How a 1997 Failed Yankees Trade Changed Baseball Forever

[@Joeb12]

That moment of silence included for Irabu was nice to see included, great video

[@powerhitter033]

I thought so as well. Very sad to hear.

[@doug3773]

Agreed.

[@DaDitka]

Yes, very appropriate and appreciated. I didn't know that about Hideki.

[@BrianGarcia711NY]

So, if the Irabu trade facilitated the posting system between NPB and MLB, he’s also indirectly responsible for the Yankees acquiring Masahiro Tanaka, as well as Judge. RIP Hideki.

[@RyanWood24]

And Matsui who was a hugeeeee part in 2009 to win the WS

[@henny6566]

@@RyanWood24 Exactly, I'll take Matsui over both those guys. World Series MVP. Well maybe not Judge, he's still young and has a lot of baseball still left in him so we shall see.

[@KTF0]

Nick Swisher's tenure with the Yankees was so good that even when he left the team, he helped them.

[@pwx13]

That's the only time he helped the yankees, nick swisher was a black hole

[@JT_WARCRIME]

Thank you for not outright hating the Yankees in the video

[@SmoothCriminal12]

Butterfly Effect Idea: The A-Rod to Boston trade being vetoed led to the 2015 Mets pennant. Synopsis: In 2003, Boston had a deal in place to send Manny Ramirez and a young pitching prospect by the name of Jon Lester to the Rangers for Alex Rodriguez. The deal would ultimately be vetoed by the MLBPA, leading to Lester staying put. After helping Boston to two world series wins in 07 and 2013, Lester would be traded at the 2014 deadline for outfielder Yoenis Cespedes. Cespedes would only last half a season in Boston before being traded to the Tigers for Rick Porcello (the most undeserving Cy Young winner in history). Cespedes would again only last half a season before being traded again, this time to the Mets for a package centered around Michael Fulmer, becoming a major piece of their 2015 run to the World Series. Had the initial A-Rod deal happened. There's no deal to get Cespedes to Boston and the succession of events that led to the Mets traded doesn't happen.

[@TheNMan64]

It would be better if the Mets actually won

[@Not_Sal]

I like the idea but it doesn’t seem there’s enough there to make a video out of it

[@scottaznavourian3720]

Well this is an interesting result of this initial trade...the fact is keeping mannny and Lester delivered three world series to Boston, changed the redsox-yankee dynamic and arod never lived up to the expectations in New York 2009 not withstanding....and in the mid part of this Porcello helped deliver boston a 4th workd series title...winning an elimination game vs the yankees

[@TheNMan64]

A 2005 Barry Bonds injury led to the San Francisco Giants dynasty from 2010-2014... Prior to Bonds' injury, the Giants constantly gave up draft picks and traded prospects to keep veterans to try and win while Bonds was an MVP. This included losing picks for Armando Benitez and Michael Tucker. The Giants are routinely good from 2000-2004, but lack the big pieces to win a title besides Bonds, who also had a tendency to drive away teammates and was surrounded by controversy. Bonds gets hurt and makes the Giants slide in the standings in 2005. This compels their FO to decide to restock the farm and realize they won't win with Bonds on their team. In 2006, they use their first non-forfeited draft pick to draft Tim Lincecum. From 2007-2009, the Giants also managed to add Madison Bumgarner, Zack Wheeler, Buster Posey and Joe Panik in the draft. Bonds departed in 2007 and the Giants altered their path by becoming a team that relied on Pitching and Defense instead of the prolific talent of one player. With Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, Tim Lincecum and Buster Posey leading the way, the 2010 San Francisco Giants would go on to win the World Series in a run where they would win 3 times in 5 years

[@nxxdle_]

I always forget wheeler was originally drafted by the giants

[@therealking69]

panik was drafted in 2011 but still, he was really impactful in 2014

[@dustymarc711]

Was Tim around for a year with bonds? I can’t remember but man I loved Tim always tried to pitch like him as a kid

[@hmhm856]

"The Giants were routinely good from 2000-2004, but lack the big pieces to win a title besides Bonds".... They were 9 outs away with a 5-run lead to win it all in 2002, and they had the best NL record in 2000 and 2003. San Francisco from 2000-2004 was a very fun team to watch. Giants from 2010 to 2016 were boring

[@ryanzealand]

@@dustymarc711 Yeah in 2007 Tim played with Bonds that's when they started calling him 'The Freak' on ESPN

[@MarquisdeSuave]

I loved Irabu for one reason, he brought out the absolute BEST quotes from George Steinbrenner once Irabu began to crash and burn in the Bronx.

[@azmoe99]

"Fat Toad" 🤣

[@tommyz1082]

I remember going to Irabu’s first game as a yankee. It was a hot summer day. In the later half of the game I remember my area smelling like funky fish, from the squid or sushi, or some fish product being sold in the stadium that day, which at the time was not an everyday occurrence. I remember Irabu throwing his 100 mph fast balls. The league caught up to him really quickly.

[@ezridaxsgender3914]

Love some good butterfly effect. Fun fact about the Westbrook/Justice trade: it's currently a key cog in the longest active MLB trade tree (goes back to like '86), a tree that's 2nd in net WAR of all time

[@ToddFSnyder]

Love to see you dig into the Ryne Sandberg trade from the Phillies to the Cubs.

[@xcandy007x]

I love the almost “feature” on Hideki Irabu was beautifully done. To include it in the video when you could have just mentioned on field moments. to let it have a moment of silence was fantastic.

[@zachfischer5291]

Butterfly Effect Idea: How One Left Field Adjustment in Tropicana Field Led to two Red Sox WS Championships. Carl Crawford becomes the left fielder for the Rays, and in 2007 the team lowers the left field wall to make home run robberies easier for Crawford. The Rays go on to their first WS the next year, with Crawford as the face of the franchise. After the 2010 offseason, Crawford signs with the Red Sox as a free agent. Crawford has a lackluster 2011 with the Sox, leading up to the infamous Game 162 where Crawford would miss a catch to let the Orioles walk it off, and Evan Longoria would hit a walk off home run to Crawford Corner. The Rays clinch the wild card berth, the Red Sox end up without a manager and GM as Terry Francona and Theo Epstein are replaced by Bobby Valentine and Ben Cherington, respectively. The 2012 Red Sox finish with over 90 losses in a season for the first time in half a century, and Valentine is fired at season’s end. Crawford, alongside Josh Beckett and Adrian Gonzalez, gets traded to the Dodgers in August. In order to fill the holes, the Sox sign Shane Victorino, Jonny Gomes and Mike Napoli in the offseason. The trade pieces acquired from the Crawford/Gonzalez/Beckett trade landed the Red Sox Brock Holt, a key part of the 2018 WS team. Victorino hits a walk-off grand slam in ALCS game 6 to send the Sox to the 2013 WS.

[@corbinselanne7990]

I can understand your not including the *other* major 2013 ALDS grand slam, largely because Boston had the guy who hit THAT one on the team since at least 2004 (where he ended the first two games of an epic comeback with walk-offs in extras, a 2 run shot in the 12th of G4 and a single in the 14th of G5)

[@George_Fl0yd]

It wasn’t a walk off it was a go ahead

[@Sam_on_YouTube]

You know whose retirement made room on the roster to bring up Judge for his MLB debut? Alex Rodrguez. His last game was Ausust 12th, 2014 and Judge started in right field the following day.

[@kristhesocialistt]

2016?

[@Sam_on_YouTube]

@@kristhesocialistt Yes, my mistake.

[@goldensniperz3672]

The best part of this series is seeing names of players I grew up with

[@BloodoperaBlackvomit]

We need these kinda vids in the lockout.

[@justingerald]

Irabu had some huge wins for the 98 team. His story is very sad.

[@nathangursky4628]

Honestly, a snake draft may be the best way to avoid tanking in MLB.

[@arthurcooperman3106]

How the Mets acquiring Mike hampton led to David Wright and the 2015 world series run

[@philthornton1382]

So the Bobby Bonilla buyout?

[@arthurcooperman3106]

@@philthornton1382 you could say that yeah

[@KingJenrry]

It's been a minute since I heard the name Bubba Crosby. This just reminded me of the walkoff HR he hit off the Orioles late in the '05 season followed up by his collision with Sheffield in Game 5 of the ALDS. What a time.

[@CrookedEyeSniper]

Not only is Ruben Rivera known for that bad base running incident, he's also known for stealing other players equipment and selling it. He stole Derek jeter's baseball glove and was trying to sell it to collectors. Oh yeah, and he's also Mariano Rivera's nephew.

[@Jdt0034]

Mariana Rivera Blown save in the 2001 ws leads to aaron Boones walk off homerun in the 2003 alcs

[@slim3d]

My favorite is how, when Mark Teixeira signed with the Yankees, the Angels got a comp pick. They used that pick on Mike Trout. Not as elaborate as the Aaron Judge situation, I just like how the Yankees missed out on Mike Trout.

[@TheBatugan77]

More like Trout missed out on the Yankees.

[@2011SoxMD36]

Not mentioned: the failed Yankees trade in the 90s that almost netted them Mariners shortstop Felix Fermin at the bargain price of young relief pitcher Mariano Rivera.

[@YankeesAvenue]

Awesome video

[@marcus8176]

I am a Seinfeld fanatic but a bit young to remember this, thank you for finally explaining that joke to me.

[@yourfavcodplayer33]

I was waiting till you got to the Nick Swisher compensation pick LOL crazy how everything affected. That great video

[@BeefPapa]

That moment of silence for Irabu was a classy touch.

[@winstonkostrzewa1585]

At this point I’m just commenting to get the algorithm moving in your favor. Cheers to you

[@iamsithazagoth3728]

Since you mentioned Mark Teixeira, the Angels got a compensation pick for losing him to the Yankees. Guess who they picked.

[@TheBatugan77]

Shohei?

[@kylefarr3655]

You should do the 95 Mariners. And how their run that year changed baseball in Seattle.

[@TheBatugan77]

A wholly underachieving team.

[@kylefarr3655]

@@TheBatugan77 that core of players should've won multiple rings.

[@BaseballAF]

THIS is a very solid butterfly effect Irabu had one of the coolest names in baseball and I always wanted him to be amazing Good stuff

[@goathippo93]

If after 2014, the White Sox decide to not trade for Jeff Samardzija, a few things happen. 1) The Sox keep Marcus Semien, let him develop at shortstop and never sign an old Jimmy Rollins before 2016. Rollins never (allegedly) complains about Drake LaRoche, Adam LaRoche doesn’t retire and the 2016 Sox are a stronger team. 2) The Sox don’t trade Chris Bassitt in the same Samardzija trade, he pitches well in 2015 like he did in Chicago, and the White Sox have no reason to trade Erik Johnson and Fernando Tatis, Jr. for James Shields. The White Sox have an infield of Jose Abreu, Marcus Semien, Tim Anderson and Fernando Tatis, Jr.

[@nxxdle_]

if that's the case it's likely chris sale stays and the red sox never win in 2018

[@RFP15]

I am always impressed by your Butterfly Effect videos.

[@eazypeazy33]

You make great vids budd.. 👍🏽🤙🏽

[@SteffonDudley]

The worst butterfly effect scenario: the Braves trading for Mark Teixeria led to the Angels getting Mike Trout with the comp pick they got when Teix left THEM for the Yankees... thanks to the Braves dumping his salary for peanuts.

[@attawog]

reading about irabu is always a sad story to me, it's kind of a shame

[@kyleadam6728]

Felipe Alou’s reaction at 5:40 🤣😂🤣

[@jadprinz482]

When we signed mark teixiera , that first rounder that went to Anaheim ended up being trout .

[@cesarbueno988]

That’s some real good stuff man! Brought back some memories and even better yet, they are all tied to the big man Aaron Judge!

[@dazed1nyc]

The Yankees signing Giambi, his downfall and the subsequent need to sign Mark Texeira lead to the Yankees missing out on drafting Mike Trout because the Angels took him with the Yankees compensation pick from the Tex signing

[@TheBatugan77]

Trout racking up them WS rings. Good on him.

[@quxill]

can you please do a butterfly effect of how the astros got their cheating system. i’m an astros fan (for life sorry it won’t change) and id love to see a video essay on how acquisitions like carlos beltran brought veteran clubhouse presence but also brought the system.

[@EpicGamer14_]

Holy shit I wasn’t expecting something this heavy to be in this video. RIP Hideki Irabu

[@davidarchuleta2946]

The scary thing is the further you go back the more of a butterfly effect will happen I don't want to make you do any hard work because it will be very difficult but the Babe Ruth trade Butterfly Effect I always wonder how much of affect it made besides a concept of curse LOL great show

[@natediscavage690]

Cleveland Butterfly Effect: After barely playing 20 games in 1991, Ed Taubensee is traded from Cleveland to Houston for Kenny Lofton. Lofton is later traded for David Justice before resigning back with Cleveland shortly afterwards. David Justice is then traded to NY for Jake Westbrook, who is traded 8 years later for Corey Kluber. The Klubot is then traded to the Rangers where he pitches less than an inning in exchange for Emmanuel Clase

[@nacoran]

He never put it together for a full season, but Irabu had some good stretches. I don't remember what season it was, but he basically kept the Yankees in contention for the first half of the season one year. He fell apart in the back half though.

[@J.C...]

Wow. I had no idea Irabu had that much of an impact on MLB. Rest in Peace, Hideki Irabu. 🙏

[@Rymann_23]

As soon as you mentioned Aaron Judge I knew it was gonna be about Nick Swisher. Great butterfly effect though!

[@anthonyemerson2965]

Okay the NPB draft is dope as hell, let’s bring that here

[@parth5243]

A great butterfly effect would be the impact of the (then) NJ Nets with the worst record in NBA history lost the draft lottery to John Wall. Instead of him being the star they built around, they drafted Favors, sent him away for Deron Williams, and so on.

[@vman075]

I like butterfly effect, but Stark Raving inadvertently pointed out the flaw in all of his videos when discussing why the first part of Irabu doesn't belong on the board, "too many what ifs. If Irabu was drafted by someone else maybe some sort of negotiating dispute still happens." Basically that is the truth for every trade, especially when discussing minor pieces to a trade. Some of these trades likely still happen if not for this singular player being involved. Yes some require very specific pieces, for instance the Cubs would never have gotten Chapman if not for Torres, but would the yankees really have never gotten Nick Swisher if they never had Wilson Betemit? I'm sure they would've figured it out. And Swisher is really the only important piece in this whole thing.

[@elbori4365]

Butterfly affect, Aaron Boone gets hurt playing a pick up basketball game during the off season and the Yankees trade for Alex Rodriquez.

[@OroborusFMA]

While his Yankee numbers look ugly, there were long stretches of time in 1998 and 1999 where Irabu was the best pitcher on the Yankee team. He was AL Pitcher of the Month in May 1998 and July 1999. His .233 average against was third best in the AL in 1998. What happened each year was a sudden fatigue at the end of July. He would just run out of gas (literally, no fastball) and was useless the last two months of the season, and a non-option in the post-season.

[@andreworulez]

Love that danhausen

[@andykratoska5791]

So many names I forgot about. Scott Proctor! Wilson Betemit! XAVIER NADY!

[@jacob9379]

i literally just got done watching money hall and we’re talking about david justice to the A’s 🤣

[@irasparer6111]

Interesting chain of events.

[@kylefarr3655]

Another one is the Mariners trading Veritek and Lowe to the Red Sox and how that helped them end their curse.

[@JoelNietoTec]

Fun fact: Ruben Rivera is Mariano Rivera's cousin and was signed because Mo asked the Yankees to do so. And here he's best know for stealing Jeter's equipment and trying to sell it. He also had a decent career in The Mexican League and played for Panama in the World Baseball Classic.

[@AnthonyPastore6]

You only looked at stats. Irabu was not the mega star projected but he was pretty good. He tended to be streaky and started slow so that's what people remember. He then got hurt and it was over. I can tell you are one these guys who think stats are everything. He certainly did not live up to the hype but he was not exactly a bum like it is trendy for people to say.

[@makeitrain8848]

Would love to see one on what would have happened if the Braves drafted Van Poppel instead of Chipper

[@nicklwells]

Wilson Betemit, Atlanta Braves icon, i remember him well

[@spg1026]

Thanks for asking about the butterfly effect. I do not like. Didn’t like the video either. It was well made and researched. However, there are way to many small insignificant things for me to have the patience to follow. It is not a clickbait title as you explained kinda what would follow but I couldn’t follow it to the end.

[@peterd3881]

The trade was Rickey Ledee for Justice. Westbrook was a “player to be named later”

[@Jman7133]

Butterfly effect of the Mets drafting Reggie Jackson instead of Steve Chilcott in the 1967 draft.

[@christopherpate3821]

Butterfly effect idea Barry Bonds to Atlanta for Keith Mitchell, Alejandro Pena, and player to be named later in 1992

[@MsSaskue360]

I say 2001 was heartbreaking considering same year 911 happen, so then winning would have been nice for that reason

[@TRivera13]

Yeah but it might've changed Mariano forever. Had the Yankees won the Series one of his teammates Enrique Wilson would've been on American Airlines Flight 587 which was going to the Dominican Republic before it crashed in Queens. Because they lost, Wilson along with his wife and daughter took a flight a couple days earlier. When Rivera was made aware of this he said “I am glad we lost the World Series, because it means that I still have a friend.”

[@brettrossi034]

Did I just read the 87' NPB draft right... there's a Japanese team named the 'Ham Fighters?'

[@saml1939]

You don't get videos like this without a lockout. Wild idea.

[@BallArtWolf_52]

Idea: Mets losing to Cardinals in 05 leads to pennant in 15

[@JeremyAsbridge]

Do you only do baseball? Because I have a hockey butterfly effect. How the St Louis Blues losing Scott Stevens lead to the 2019 Stanley Cup

[@baroqueguitarist5673]

Good ole Hideki “ I Rob You” All jokes a side Hideki was a nice guy and a very talented pitcher despite his setbacks in mlb. I was very sad to hear of his passing a few years ago. R.I.P.

[@HufflepuffBaseball42313]

Ruben Rivera also once stole Derek Jeter’s glove. He was Mariano’s cousin.

[@steveschmidt3961]

wow nick swishers 4 seasons with the yankees was like so consistent it wasn't even funny. His numbers were virtually identical.

[@OilCompany95]

I listened to Tony Hinchcliffe the other day, and at first I thought it was you..

[@rslitman]

I am R. S. Litman (she/her). How one of the best hitters of all-time lining into a triple play may have brought an expansion team's first-ever World Series win and another team's curse-breaking Fall Classic victory plus another one 3 years later. In 1991, the Phillies had a young pitcher, Jason Grimsley, who had not had a great start to his major league career. He was 0-3 so far in 1991 when he took the mound at Veterans Stadium to face the Padres on April 28. That game did not get off to such a great start for him. Paul Faries walked and stole 2nd. Tony Fernandez also walked. Both walked on 3-2 counts. Grimsley then went to 3-2 on Tony Gwynn, but Gwynn connected on the next offering, sending a line drive caught by 2nd baseman Randy Ready, who then stepped on 2nd to double up Faries and then threw to 1st to triple up Fernandez. Thus rescued from a potential disastrous inning, Grimsley went 7 innings for the only win in his 1-7 1991 season. The following spring, he did not make the club and was out of options. The Phillies knew that if they outrighted him to the minors, another team might grab him on waivers and claim him without compensation required. The Astros had a pitcher, Curt Schilling, in the same situation, so the two were traded for each other. The Phillies would be Schilling's 4th team. But it was in Philadelphia where his career really took off. His 2nd year there, he led the Phillies to the World Series. where they lost to Joe Carter and company. By twenty hundred, Schilling was dissatisfied with the Phillies. He threatened to leave in free agency, so to get something for him, he was traded to the Diamondbacks for 4 players that were long gone by the time the team started winning again. (One of them did become a twenty-oh-two All Star and is mentioned in the Torii Hunter/Barry Bonds Butterfly Effect video.) In his 2nd season in Arizona, Schilling combined with Randy Johnson led the team to its first World Series victory. I don't recall the circumstances, but after the twenty-oh-three season, Schilling was traded to the Red Sox, where he helped bring the twenty-oh-four and twenty-oh-seven championships. Grimsley bounced around baseball until twenty-oh-six. He was part of the 1999 and twenty hundred Yankees World Series winning teams, although his postseason appearances those years were brief.

[@GunPlayGamingTv]

Yankees haven’t had a first round lottery pick in 30 years, crazy

[@amirpineiro9058]

Do Carlos Correa for the astros

[@stellarguy1667]

While I enjoy the history of it why not go back further? Irabu wasn;t the beginning, his parents meeting at school, or their parents? The issue with videos like this is there is no right start. Because if this didnt happen or this or this or this... thats why the way the Yanks got Judge starts at 11:25.

[@LegendMkr7]

The Padres were in last place, as was the style at the time.

[@jonathanschwartz64]

Ruben Rivera is best known for that baserunning AND for being kicked off the Yankees for stealing Jeter's equipment and selling it.

[@kevinbergin9971]

Wonder if George Steinbrenner felt bad about his comments? I doubt it.

[@rocknrallsoul94rockero4]

I used to be ig friends with Wilson Betemits brother

[@hogziller]

How the Green Bay Packers horrible defend got Andy Reid a Super Bowl title as the Head Coach of KC 1) If Terrell Owens does not make the catch in the 1998 seasons wild card game against GB then Andy Reid can't interviewed (as the Packers are still playing) for Philly so then he does not become HC of the Eagles so he does not make a name for himself for later games 2) In the 2011 season, KC has fired Todd Haley 13 games, Romeo Crennel is the interim coach for week 15 match against the Packers...... the Packers played this conservative 10 yards off the ball defense.... so KC just threw 10 yard curl route and beat the undefeated Packers 19 to 14........ because of this very win the Chiefs made Romeo Crennel the next full head coach. 3) In 2012 KC was awful going 2 win and 14 loses. Romeo Crennel was fired and Andy Reid was hired for 2013 (after being not renewed in Philly) 4) If the Chiefs would not have gave Romeo Crennel a full contract, then they would have hired a brand new coach...... most of the time new coaches are given 2 to 3 seasons to get their footing which means Andy Reid would have had to find employment somewhere else for 2013. If Crennel does not beat the undefeated Packers, he gets let go at season end and Reid never gets hired by Chiefs. The Packers horrible defense leads to Reid getting two great jobs.

[@DPK365]

This NPB draft format is something that MLB should do.....that would be so much fun lol.

[@sameoldish]

If the west division would be the same clubs today, will the reds even win a game?

[@middlefinger1565]

Irabu jumped off a high rise balcony to his death is what I heard how he perished.

[@piercehubbard4086]

I never knew Irabu killed himself. Being made fun of on Seinfeld probably didn’t help. I always enjoyed Frank Costanza yelling at Steinbrenner for say, trading Jay Buhner. Anyways I know the Japanese view suicide much differently than our culture. If you’ve failed something, it’s considered an honorable way to make ….amends??? That’s a weird way to say it. It’s sad that he viewed himself as a failure. In my opinion if you can even get one start in MLB you’ve succeeded in a way 99.9% of the population who dreamed of playing MLB as kids couldn’t get close to accomplishing.

[@chrisbearden6043]

To see the Rangers draft demerite over judge is cringeworthy

[@hubertsang7418]

Ruben Rivera is known for being Mariano Rivera's cousin and taking Derek Jeter's glove.

[@carlinrulez]

The Yankees got Swisher from the White Sox not the Indians.

[@DoobieKeebler]

"Today, Aaron Judge is a really good, but really injury prone player for the Yankees, which becomes maddening for Yankee fans and front office management, alike. And, sadly, there is a decent chance that Judge never plays meaningful stretches of games in a season - that is - more than 130 games per pennant chase, before he retires."

[@macthepatriot1484]

The teams drafting the same player is just wack. Imagine in the 2009 draft multiple teams drafted Mike Trout and the NPB system is put in.

[@yankees2864]

At that point Trout was a project out of high school. He had enormous potential but he wasn’t sure bet. He ended up being the best player of the 2010’s and possibly one of the best of all time.

[@philthornton1382]

The entertainment factor alone would be epic

[@jamison1368]

Watch on 1.25x when this guy’s narrating, thank me later

[@kaden__]

you sound like matpat

[@tppt2592]

18th like and 3rd comment

[@nomercyinc6783]

judge didnt change baseball

[@tppt2592]

J