Chiti Perfect Player to Be Named Later

The worst trade in baseball history? Ken Tingley isn’t sure but he knows the goofiest.

Tingley is the sports editor of the Oneonta (N.Y.) Daily Star. After doing considerable research on trades at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in nearby Cooperstown, he wrote:

“Perhaps the most embarrassing trade involved a journeyman catcher named Harry Chiti.

“Chiti, who played just 500 games in 10 years, was acquired by the New York Mets in 1962, a team desperately in need of a catcher. Actually, a team desperately in need of pitching, infielders and outfielders as well.

“They got Chiti instead, making a deal with the Cleveland Indians for cash and a player to be named at the end of the season.

“Chiti was supposed to help with the Mets power shortage and he did swing a big bat. He just never made contact.

“The season went on. The Mets lost. Chiti couldn’t hit. The Mets lost. Chiti couldn’t catch. The Mets lost. Chiti couldn’t run.

“At the end of the season, there was an announcement, one of those small items that show up in the papers under transactions in small print.

“Harry Chiti had been sent to the Cleveland Indians to complete an earlier trade with the Tribe.

“Chiti had been traded for himself.”

10 Years Ago Today: On Oct. 21, 1975, Carlton Fisk homered in the 12th inning to give Boston a 7-6 win over Cincinnati in the sixth game of the World Series. In what some have called the most exciting game in Series history, pinch-hitter Bernie Carbo of Boston had tied the score at 6-6 with a three-run homer in the eighth inning.

Trivia Time: In the third game of the 1975 World Series, won by Cincinnati, 6-5, in 10 innings, Boston catcher Carlton Fisk threw wildly to second on a bunt and then argued unsuccessfully that the Cincinnati hitter had interfered with him. Who was the Cincinnati hitter? (Answer below.)

Add Forgettable Quotes: Oregon football Coach Rich Brooks told the Seattle Times in August: “I think there are eight teams in this league capable of beating each other, and we’re one of them. The only two that aren’t are Oregon State and Cal.”

Naturally, that made the bulletin board at Cal, and the Ducks paid the price Saturday, 27-24. Meanwhile, Oregon State was knocking off Washington, 21-20.

It was reported in this space recently that Phoenix Suns rookie Georgi Glouckov, a native of Bulgaria, had learned two phrases in English. One was “Phoenix Suns.” The other was “Pretty girl.”

Glouckov has since added two more. One is “Give me five.” The other is “One vodka, no ice.”

Said Joe Theismann after the Washington Redskins dropped to 3-4 Sunday: “Every cloud has a silver lining, but I’m getting tired of standing in the rain.”

Colorado State running back Steve Bartalo, who gained 207 yards in the 35-19 loss to the Air Force, said he almost became a Falcon.

“I got as far as filling out the forms,” Bartalo told the Denver Post. “I always liked the way Air Force played. But when I sat down to fill out the forms, they told me everything had to be in triplicate. I figured if it took that long, then the military wasn’t for me.”

Trivia Answer: Pinch-hitter Ed Armbrister.

Quotebook

Defensive end Andre Todd of Oregon State, asked how he managed to block the punt that upset Washington Saturday: “I’m fast.”