UNIONDALE, N.Y. — It was a transaction not worth mentioning in the newspapers at the time, a minor-league deal between the Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals that did not even create a blip on baseball’s radar screen. The Phillies got a 27-year-old catcher who barely had a triple-A resume. The Cardinals received a 24-year-old infielder who had been a fifth-round pick, but would never get higher than the triple-A level.
Twenty-eight years later, it ranks as one of the best deals Lee Thomas made during his decade as the Phillies general manager and it is the only one still reaping benefits for the organization.