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!

The Loaning of Ken Hamlin

Sometimes you just randomly pick a player on Baseball Reference and you come up with a story.

Ken Hamlin was an infielder during the sixties, mostly spent in the Washington Senators organization. In looking at his minor league career, he spent the 1963 season at Rochester of the Baltimore organization.

There was no transaction listed associated with that move, so it was off to the detecting.

I found this:

"On A Silver Diamond"

A neat series on the Rochester Red Wings that takes you season-by-season. This includes this passage:

" in mid-spring, when Ken Hamlin was assigned to Rochester by the Washington Senators as payment for a “look” at pitcher Tom Baker." (NOT DR. WHO!)

So! We look at Tom Baker's Baseball Reference page,  where we find these:
  
January 19, 1963: Sent to the Washington Senators by the Baltimore Orioles as part of a conditional deal.
 March 26, 1963: Returned by the Washington Senators to the Baltimore Orioles as part of a conditional deal.

Now we know, that deal was loaning Hamlin to Rochester. Hamlin played for Rochester the entire season then returned to the Senators. Baker was sold to the Cubs a couple months later, where he had a couple games in the majors.

So we find the details of the transaction! Just as good as an unknown...is completing an incomplete.

 Tom Baker on the Cubs from http://www.cubsanappreciation.yolasite.com/the-cubs-a-through-z-project.php

Ken Hamlin from Topps.com