1995 was a pivotal year for the Detroit Tigers as a franchise. Sparky Anderson retired. Joe Klein was the 4th GM fired in the decade. Fan favorites David Wells and Tony Phillips were traded to save money and Alan Trammell was a year away from retirement. With the team in a strange limbo of trying to find an identity, the Tigers signed Randy Smith to lead the helm. Quickly, Smith made his impression with 8 trades from his signing in the winter of 1995 to what would be a regular theme among the Smith era, the trade deadline deal with trade number 9 for Damion Easley.