On December 12, 1980 the Milwaukee Brewers executed what will go down as one of the more lopsided trades in baseball history, and one of the few pre-Doug Melvin era barterings that found Milwaukee benefiting significantly. The Brewers sent beloved slugger Sixto Lezcano, minor league OF David Green along with pitchers Dave LaPoint and Larry Sorensen packing. In return, they got three players you may have heard of – Ted Simmons, Pete Vuckovich and Rollie Fingers.

Before Leaving Town:
Over parts of seven seasons, all for Milwaukee, Sixto Joaquin (Curras) Lezcano clubbed 102 homers, maintained a respectable, high .200s batting average anually and flashed a gold glove in the outfield.

The Return:
Pete Vuckovich’s career started pretty well with a 53-43 record in parts of six seasons with the White Sox, Blue Jays and Cardinals. He was months removed from a 12-9, 3.40 ERA season in which he threw seven complete games and three shutouts.

Between 1968 and 1980 (before the trade) Rollie Fingers logged 221 saves and five all-star selections for the A’s and Padres. He was traded to St. Louis by San Diego and spent four days as a Cardinal that offseason before being packaged in the Lezcano deal.

The original Simba routinely hit 20-plus homers and neared, if not topped, 100 RBI most seasons. Prior to his inclusion in the trade, he clubbed over 150 homers and was a six-time all-star catcher.

The Payoff:
Cardinals - In his only Cardinals campaign, Lezcano disappointed by playing just 72 games and putting up 5 HR, 28 RBI and hitting just .266. But prior to the 1982 season, Lezcano was the main piece of a deal that netted the Cards Ozzie Smith.

David Green never had much success in the six seasons. Dave LaPoint had an OK career with an 80-86 lifetime record as a starter over 12 seasons (non-consecutive parts of five for St. Louis) and Larry Sorensen, once an 18-game winner for Milwaukee, never equaled his early success in the seven seasons that followed the trade.

Brewers - Vuck went 18-6 and captured the AL Cy Young in the memorable 1982 season. He finished his career as a Brewer and, with Uecker, helped make the film Major League even more incredible. He’ll die an icon of Brewers history.

Fingers won the MVP, Cy Young and Rolaids Relief Man of the Year awards in 1981. He, too, ended his career as a Brewer, but not after representing them in two all-star games and playing a pivotal role in obtaining their 1982 pennant. He finished his 17-year career with a lifetime 2.90 ERA. In 1992, Fingers was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame and has his number retired by Milwaukee.

Simmons put together some seasons for Milwaukee that ranged from decent to good. He was an all-star in 1981 and 1983, and also a major component behind the plate for the ’82 pennant team. As most know, he returned to Milwaukee in 2008 to serve as bench coach, but was reassigned when fellow former Brewers catcher Ned Yost was fired 150 games into the season.

Turned Into:
As mentioned, Lezcano was an integral ingredient in St. Louis obtaining HOF shortstop Ozzie Smith, but otherwise nothing too notable came from the others given up by Milwaukee.

The Brewers eventually traded Ted Simmons to Atlanta as part of a deal that brought them Rick Cerone, David Clay and Flavio Alforo – none of which did anything of note for Milwaukee, or any other team.

The Winner:
Milwaukee by a landslide. Giving up 1.5 players of note and getting three unforgettable Brew Town figures totaling one MVP a Hall of Fame spot, two Cy Young awards and four all-star bids in return is the best case scenario in any trade ever. Milwaukee’s haul and the Cardinals’ flipping of Lezcano to get Ozzie Smith helped both clubs climb the standings to face one another in the 1982 World Series where, unlike in the trade, St. Louis won.

Jeffrey Howard Cirillo is a name that will live on forever in Brewers lore. Though not a Yount, Molitor or Cooper, Cirillo is a working class hero, a homegrown phenomenon who epitomized the essentials – moxie, grit, and blue collar work ethic. He is the all-time Brewers career batting average leader and a RFB favorite/guest poster. But as the immense threats of Y2K and the Spice Girls loomed in December of 1999, ‘Rillo’s Brewer career was interrupted when he was package with Scott Karl and cash in a three-way deal that sent him to Colorado and garnered the Brewers the return of Jimmy Haynes, Henry Blanco and Jamey Wright.

Before Leaving Town:
Over part of six seasons (including a strike-shortened 1994), Cirillo thrice hit over .300. Beyond his first season, his fielding percentage was always at or above .950, despite being moved between first, third, second and shortstop in the span. His lone Brewers all-star appearance came in 1997.

The Return:
In five seasons spent between Baltimore and Oakland Jimmy Haynes went a combined 26-34. 199 marked his worst season to date, finding him with a 7-12 record and 6.34 E.R.A in 30 games. Jamey Wright, brother of equally bad pitcher Jaret Wright, was 25-33 in his first four Major League seasons. At just 24 years old and coming off a decent 1999 season (4.87 E.R.A mostly in a hitter’s ballpark), Wright possessed considerable upside when he came to Milwaukee. Henry Blanco came off two less than impressive seasons spent between the Dodgers and Rockies, his first two professional seasons. But his defense made him worthy of inclusion in the trade.

The Payoff:
Cirillo was an all-star for the Rockies in 2000 with 11 homers, 115 RBI, 53 doubles, a .326 batting average and just short of 200 hits. It bears mention that He was traded to Seattle in 2002 for three players, one of which was Brian Fuentes. As most know, ‘Rillo returned to Milwaukee at the twilight of his playing days to provide veteran leadership in 2005 and 2006.

Haynes went 20-30 in two seasons as a Brewers starter. He posted E.R.A.s of 5.33 and 4.85 in the time frame. Wright pitched decently well in his first two seasons as a Brewer. He went 18-21 and kept his E.R.A. in the manageable low 4.00s – but made almost $3.5 M in the time. Sadly, he was resigned for $4.25 M in 2002, only to suck out loud and be traded to St. Louis. Blanco proved to be an alright pickup, but far from great as a cheap part-time backstop. Both Wright and Blanco were still active in 2008.

Turned Into:
Blanco was traded to the Braves for Jose Cabrera and Paul Bako (who was eventually traded to the Cubs for RYAN HOWARD…Gripp, a minor leaguer who amounted to nothing). Wright was resigned, but flipped to St. Louis for minor leaguers Chris Morris and Mike Matthews.

The Winner:
The Rockies – easily. They emerged with an all-star (who was then traded for another all-star). The Brewers, though handed parts to toss out on the field of play, lost an all-star, a fan favorite and Brew City icon for a fairly dismal period – and didn’t even save much money in doing so. And Paul Bako isn’t exactly Brain Fuentes in terms of extended return.

This installment of Trade Post proves a bit more difficult than others because this particular trade involves two of my favorite Brewers all-time. On August 31, 1996 the Milwaukee Brewers sent third baseman Kevin Seitzer to Cleveland for a fairly unknown outfielder named Jeromy Burnitz.

Before Leaving Town:
At age 34, Seitzer had been to two all-star games, including one as a Brewer in the preceding 1995 season. In 1987, as a member of the Royals, Seitzer led the American League with 207 hits. Including the partial (132 games) in ’96, he’d surpassed the .300 batting average mark in three straight seasons (.314, .311, .316) prior to being dealt.

The Return:
At 27, Jeromy Burnitz was on his second team and had yet to do anything significant at the big league level apart for hitting a respectable 13 homers in his rookie season. At the time of the waiver trade with Milwaukee, Burnitz was amid a decent, albeit abbreviated season in a part time role. The Indians were in the running for the AL Central title (which they eventually won) and the Brewers were… well, not. With the Brewers on the hook for Seitzer’s, at the time, crippling $1.25 M salary and Burnitz under-utilized and unproven at $190,000 – the deal made sense for both teams involved.

The Payoff:
Seitzer finished 1996 hitting .386 as an Indian (32 for 83) and was perfect in the field. He proved a quality component in Cleveland’s playoff run. However, in the 1997 season – the last of his 12-season career, he hit .268 in just 64 games with just 24 RBI.

As most Brewer fans know, Jeromy Burnitz blossomed in a Brewers uniform. He hit a total of 165 homers and thrice reached the 100 RBI plateau in Milwaukee. He played in one all-star game (1999) and co-starring with Richie Sexson and Geoff Jenkins in parts of his five-plus years as a Brewer. Burnitz’s career ended in 2006 with over 300 HR and just under 1000 RBI.

Turned Into:
Prior to the 2002 season, Jeromy was the gemstone of a three-team, 10-player trade between the Brewers, Rockies and Mets. The Brewers sent Burnitz and three other players to New York for (ugh) Alex Ochoa, Lenny Harris and Glendon Rusch.

The Winner:
Milwaukee - hands down. Beyond the extra playoff help in 1996, Kevin Seitzer did little to help the tribe, whereas Burnitz put together some great (and cheap) seasons for some terrible Brewer teams. His name will live on in Brewers lore, despite his only racking up some very impressive numbers in some of the teams’ worst chapters.

Trade Post will look extensively into deals throughout Brewers history and weigh in on whether the trade was ultimately a good one for Milwaukee, while taking numerous factors into account. I figure there are few better places to start this offseason feature than to gaze back at a sad day in Brewers history – the day Milwaukee sent Greg Vaughn packing.

Before Leaving Town:
After Robin Yount retired, Vaughn was anointed leader and superstar of some terrible teams of the green logo years. He twice represented the team as an All-Star. In less than eight seasons of play (closer to seven), Vaughn clubbed 169 homers, including 31 by the trade deadline of 1996 – the year before he was to become a free agent. His value at the time of the trade was as lofty as the Brewers loss total, so the front office’s desire to have at least some of his $5.875 M salary picked up by someone else before Greg took his walking papers was somewhat understandable.

The Return:
On July 31, 1996 Milwaukee sent Vaughn and a player to be named later (Gerald Parent) to San Diego for 26-year-old RHP Bryce Florie, 26-year-old LHP Ron Villone and 23-year-old OF/DH Marc Newfield. Both Villone and Newfield were early first round draft picks of the ‘90s who hadn’t played to expectations to that point, so Milwaukee’s motive seemed to be shedding some of Vaughn’s salary, while fielding a bullpen/bench for the future – and capitalizing on whatever upside they possessed. Each of the players Milwaukee received had at least one year remaining on their contract at the time of the trade.

The Payoff:
Vaughn went on to resign with San Diego for more than Milwaukee could afford and put together a pretty good career for himself as a Padre, Red and Devil Ray. He made two more All-Star games. He became a member of the 50 HR Club in 1998. Gerald Parent didn’t do dick.

Florie pretty much stunk as a Brewer. In the remainder of 1996 and all of 1997 he pitched primarily out of the bullpen. He pitched 47 games total (94 innings) going 4-5 with an ERA close to five. Newfield went on to hit 11 homers and knock in 74 RBI… over two and a half seasons as a Brewer. He was released in 1998 and his career was over at age 25. Ron Villone put up great numbers for the Brewers in 73 appearances in a season and a half. His ERA was in the low threes in both Brew City campaigns.

Turned Into:
Villone was eventually packaged with Ben McDonald and Mike Fetters in a 1997 trade that brought Jeff Juden and Marquis Grissom to town.

The Winner:
San Diego. Though Milwaukee was able to field a team of low-paid/once promising players and obtain Ron Villone to shut the previously gaping door in his relief appearances, the Padres managed to sign re-sign Vaughn and get a 50 HR season out of him. The Brewers saved some money, but emerged on the wrong side of the trade with a black eye on its history by letting a homegrown superstar go in the bleakest of times.