May 01, 2012

1976 Topps Traded: The Missing Cards - #125T Don Baylor


The seminal Oakland/Baltimore trade of April 1976 is often remembered as Reggie Jackson's departure from Oakland. But what about Baylor? Here was a slugger entering his prime, two years away from being named American League MVP (1979). And while Baltimore essentially leased Jackson for the 1976 season, it was really that both teams were lessees: by the start of the 1977 season, of all the players involved in the trade only one player remained with his team: Paul Mitchell with the A's, and even Mitchell was gone midway through 1977 in a trade with Seattle. Baylor signed with the Angels and Ken Holtzman, Reggie Jackson, and Mike Torrez all joined the Yankees.

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