1988 Topps Dickie Noles
The Man Who Was Traded For Himself!
I remember when Dickie Noles first came up with the Phillies in the early 1980s. He was another young kid trying to make it in the big leagues. Was he going to last? Who knew?
Well he pitched nearly a decade in the show which is an accomplishment in itself.
Noles pitched for five teams with a total of seven different stints in the majors. His lifetime ERA of 4.56 was nothing to write home about. So why do I remember him?
In September of 1987, Dickie Noles was traded from the Cubs to the Tigers for a player to be named later. He pitched in four games for the Tigers and inexplicably notched two saves as the Tigers clinched the division, and then was sent back to the Cubs as his own player to be named later.
It sounds a bit fishy to me now and seemed extremely fishy back then as well. According to the teams, they couldn't agree on compensation so they just sent him back...hmmm.
Few realize that Noles finished his career back where it started by pitching one game for the 1990 Phillies, two years after a disasterous two games with the hapless 1988 Orioles.
