DBWI: Brewers-Braves Blockbuster Doesn't Happen

Looking back, the blockbuster trade between the Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves during the 1988 Winter Meetings was probably one of the most lopsided in the last three decades.

Atlanta traded starting pitchers Tom Glavine and John Smoltz with outfield prospect David Justice to the Milwaukee Brewers for starting pitcher Ted Higuera and first baseman Joey Meyer. Higuera was okay for a couple of years before back and shoulder injuries ended his career. Meyer had three years as a decent first baseman for Atlanta before he was out of baseball because he kept pushing 300 pounds.

Glavine, Smoltz, Don August, Jamie Navarro, and Chris Bosio, though, ended up becoming a dominant rotation in the AL as the Brewers went to the ALCS for seven straight years, winning the AL pennant five times, and taking home the World Series championship three times.

Justice ended up joining Gary Sheffield and Greg Vaughn as the young sluggers that joined Molitor and Yount in powering the Brewers offense, not that they needed offense with the rotation they had!

Do the Brewers become a championship team by keeping Higuera? Or was this trade what they needed to become champs?
 
Well for one, it might be possible the Brewers are the team that goes to the NL rather than the Kansas City Royals (OOC: In OTL, the Royals actually were the first team to be approached about switching leagues back in 1997). I mean, as someone who is loving how intense the Royals-Cardinals rivalry has gotten in the last 3 years, it would take a lot of the edge off the rivalry if they weren't in the same league. The Brewers at that point were an also-ran franchise that no one outside of Milwaukee cared about and if this trade doesn't happen, maybe that continues and Selig jumps on changing leagues to make his team more competitive. This trade made the AL a hell of a lot more exciting and jump-started the Yankees-Brewers rivalry as the teams clashed for supremacy in the AL East until 1994 and then in the postseason from then on out. Not to mention the rivalry they had with the Indians burned up hot too. With guys like Glavine, Smoltz, Griffey, Thome, Jeter and so on and so forth, that one trade made the AL the dominant league in baseball for a generation. I can't imagine how things would turn out without that trade. Maybe the Braves don't change their name to the Thrashers in 1997 with the trade. Hell, maybe they even win a World Series. Who knows?
 
Well for one, it might be possible the Brewers are the team that goes to the NL rather than the Kansas City Royals (OOC: In OTL, the Royals actually were the first team to be approached about switching leagues back in 1997). I mean, as someone who is loving how intense the Royals-Cardinals rivalry has gotten in the last 3 years, it would take a lot of the edge off the rivalry if they weren't in the same league. The Brewers at that point were an also-ran franchise that no one outside of Milwaukee cared about and if this trade doesn't happen, maybe that continues and Selig jumps on changing leagues to make his team more competitive. This trade made the AL a hell of a lot more exciting and jump-started the Yankees-Brewers rivalry as the teams clashed for supremacy in the AL East until 1994 and then in the postseason from then on out. Not to mention the rivalry they had with the Indians burned up hot too. With guys like Glavine, Smoltz, Griffey, Thome, Jeter and so on and so forth, that one trade made the AL the dominant league in baseball for a generation. I can't imagine how things would turn out without that trade. Maybe the Braves don't change their name to the Thrashers in 1997 with the trade. Hell, maybe they even win a World Series. Who knows?

I think it helped that the Brewers decided to hire Bill James to consult for them. The only time the team disregarded his advice was when he suggested they let Molitor and Yount walk as free agents after 1992. Yount, especially was declining after the 1992 season, but I remember Bud Selig's comment: "Yount and Molitor have given too much to Brewers fans to see them don any other uniform. They will be Brewers for life if that is what they want." Yount retired after the 1995 season, and Molitor hung around until after the 2000 season.

That move bought the Brewers enough good will when they had to start a rebuilding process when Molitor retired. Of course, now they are dominating again.
 
The Brewers are probably mediocre throughout the 90s as a result. They'd have some talent, but losing 3 big pieces would be felt keenly. Then again, maybe what they had was enough to get good for a few seasons and steal a World Series, hard to say. I lean towards not, though.

As for the Braves? They might be less middling in the 90s if those three panned out in Atlanta. Heck, even two of them working out would've helped. Coaching turnover in the 90s was a problem for the Braves, so more success may have stopped that and provided needed stability.
 
The Brewers are probably mediocre throughout the 90s as a result. They'd have some talent, but losing 3 big pieces would be felt keenly. Then again, maybe what they had was enough to get good for a few seasons and steal a World Series, hard to say. I lean towards not, though.

As for the Braves? They might be less middling in the 90s if those three panned out in Atlanta. Heck, even two of them working out would've helped. Coaching turnover in the 90s was a problem for the Braves, so more success may have stopped that and provided needed stability.

I think the Brewers still trade Jim Gantner to the Orioles for Curt Schilling in the 1989-1990 offseason, though. Baltimore wanted an upgrade for Bill Ripken,and Milwaukee decided to fill out their bullpen Deciding to clear second base for Bill Spiers so Gary Sheffield could stay at shortstop was going to happen regardless. Schilling was an excellent replacement for Don August in the 1990 rotation after August was injured - so good that the Brewers flipped August and Todd Dunn to the White Sox for Frank Thomas.

Higuera's injury problems probably mean Schilling is in the rotation, and we know how good HE was for the Crew. Remember his bloody sock in the 2000 World Series against the Mets in Molitor's last game?

Hollywood even fell in love with the Brewers. Brad Pitt won an Oscar for Best Actor when he played Brewers skipper Tom Trebelhorn in Brewtown in 2008.
 
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