Worst trade in Cleveland history? It makes the Colavito trade look good:
April 17, 1960: Rocky Colavito traded by the Cleveland Indians to the Detroit Tigers for Harvey Kuenn.
April 19, 1960: Detroit opened in Cleveland.
In 1959 Kuenn led the American League in batting average (BA) and Colavito tied with Harmon Killebrew for most home runs with 42. In 1958 Colavito hit 41, one behind Mickey Mantle's 42, which included two inside the park.
The Colavito - Kuenn trade made a little sense, especially back then when BA was such a big deal. But Norm Cash must have been banished. Steve Demeter did almost nothing in the big leagues in 1959 and 1960.
On April 12, as the Tribe headed north from Tucson at the conclusion of spring training, Cash found himself traded yet again. This time, he was dispatched to Detroit in exchange for outfielder Steve Demeter. Detroit general manager Rick Ferrell was dumbfounded when Frank Lane, his Cleveland counterpart, offered Cash for Demeter, unsure if he meant “cold cash or Norm Cash?”2 While Demeter’s career with the Indians consisted of merely four games, Cash became a fixture at first base in Detroit for 15 years. Lane was not through making controversial trades with the Tigers. Five days later, he sent Rocky Colavito to Michigan for Harvey Kuenn, and later in 1960, the two clubs swapped managers, Joe Gordon for Jimmie Dykes.
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Cash had personal problems, which led to his early death after a near Hall of Fame career. In 1961, his second season with Detroit, Cash led AL in Hits, BA, OBP, OPS, IBB. Cash was second to Mantle:
OPS+ 206, 201
WAR 10.5, 9.2
oWAR 10.6, 8.5
| 1. | Maris • NYY | 61 |
| 2. | Mantle • NYY | 54 |
| 3. | Killebrew • MIN | 46 |
| Gentile • BAL | 46 | |
| 5. | Colavito • DET | 45 |
| 6. | Cash • DET | 41 |
| 7. | Allison • MIN | 29 |
| 8. | Skowron • NYY | 28 |
| Smith • CHW | 28 | |
| Wagner • LAA | 28 |
| 1. | Gentile • BAL | 141 |
| Maris • NYY | 141 | |
| 3. | Colavito • DET | 140 |
| 4. | Cash • DET | 132 |
| 5. | Mantle • NYY | 128 |
| 6. | Killebrew • MIN | 122 |
| 7. | Allison • MIN | 105 |
| 8. | Siebern • KCA | 98 |
| 9. | Kirkland • CLE | 95 |
| 10. | Smith • CHW |
Norm Cash played 17 years with OPS+ 139. Cash died in 1986 one month short of his 52nd birthday.
https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/b683238c
... Cash had been drinking.29 After dinner, he returned to the dock to check on his boat after dinner. Unable to navigate the slippery pier in cowboy boots, he fell into the water and could not pull himself out.30 The next morning, he was found floating in 15 feet of water in St. James Bay.31 Norman Dalton Cash was pronounced dead on October 12, 1986.
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