The Top 16 franchise-making trades in Atlanta Braves history
By Fred Owens
13. The Redhead
1957 – RED SCHOENDIENST / NY GIANTS
In the first months of the 1957 MLB season, the Milwaukee Braves stayed or near the top of the table, dropping back to fourth, then clawing their way to first on June 15.
That’s the day they traded three players to the New York Giants for a difference-maker: second baseman Red Schoendienst.
At 34-years-old, Schoendienst already owned a World Series championship, four top-10 MVP finishes and nine All-Star Game nods.
He still hit 20-plus doubles a year, batted .300, got on base at a .350 clip and played superb defense. Those skills plugged technical gaps, but his presence lifted the team. Hank Aaron revealed how much in an interview later.
"When Red donned a Braves uniform, Aaron said, “It made us all feel like Superman. We knew he was going to mean so much to our ballclub that wouldn’t show up in the box score. … (H)e definitely became the leader of that ballclub.”"
The team misjudged Schoendienst’s offense. He ended the year leading all second basemen with a .309/.344/.451 line, 118 wRC+ and 5.1 fWAR.
After joining the Braves, “The Redhead” appeared in 93 games and batted .310/.348/.434/.782 including 23 doubles, four triples and six homers.
He walked 23 times while striking out only seven (yes, seven ) in 426 plate appearances. Today, we calculate those numbers and his defense with a value of 3.9 bWAR, 3.3 fWAR, 118 wRC+ and a wOBA of .348.
He played in 106 games the following year but wasn’t well. After the 1958 World Series, Schoendienst found he had Tuberculosis and, “had probably been playing with it for years.”
Doctors removed part of one lung at his request to speed his recovery.
He left the hospital on March 24, 1959, and appeared as a pinch-hitter on Sept. 2, 1959. Schoendienst entered the National Baseball Hall of Fame via the Veteran’s Committee in 1989. In his speech, he told us all why his teammates valued him so highly.
"“I never thought that milk truck ride (to St Louis) would eventually lead to Cooperstown and baseball’s highest honor. . .I would play any position my manager asked. Whatever it took to win, I was willing to do. All I ever wanted was to be on that lineup card and become a champion.”"
Schoendienst died on June 6, 2018, at the age of 95.
Next: A fight between the Chicago Cubs owner and his player/manager sent the best second baseman in the league – and the World Series – to the Braves.