Philadelphia Phillies: 15 best trades in franchise history
By Tim Boyle
10) Best Philadelphia Phillies trade: Jim Bunning from the Tigers.
A Hall of Famer and a politician, Jim Bunning did a lot. In 1964, his first year with the Phillies, he added a perfect game to his resume.
Bunning had been a successful pitcher for the Detroit Tigers for several seasons. After the 1963 campaign, his tenure in the Motor City came to an end. Along with Gus Triandos—a name you may recognize most if you watched The Wire—the Phillies picked up an absolute gem of a player. The Tigers would receive Don Demeter and Jack Hamilton in the deal.
Demeter was a decent hitter with some power but age was catching up with him. He would only play two more years of 100 games or more. Hamilton was a young pitcher at the time. Unfortunately, his Tigers days included a 9.78 ERA in 19.1 innings of work.
This wasn’t just a poor trade for the Tigers. It was a great one for the Phillies. Bunning won 19 games in each of his first three seasons. In year number four, he settled for 17 and a career-best 2.29 ERA while tossing 302.1 innings. He finished second in the Cy Young race that year.
Although the timing didn’t work out for the Phillies to go to the postseason with Bunning on their side, he was no doubt one of the best pitchers they had for such a short period of time.