Welcome again to Great Moments in Fleece History, where we occasionally induct various baseball transactions into this dreary closet of extraordinary fleeces.   You can check them all out here.  Today, we induct the November 14, 2003 trade of A.J. Pierzynski to the Giants into the infamous Hall.

 

The Date: November 14, 2003

The Players: San Francisco GM Brian Sabean (the flecee) & Minnesota Twins GM Terry Ryan (the fleecer)

The Fleece:  Looking to fill a void behind the plate, the San Francisco Giants send Joe Nathan, Boof Bonser and Francisco Liriano to the Minnesota Twins for A.J. Pierzynski.

The Result: An absolute fleece.

Let’s set the scene here first. The San Francisco Giants are coming off a 101 win season in 2003, which resulted in a first round beating courtesy of the future World Champion Florida Marlins. More was expected out of the Giants, especially after being in the World Series the previous year and losing out to the Anaheim Angels in Game 7.

The dust had barely settled in the City by the Bay when Brian Sabean agreed to a deal to send Joe Nathan (12-4, 2.96 ERA in ‘03) and minor-leaguers Boof Bonser and Francisco Liriano to Minnesota for catcher A. J. Pierzynski.  Now, the Giants needed an upgrade at catcher.  Benito Santiago was not getting any younger. He had a decent ‘03 for the Giants with 11 HR, 56 RBI and a .276 BA.

(Side note: Could you imagine a young pitcher coming off a 12-4 season like Nathan had in ‘03 EVER getting traded in today’s MLB setting? I can’t.)

Sabean was looking north to Minnesota for a younger catcher who appeared to be on the upside - Pierzynski.  He came off of an ‘03 season in which he batted .312 with 11 HR and 74 RBI, while playing very good defense and showing a very good knack of handling the pitching staff.

So, in a moment that will forever go down as one that many Giants fans wish had never happened, Sabean offered up this unreal package to Terry Ryan for A. J. - Joe Nathan, along with Bonser and some oft-injured throw in named Liriano.

Well, Pierzynski helped the Giants with his 11 HR and career-high 77 RBI in the ‘04 season, but San Francisco missed out on the playoffs that season and Pierzynski was off to the Chicago White Sox where he became the target of hatred among most of MLB.

How’d the Twins side of that deal work out? Well, four seasons in the books and Nathan has 161 saves for the Twins with an ERA below 2.00, solidifying himself as one of the best relivers in the game…..oh, and in that time, the Giants have had the likes of Armando Benitez closing games for them.

Boof Bonser has been a decent SP for the Twins, going 15-18 with a 4.77 ERA.  He is a viable option as a #5 starter for a team like Minnesota. Bonser looks to be a nice piece to a small market team puzzle for the next 3 years or so.

Oh, and that throw in? Liriano exploded onto the scene in 2006 with a 12-3 record. His ERA was a pretty decent 2.16 and he struck out 177 batters in just 121 IP.  I’d say that is pretty good. He did hurt his elbow, though, late in the season and missed all of 2007 due to that injury.  He is expected back in ‘08 and if he is anywhere near the pitcher he was in ‘07….look out!

So, Brian Sabean, you’ve made your fair share of great moves throughout your career, but this one might be the worst of our generation if Liriano is healthy again.  You traded an ace, a top-5 closer and a useful pitcher for 1 year of a catcher, who hit 11 HR and drove in 70 runs, while being despised by opponents and his teammates.  Oh yeah, and Pudge Rodriguez was a FA that offseason….money would have been the only thing given up in that deal…ouch!

So, zipper up that fleece Mr. Sabean every time you see Nathan lock down a save or Liriano pitch a gem…

Filed under: Minnesota Twins, San Francisco Giants, _Great Moments in Fleece History