Angels blog “Three Days Of Cryin’” interviewed Rick Burleson yesterday, the former Red Sox and Angels infielder. “Rooster” had some great stuff:
After becoming a Boston icon of sorts, you’re traded to
the Angels before the 1981 season. The trade wasn’t popular in
Boston. How did you feel, at the time, about being traded?I was being traded home. The stadium was twenty minutes from my
house so Anaheim was really the only place I would want to go if I was
traded. I wanted to stay in Boston for my whole career but I
understood that they wanted to trade me before I was eligible for free
agency. They did the same thing with Fred Lynn. They wanted to make
sure they got something for us. I was traded along with Butch Hobson
for Carney Lansford, Rick Miller, and Mark Clear. At least they got
something for me.Look at Fisk. They tendered his contract too late, he never even
saw it. They ended up getting no compensation for Fisk. He just
left. A modern GM might be hung if he allowed that to happen.