Quote:
Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
before my time but wasn't it the other way around?
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In 1958 Colavito batted .303 with 41 homers and 113 RBI. In 1959 he became the first Indian to have two 40-HR seasons; his 42 tied him with Harmon Killebrew for the AL lead. That June 10, he hit four HR in consecutive at-bats in a game at Baltimore. Cleveland fans were stunned when GM Frank Lane sent him to Detroit for batting champion Harvey Kuenn the following April; Lane had actually had a clause in Colavito's 1959 contract that would have rewarded the slugger for hitting fewer than 40 homers. After a year of adjustment in Detroit in 1960 (he had only 87 RBI), Colavito had his greatest season, hitting .290 with 45 HR and 140 RBI.
Some still consider the Colavito-Kuenn trade highly responsible for the ensuing decades of baseball mediocrity in Cleveland.
