Today marks the 31st anniversary of a unique trade in Cardinals history. On August 16th, 1988, the Cardinals dealt southpaw John Tudor to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Pedro Guerrero. Tudor fortified the Dodgers for their pennant chase while Guerrero offered the Cardinals some much-needed thump in the middle of the lineup. It’s a fascinating trade in many ways because it’s the kind of deal that rarely happens today.
The Situation
The Cardinals were 18.5 games back of first place in mid-August. Even if the Wild Card had existed at the time, their season would have been over with a disappointing 52-66 record.