Billy Beane’s Track Record Post Mulder, Hudson Deals
By Jason Burke
Sep 10, 2013; Minneapolis, MN, USA; An Oakland Athletics hat and glove rest on the steps of the dugout during the game against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. The Twins won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
In Billy we trust, right? The A’s General Manager has been deemed a genius by the baseball world, and not many in Oakland would argue that point. For a little exercise, I thought it would be fun, and quite possibly horrifying, to see what Billy Beane has been up the past ten years.
Let’s start by taking a look at the track record of Billy Beane since the infamous winter of 2004, when Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson were traded. December 16th, 2004. The first shoe drops, and Tim Hudson, arguably the biggest of the “Big Three” is traded to the Atlanta Braves for Dan Meyer, Juan Cruz and Charles Thomas. Meyer was consistently bitten with the injury bug, and only pitched 44 innings, over two seasons with the Athletics. In his one season in Oakland, Cruz made 28 appearances, to the tune of a 7.44 ERA. He was traded in March of 2006 for Brad Halsey, who recently passed away. Charles Thomas had five hits with the A’s in 2005, his final big league season.
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It is also worth mentioning that the A’s traded Nelson Cruz (averaging 29 home runs a season since 2009) and Justin Lehr to the Brewers for Keith Ginter, the day before the Hudson deal.
The Mark Mulder deal, completed just two days after the Hudson deal, went a little better for Oakland, netting the A’s Dan Haren, Kiko Calero and Daric Barton. Haren had three pretty decent seasons in the green and gold, compiling a 43-34 record. Calero went 4-1 with a 3.23 ERA in 2005, his best season with Oakland. Daric Barton is Daric Barton.
The intriguing part of the Mulder deal isn’t exactly what the A’s received, but what they received when they flipped Dan Haren in 2007. Down the rabbit hole we go.