Clu is back with another list, this time it’s the top deadline deals!

I recently sat down and thought to myself, “Clu old boy, what can you come up with for a follow to the post you wrote about the  Yankees’ worst free agent deals?” I then started going through my calendar and realized that the trade deadline was coming up. For those of you that dont follow baseball like us at Jobu’s Rum, the MLB trade deadline was on July 31st at 4pm. So, in the spirit of the late George Steinbrenner and his determination to winning championships (which is why I have a photo of Munson pouring the bubbly all over Steiny’s head), I decided to research and report the best trade deadline deals that the Yankees have made in recent memory.  Sit back, relax, and debate it with your friends, cause here they come.

David Cone – SP

Former Cy Young award winner David Cone was acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays in 1995. He was 9-6 with a 3.38 ERA, but with the Blue Jays in 5th place in the AL East, the New York Yankees struck a deal with Toronto, that shipped Cone to the Yankees for Marty Janzen, Jason Jarvis and Mike Gordon. Cone was an immediate success with the Yanks in ’95, helping them make the playoffs and winning Game one of the ’95 ALDS. He was re-signed in the off-season and helped the Yankees win their first world series 18 years in 1996.

In 1998 he went 20-7, won the clinching games in the ALDS & ALCS  and game three of the World Series. But, of course, he is best known for his Perfect Game on July 18th, 1999 (see it here, with John Sterling and Co.) In all, Cone spent five years with the Yanks, helped them win four world championships (96,98-2000) and would later become their  all-time leader in K/9 (8.67). I’d say this trade paid off for the Yankees wouldn’t you?

Cecil Fielder – 1B/DH

Another big part of the 1996 World Series championship team, Fielder was traded to the Yankees on deadline day that season by the Detroit Tigers for Ruben Sierra and Matt Drews. In 53 games with the Yankees in ’96 he batted .260 with 13 home runs and 37 RBI. But he will be known for his clutch hitting in the 1996 World Series against the Braves. Big Cecil hit .391 avg. with 2 RBI for the series, and the Yankees won. He did sign with the Yankees for the 1997 season, but only ended up playing 98 games. Still he was a huge part of the World Series team as he was brought in to drive runs and provide clutch hitting. Thank you Cecil!

David Justice – RF

I actually was going to put in Bobby Abreu in this spot, but after debating for some time, I decided to go with Justice, Don’t get me wrong. Abreu did contribute big time on offense. I mean hey he drove in over 100 runs for three consecutive seasons. But as I said to Jobu, he was terrible in right field, so thats why I picked Justice over him. Anyway back to the trade….Justice was acquired from the Indians on June 28th, 2000. The Yanks sent Jake Westbrook, Ricky Ledee and Zach Day to Cleveland for Justice, and boy did he make an impact for the bombers. In the Bronx, he blew up with a .305 average, 20 home runs, and 60 RBI (between the Indians and Yankees, he combined for 41 home runs and 118 RBI). This made Yankees GM Brian Cashman look like a genius because it showed that Justice could still produce at a high level, even though many people thought he was on the wrong side of 30. His finest moments came in the post season, esp. the 2000 ALCS, where he ran away with the ALCS MVP against the Mariners and, of course, helped the yanks become the dynasty that we all talk about with their 3rd straight World Series win. This one came against the cross town rival New York Mets.

Shawn Chacon – SP

Chacon made his Yankee debut on July 30th, 2005. I know this because I was at that game. He faced the Angels, went six innings with no earned runs and the Yankees won with a walk off in the bottom of the 9th. I do also remember how bad the NY Media criticized this trade for because they felt that it was a “bandaid” to the big problem that was the starting rotation at the time. I mean c’mon give the guy a little bit of a break. Would you rather have seen Tim Redding? Or maybe Sean Henn? remember those guys??? Well when Chacon traded in his Rockies pinstripes to play for the Yanks, he proved to be pretty solid, In all he ended up 7-3 with a 2.85 ERA, he even had a win in game 4 of the ALDS against the Angels, only allowing two runs.

Now the reason why I bring up Chacon in this trade deadling post is because Chacon and; Aaron Small (signed in the offseason, called up from AAA) accounted for 17 wins between the two of them, which is huge if you ask me! I honestly dont know if they would have won the division that year had it not been for the contributions from both of these players. Chacon was never really able to establish himself in 2006, as he got hurt early on and then was eventually traded off to the Bucs for utility man Craig Wilson.

Aaron Boone – 3B/2B

When Boone was traded from the Reds to the Yankees in July, 2003. Many thought it was a great move because Boone would provide a great bat for the Yankees…I t didn’t turn out that way. After coming over from Cinci, he never really seemed to find his swing, as he hit just 8 home runs in 54 games for the Yankees. He struggled throughout the rest of the regular season but boy did that change once we hit October. With, Robin Ventura given 3rd base duties, Boone knew he had to capitalize on every chance he would get. When he got that chance, he needed one swing of the bat and the rest would go down into the history books. His chance came during game 7 of the 2003 ALCS against the Boston Red Sox. Boone was brought in as a defensive replacement in the top of the eighth and came up for the first time in the bottom of the 11th inning, where he crushed a walk off home run deep into the left field seats against knuckle-baller Tim Wakefield. The home run sent the Yankees to the World Series and extended the Red Sox curse (for one more year), Why dont we relive it for old time’s sake, huh?

After the 2003 season he was cut by the Yankees because he violated the team’s contract when he tore a ligament in his knee while playing a game of pickup basketball. Smart Aaron Boone… smart. .Anyway Boone’s injury allowed the Yankees to trade for current Yankees third baseman, Alex Rodriguez.

Featured image courtesy of: Heinz Kluetmeier/Sports Illustrated