cottier from the ANGELS to the INDIANS, in effect.

Yet, Cottier finished the season with the Angels!!!

From the Arizona Republic of Phoenix Weds. Aug. 7 1968... (no link, sorry)

(The Angels) “purchased the contract of veteran infielder Chuck Cottier from Portland”

That is a lot more complicated than a straight-up purchase.

From Gus Gil's Baseball-Reference major league page: 

  

May 13, 1968: Purchased by the Seattle Pilots from the Cleveland Indians. (Date given is approximate. Exact date is uncertain.)

Now we know what really happened!

Cottier from www.ootpdevelopments.com


 

 Gil swiped from flickr

Gathering Clues in a Larry Elliot Trade

Larry Elliot was a minor league slugger that made the majors for a few seasons with first Pittsburgh, then the Mets. As was the case with players such as Elliot, he bounced around for awhile in the AAA's for a few teams before calling it a career.

In 1968 Elliot starts the season with Vancouver, having been traded to the A's the year before. He moves to Seattle and the Angels' chain during the season, then back to the A's and AAA Iowa for 1968. Curious.

I found this article from The Des Moines Register of April 6, 1969, 

Parsing together the interesting pieces regarding the move of the Vancouver A's AAA team to Iowa:

" An indiscreet move had (cost?) Vancouver yet another muscleman before former lowan Phil Seghi was brought in as the new farm director. -  Phil's predecessor... gave outfielder Larry Elliot to Seattle in exchange for a first baseman who flopped."

Okay, I can't find right now who else was involved in that deal, so we go to the 1968 Vanouver Mounties Baseball Reference page  and see if we can find a first baseman who "flopped" after coming to Vancouver from Seattle.

The only player that fits the bill is Charlie Vinson!

For the entire season, Vinson hit just .215 with 6 HR and 24 RBI, while Elliot hit .232, 13 HR and 71 RBI. No Vancouver player hit more than 10 HR that season.

To be fair, the former Angel first baseman Vinson had several good AAA seasons afterward, while Elliot would have just one more year in baseball.

The Register article talked about how the Iowa club would be much better than they were in Vancouver. Well, the Mounties were 58-88, the Oaks were 62-88.

Elliot for Vinson in the trade, can someone find the date?

Elliot pic from Trading Card Database, Vinson from Baseball Birthdays

Wonderful Willie Smith is Traded for George Banks

Been awhile, but we have been searching for more undocumented or unfound trades.

George Banks was a slugging utility player for the Twins and Indians in the sixties. He had a hard time sticking with the big clubs and bounced around between there and AAA through 1966.

In 1967 his Baseball Reference minor league page shows him playing in the Angels system, in Seattle, but there is no transaction listed for this move.

Checking around the Googlesphere, I found a number of articles describing his season with Seattle, and that he was in Spring Training with the Angels before he was sent down. Nothing, though on any deal, until the always-reliable Toledo Blade came through. From the Oct. 17, 1966 paper:

"The Cleveland Indians traded infielder George Banks to the California Angels for outfielder Willie Smith yesterday."

Willie Smith! One of the all-time favorites from the 1969 Cubs, and a successful pitcher early in his career that switched to an outfielder/pinch-hitting specialist. Checking his Baseball Reference major league page, we find the following transaction listed:

"October 13, 1966: Purchased by the Cleveland Indians from the California Angels."

Well, now we know better!

George Banks from the Trading Card Database, Willie Smith from ootdevelopments.com!