Black Friday: The 25 Greatest Steals and Deals in Sports
Black Friday is all about finding steals and deals, and then getting in fist fights with people who grab the items you want before you get the chance.
In a sense, this is very similar to the world of sports, where great steals and great deals can make or break a team for years to come.
The selling of Babe Ruth, the drafting of Tom Brady, the signing of undrafted free agents like Miles Austin, and the ridiculously one-sided trades like the one that landed Pau Gasol in a Lakers uniform are all on our minds in the final precious hours leading up to the year's biggest day for good deals.
And they're about to be on your mind, too. Here are 25 of the greatest deals and steals in sports history.
25. Evan Longoria's Contract
1 of 25
As soon as the Rays brought their power-hitting third base prospect Evan Longoria up from the minor leagues in 2008, it was obvious from the start that he was going to be a star.
And so they didn't waste any time inking him to a contract that would be in their small-market favor.
The Rays signed Longoria to a six-year, $17.5 million contract with options for 2014, 2015 and 2016.
In 2009, when Longoria finished with a .281 average and 33 home runs, and won a Gold Golve award, he was paid $550,000.
In 2010, he was paid a mere $950,000.
Basically, the Rays are paying him 1/30th of Alex Rodriguez's annual salary and getting pretty similar numbers.
24. Tim Lincecum in 2008-09
2 of 25
Tim Lincecum came up with the Giants in 2007 and established himself as one of the premier young pitchers in baseball.
In 2008 and 2009, he won back-to-back NL Cy Youngs by going a combined 33-12 with a 2.55 ERA and 526 strikeouts.
He made just $405,000 in 2008 and $650,000 in 2009.
Compare this with his teammate Barry Zito, who made an even $10 million in 2008 and $14.5 million in 2009.
He won a total of 20 games.
23. Red Sox Get Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek for Heathcliff Slocumb
3 of 25
One of the most one-sided trades in recent baseball history involved the Seattle Mariners and Boston Red Sox in 1997.
The Mariners, in need of relief help, went out and acquired Heathcliff Slocumb from the Sox. In return, they sent catching prospect Jason Varitek and pitching prospect Derek Lowe.
Slocumb posted a 5.32 ERA for the Mariners down the stretch in 1997, and Lowe and Varitek became key components for the Red Sox for years to come, eventually helping the team win the World Series in 2004.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
22. Antonio Gates Picked Up as Undrafted Free Agent
4 of 25
It seems rather ridiculous that the NFL's best tight end was not drafted out of college.
Indeed, Antonio Gates went undrafted in the 2003 draft after graduating from Kent State, and would only sign with the Chargers after they saw his potential in tryouts.
He caught 24 passes for 389 yards and two touchdowns in 2003.
Since then, he has become just the seventh tight end with 500 career receptions, and set a single season record for touchdowns by a tight end in a season with 13 in 2004 (which has since been tied by Vernon Davis).
21. Oakland Raiders Give Randy Moss Away to Patriots
5 of 25
Randy Moss has a way of wearing out his welcome.
Just ask the Oakland Raiders, who were so desperate to get rid of Moss after the 2006 season that they gave him away to the Patriots for a fourth-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft.
Moss would go on to set an NFL record for touchdown catches in 2007 with 23, and the Pats went 16-0.
Oakland turned that fourth-round pick into cornerback John Bowie out of Cincinnati. He now plays in the UFL.
20. Josh Hamilton for Edinson Volquez
6 of 25
The Cincinnati Reds got Josh Hamilton in a trade with the Chicago Cubs following the 2006 Rule 5 draft, acquiring him for $100,000 cash.
He went on to become one of the great comeback stories of all time in 2007, when he hit .292 with 19 home runs.
But the Reds decided he was expendable, and traded him to the Texas Rangers before the 2008 season for Edinson Volquez and Danny Herrera.
Volquez was pretty good in 2008, winning 17 games and posting a 3.21 ERA. But he's won just eight games combined in the last two seasons.
Meanwhile, Hamilton has emerged as maybe the best all-around player in baseball, and won the 2010 AL MVP after a season in which he lead his team to the World Series.
19. Cardinals Acquire Mark McGwire From A's
7 of 25
Mark McGwire was one of the best sluggers in the American League with the Oakland A's, and he had already amassed 34 home runs by the end of July in 1997.
But the A's traded him away to the Cardinals for Eric Ludwick, T.J. Mathews and Blake Stein.
Big Mac would go on to hit 24 more homers for the Cardinals, ending the season with a league-leading 58.
The Cards re-signed him after the season, and he hit a record 70 home runs in 1998. He would go on to hit 220 home runs in five seasons with the team.
18. Roger Maris Traded to Yankees for Spare Parts
8 of 25
Of course we go from McGwire to Maris.
Roger Maris was an All-Star with the Kansas City A's in 1959. The A's, who were then known as part the Yankees farm system, knew the New York Club wanted him badly.
And so they traded Maris along with Kent Hadley and Joe DeMaestri for Marv Throneberry, Norm Siebern, Hank Bauer and Don Larsen in December 1959.
Maris won the MVP for the Bombers in 1960, and proceeded to hit a record-breaking 61 home runs in 1961. He won another MVP and the Yanks won the World Series.
Damn Yankees...
17. Cubs Acquire Ryne Sandberg From Phillies
9 of 25
The Phillies drafted second baseman Ryne Sandberg in the 20th round of the 1978 draft.
In 1981, they traded him and Larry Bowa to the Cubs for Ivan DeJesus.
DeJesus would never hit any better than .257 in three seasons with the Phillies.
Sandberg would go on to become one of the great infielders of the postwar era. He hit .285 in 15 seasons as a Cub, with 282 home runs. He also won nine Gold Gloves and made 10 All-Star teams.
16. John Smoltz Traded for Doyle Alexander
10 of 25
In early August 1987, the Tigers were in a three-team race in the AL East, and needed pitching help.
So they sent young pitching prospect John Smoltz to Atlanta for 36-year-old veteran pitcher Doyle Alexander.
Alexander went 9-0 for the Tigers down the stretch, but retired following the 1989 season.
Smoltz went on to win 210 games for Atlanta, and was on every single one of the Bobby Cox teams that won the NL East year after year. He also went to the bullpen in 2002 as a full-time closer and saved 154 games in three seasons, making him the only pitcher in baseball history with 200 wins and 150 saves.
Good trade.
15. Sammy Sosa for George Bell
11 of 25
Sammy Sosa first debuted with the Rangers in 1989, then played two season with the Chicago White Sox, hitting a grand total of 33 home runs in parts of three seasons.
Before the 1992 season, he was traded across town to the Chicago Cubs for George Bell.
Bell played just two more seasons, hitting a total of 38 home runs for the White Sox before retiring after the 1993 season.
Sosa would hit 545 home runs in his Cubs career, which spanned from 1992 to 2004. He also had three seasons with at least 60 home runs, and was one of the most beloved players in baseball for several years.
Now that we know him as a liar and a cheat who forgets languages when the need arises, we're not so crazy about him.
Good trade, though.
14. Jeff Bagwell Traded for Larry Anderson
12 of 25
In August of 1990, the Red Sox were in need of a bullpen help in order to continue their run to the playoffs.
They sent first base prospect Jeff Bagwell, a fourth-round draft pick in 1989, to the Houston Astros for veteran reliever Larry Anderson.
Bagwell went on to become one of the most prolific power hitters of the 1990s, and finished his career with 449 home runs, every last one of which was hit in an Astros uniform.
And it took a long time for the Red Sox to live it down.
13. Kurt Warner Picked Up by the Rams
13 of 25
Kurt Warner might just be the best undrafted free agent the NFL has ever known. And his story is fascinating.
Warner played college ball at Northern Iowa, but was not drafted in the 1994 NFL Draft. He did everything from stocking groceries to playing in the Arena Football League, and once had to excuse himself from a tryout with the Bears in 1997 because of a spider bite.
The Rams picked him up before the 1998 season, when he was the third string quarterback.
The Rams signed Trent Green to be their quarterback before the 1999 season, but he tore his ACL in the preseason.
Warner took over, won the MVP and carried the Rams to a Super Bowl victory. He would win another MVP in 2001, and would play in two more Super Bowls.
12. Curt Schilling Traded to Boston Red Sox
14 of 25
The Red Sox have made countless trades over the years, but you could easily make the argument that none of them affected the franchise more than the trade that brought Curt Schilling over from the Diamondbacks in the winter of 2003.
Shortly after Thanksgiving, the Sox and D-Backs agreed on a trade that would send Schilling to Boston for Casey Fossum, Brandon Lyon and Jorge De La Rosa.
Schilling won 21 games in 2004, and became part of baseball lore with his bloody-sock performances in Game 6 of the ALCS and Game 2 of the World Series. The Sox ended their 86-year championship drought.
Fossum, Lyon and De La Rosa, on the other hand, never really developed into anything worthwhile.
11. Pedro Martinez for Delino DeShields
15 of 25
After the 1993 season, LA Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda thought that a young Pedro Martinez, who had gone 10-3 with a 2.61 ERA in 107.1 innings, was too small to be a good major-league pitcher.
And because his club needed a second baseman, the Dodgers dealt Martinez to the Montreal Expos for Delino DeShields.
DeShields went on to never hit higher than .260 for the Dodgers, and Pedro developed into one of the great pitchers the game has ever seen. He would eventually win the NL Cy Young Award in 1997 after going 17-8 with a 1.90 ERA, 305 strikeouts and 13 complete games.
He was then traded to the Boston Red Sox, but that deal wasn't nearly as lopsided.
10. The Lakers Deal Spare Parts for Pau Gasol
16 of 25
In February of the 2007-08 NBA season, the Lakers needed a lift. They hadn't been among the elites of the NBA ever since Shaq had left, and even Kobe Bryant had demanded a trade before the season started.
And so they went out and looked for a deal that would make them a championship contender. They ended up trading Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie, the rights to Marc Gasol and 2008 and 2010 first-round draft picks to the Memphis Grizzlies for Pau Gasol.
At the time, Gasol was the holder of 12 franchise records, and something about the deal stunk. NBA fans everywhere (except LA, I suppose) cried foul, and accused the Lakers and Grizzlies of assorted treacheries.
But no matter. The Lakers went 22-5 with Gasol in the lineup that year, and have gone to three straight NBA Finals with him, winning the last two.
9. Tom Brady
17 of 25
Tom Brady's draft stock wasn't worth much when he left the University of Michigan in 2000, and the New England Patriots were able to get him in the sixth round with the 199th overall pick.
He took over as the starting quarterback after six quarters in the 2001 season, when he replaced an injured Drew Bledsoe.
Since then, he's won three Super Bowls, an MVP, has been named to five Pro Bowls, set an NFL record for touchdown passes in a season, and guided the Pats to a 16-0 regular season record in 2007.
Good pick.
8. Angels Get Nolan Ryan From Mets
18 of 25
By 1971, Nolan Ryan had been a Met for five seasons, and had failed to develop into a legitimate major-league pitcher.
So the Mets traded him and three other players to the California Angels in return for Jim Fregosi.
Fregosi proceeded to hit .232 in the 1972 season, and .234 in 1973.
Ryan blossomed into a 19-game winner in 1972, and would proceed to win 138 games in eight seasons with the team. He would go on to become baseball's all time leader in strikeouts (5,714) and career no-hitters (seven).
7. Bulls Get Scottie Pippen
19 of 25
Ever since the Bulls drafted Michael Jordan in 1984, they had been looking for a proper wingman for the NBA's best young star.
They found one on draft day in 1987, when they traded for Scottie Pippen, who had been taken fifth overall by the Seattle Supersonics. Going the other way was the eighth pick, center Olden Polynice, a second-round pick and the option to switch first-round picks in 1989.
Pippen and Jordan would go on to win six championships together.
6. Steve Young Traded to 49ers
20 of 25
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Steve Young from the CFL in 1984, but he went just 3-16 as a starter for them.
And so they dealt him to the 49ers in 1987 after drafting Vinny Testaverde, taking just a second- and a fourth-round pick in return.
Young languished as Joe Montana's backup for a few seasons but emerged as a star in 1991, when he had a league-best 101.8 passer rating.
He went on to become probably the best left-handed quarterback ever, and also won two MVPs and a Super Bowl in 1995.
The Bucs continued to suck until they won the Super Bowl in 2003.
5. Nets Sell Dr. J to 76ers
21 of 25
When the Nets joined the NBA in 1976, the Knicks demanded that the Nets pay them nearly $5 million for encroaching on their territory.
Desperate for cash, Nets owner Roy Boe sold Julius Erving, his star player, to Philadelphia for $3 million.
Dr. J would go on to take the Sixers to the Finals four times, and won a title in 1983. He also won the MVP in 1981.
Oh, he also remains one of the most exciting players in NBA history.
4. John Elway Traded by the Colts
22 of 25
John Elway was drafted number one overall by the Baltimore Colts in the 1983 NFL Draft, but refused to play for them. He demanded a trade, and the Colts obliged by sending Elways to the Broncos for quarterback Mark Herrmann, the rights to offensive lineman Chris Hinton and a first-round pick.
Elway would go on to make nine Pro Bowls, and he would end his career with two Super Bowl wins.
The Colts eventually got even, one might say, when they drafted Peyton Manning number one overall in 1998.
3. Celtics Make Trade With Warriors That Nets Them Parish and McHale
23 of 25
In 1980, the Celtics and Warriors made a deal that put Robert Parrish and a first-round draft pick in Boston and two first-round picks in Oakland.
The Celtics used their pick to draft Kevin McHale. The Warriors used theirs to draft Joe Barry Carroll and Rickey Brown.
Combined with Larry Bird, the trade basically gave the Celtics one of the best frontcourts in the NBA, and they made five Finals appearances in the 1980s.
The Warriors made just one playoff appearance with Carrol and Brown.
2. Vlade Divac for Kobe Bryant
24 of 25
Pau Gasol isn't the only player that the Laker franchise, in all its villainy, has been able to steal away.
Kobe Bryant was the first guard ever taken out of high school in the 1996 NBA Draft, as the Charlotte Hornets selected him 13th overall.
But Arn Tellem, Kobe's agent, said his client would have nothing to do with the Hornets.
After seeing him scrimmage against some of his players in LA, then-Laker GM Jerry West was rather impressed. And so he sent Vlade Divac, his starting center, to Charlotte in exchange for Kobe's rights.
Kobe became a five-time champion and one of the greatest players in NBA history. Divac became an oaf who was most well known for flopping against Shaq.
1. Babe Ruth Sold to the Yankees
25 of 25
Following the 1919 season, Red Sox owner Harry Frazee faced a dilemma. Babe Ruth, his star slugger, demanded a raise to $20,000 a year, double what he was making at the time.
And so Frazee decided to shop him.
The White Sox offered Shoeless Joe Jackson and $60,000. The Yankees, who were a laughingstock at the time, offered $100,000 cash, and cash only.
Said Frazee, "I don't mind saying I think they are taking a gamble."
The gamble paid off to the tune of 659 home runs and four World Series championships, not to mention an 86-year curse on the Yankees' biggest rivals.
But hey, it also gave us one of the best baseball books of all time: Dan Shaughnessy's The Curse of the Bambino.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
