Milt Pappas - Cincinnati Reds

Cincinnati Reds

In December 1965, Pappas and another pitcher, Jack Baldschun, and outfielder Dick Simpson, were traded to the Cincinnati Reds for superstar Frank Robinson. Reds president Bill DeWitt believed that Robinson was "not a young 30." The outrage from the Cincinnati fans over the deal made it difficult for Pappas to adjust to pitching in Cincinnati. (The trade has been made famous in the 1988 movie Bull Durham, where Susan Sarandon's character says, "Bad trades are a part of baseball, I mean who can forget Frank Robinson for Milt Pappas, for God's sake?") He posted a winning record in 1966 (12–11), but with a 4.29 ERA—more than a run above his career ERA to that point. That same year, Robinson won the American League Triple Crown and Most Valuable Player Award, and led the Orioles to winning the World Series, in which he won that MVP award. In 1967 Pappas won a team- and career-high 16 games, but when he got off to a slow start in 1968, the Reds traded him to the Atlanta Braves in a six-player deal, receiving starting pitcher Tony Cloninger, relief pitcher Clay Carroll, and infielder Woody Woodward.

Pappas's inconsistency during his stay in Cincinnati was only part of the reason the Reds traded him. After the 1966 season Pappas and veteran pitcher Joe Nuxhall exchanged harsh words through the media. Nuxhall claimed that Pappas was not giving 100 percent and that he had to start in place of Pappas twice during the season because Pappas was suffering from "migraines." The following season, Pappas complained that the Reds were violating the contracts of their players by not allowing them to fly first-class. He was especially upset that Nuxhall, by now a broadcaster, was himself flying first-class while Milt and the other players had to sit in tourist. In 1968, Pappas criticized the club when they refused to cancel a game the day of Senator Robert F. Kennedy's funeral. These controversies, combined with his performance, prompted the Reds to trade Pappas to Atlanta.