Cincinnati Reds: Three most foolish trades in team history

2. Frank Robinson (1966)

I’m sure there are loads of fans reading this right now thinking, “How in the world is Frank Robinson not No. 1?” That’s a good question, and one we’ll answer in the next slide, but Frank Robinson’s trade to the Baltimore Orioles following the 1965 season was one of the most foolish trades in the history Major League Baseball.

Frank Robinson is a Hall of Famer. That should be more than enough, but in case you didn’t know, Robinson is a former Rookie of the Year, 14-time All-Star, two-time MVP, two-time World Champion and won the Triple Crown in 1966. Yes, Robinson won led the league in batting average, home runs and RBIs the year he was traded away from the Cincinnati Reds.

Not only was Robinson traded to the Orioles following a 10-year career in the Queen City, the slugger had 324 home runs with a .303 batting average, an MVP and six All-Star appearances before being dealt to Baltimore for Milt Pappas, Jack Baldschun and Dick Simpson. Who?

After the trade to Baltimore, Robinson would finish in the Top 3 for the AL MVP vote three times, winning the award in 1966. He’d make several more All-Star Games over the remainder of his career and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982. Frank Robinson was one of the greatest players to ever wear a Reds uniform.