Winter Trade Winds

Do you remember collecting baseball cards in grammar school? If you're a big baseball fan, like me, it's probably one of your fondest memories.

There was nothing quite like opening a new pack of Topps cards, stuffing the rock-hard piece of gum into your mouth, and checking to see if your favorite players were in the pack.

I always got more cavities in baseball season.

There was always one player whose card I could never get, no matter how many packs I bought. They just never made enough Jerry Koosman cards. To complete my all-Met team, I always had to find another kid who had Kooz, and trade for him.

The problem with trading for Koosman was that the other kid always knew I wanted him. He wouldn't trade with me unless. I offered a Hall-of-Famer or two in return.

So I either had to go without Koosman on my all-card team, or give up Reggie Jackson or Pete Rose. I always made the deal. I never liked Reggie or Pete anyway.

That's why I would make a lousy General Manager. Most good major-league G.M.s are like the kid with Jerry Koosman. They'll make a deal with you, but only if you're willing to give up an All-Star.

This week, those G.M.s are in Dallas for the annual baseball winter meetings, trading players just like I used to trade their cards. A left-handed pitcher for a righty slugger, a catcher who can hit for an ace reliever.

The executives just have to look at the World Series champions to see how much a single key acquisition can improve their ballclubs. The Minnesota Twins acquired the player they needed, reliever Jeff Reardon, last winter, and Reardon propelled his new team past the Cards in the Series.

There should be a lot of deals in Dallas this week, since there are so many teams that are just one piece away from completing their puzzle. Most teams are in the same position that the Twins were in last year.

Parity is the rule in the Major Leagues now. Teams are good for a year, and then mediocre. Three of the four division winners in 1986 had sub-.500 records in '87. In the last 10 years, 10 different teams have won the World Series.

So this week, the teams who were just one player away in 1987 are trying to find him, so they can win it all in 1988. The right trade can bring home a World Series ring.

Rumors, Rumors

So far, there has been only one minor trade--the Tigers sent pitcher Dan Petry to the Angels for outfielder Gary Pettis, but rumors of bigger deals abound.

Cincinnati's Dave Parker may be headed to the Yankees, while the Mets are trying to unload Mookie Wilson and Jesse Orosco. Seattle's Phil Bradley and L.A.'s Mike Marshall are also on the trading block, and the Blue Jays may be trying to ditch Dave Stieb. The Blue Jays and the Red Sox seem ready to trade some prospects, while the Yanks may make a deal with the White Sox.

And everyone seems to want starting pitching. And a healthy power-hitting catcher. A shortstop who has some speed would be nice. What about a .300-hitting first-baseman? Or a switch-hitting third-baseman?

It's not easy being general manager. You have to figure out who to use, when to use him, and how much you will have to give up for him. But it's a job that I, and any other baseball fan would give an arm--or at least a sore arm--to do.

All baseball fans imagine what trades they would make to improve their teams. And when the trades are actually made, they provide plenty of interesting questions for the fans.

From a fan's perspective, trades are the only good things that happen in the off-season. All other baseball news over the winter involves injuries, arrests or salary disputes. During the off-season, trades are the only things that keep a fan thinking about what's important--next year and opening day.

Can we afford to give up the veteran? Where will he hit in the lineup? Will he break the rotation, or will we use him in the bullpen? Will that rookie be as good as he's supposed to be?

It's what baseball, and being a baseball fan, is all about.