This Date In Transactions History

Had MLBTradeRumors been in existence during Tim Salmon's strongest years, it's unlikely that you would have seen him featured prominently on the site.  For the most part, it was difficult to picture the outfielder known as Mr. Angel donning another uniform.  On this date in 2006, Salmon announced that he would end his career with the only franchise that he had ever known. 

Salmon quickly made a name for himself in the majors as he hit .283/.382/.536 with 31 homers in his first full season in 1993, earning AL Rookie of the Year honors with 100% of the first-place votes.  The right fielder didn't let up in the years that followed and finished seventh in MVP voting in both 1995 and 1997, seasons in which he posted an OPS of 1.024 and .911, respectively.  Injuries would limit Salmon to just 98 games in 1999 – his lowest total since becoming a full-time major leaguer – but he bounced back in spectacular fashion in 2000, matching his career-high of 34 home runs.

The strong season came at the tailend of his four-year, $16.5MM deal with the Halos.  The lifelong Angel wasn't short on suitors, but quickly chose to stay put with the Angels on a four-year, $40MM extension.  Salmon's 2001 regular season was somewhat forgettable and it stayed that way thanks to his strong bounceback in 2002, culminating in the Angels' 2002 World Series championship.

The veteran would later reach another crossroads in his career where he may have entertained the idea of playing elsewhere.  After missing all of 2005 thanks to a pair of significant surgeries, Salmon hooked on with the Angels in Spring Training with the hope of auditioning himself for other clubs.  However, the veteran's play earned him a spot with the club in 2006 in which he saw 54 games at DH with a handful of appearances in the outfield.  On September 28th, Salmon announced that he would call it a career after 14 big league seasons. 

On a day in which the Braves are paying tribute to their own longtime superstar, it seems fitting to also reflect on the career of another lifelong franchise pillar who plied his craft on the opposite coast.  While Chipper Jones' body of work is obviously quite different from Salmon's, it's rather remarkable that the outfielder never received an All-Star nomination throughout the course of his lengthy career.  However, he will always be remembered fondly by Angels fans for his power bat, his resilience in the face of multiple setbacks, and his instrumental role in the club's 2002 championship.

Everyone makes mistakes.  However, not everyone draws the ire of an entire fan base and a city for their errors in life or on the baseball diamond.  For a long time, it seemed as though Bill Buckner would never be forgiven by the Red Sox faithful for his infamous play.  The Mets, seemingly on the verge of elimination in Game Six of the 1986 World Series, mounted a comeback in the 10th inning that should have been extinguished by Mookie Wilson's slow roller to first base.  Buckner, hampered by two bad ankles, let the ball squeak through his legs, allowing the Mets to score the winning run, tie the series at 3-3, and capture the title two days later at Shea.

Buckner remained with the club for the 1987 season until he was released in early July after hitting .273/.299/.322 with two homers in 75 games.  His final 57 games with the Angels were much stronger as he posted a slash line of .306/.337/.432 with three home runs.  Prior to the 1990 season, the Red Sox signed the 40-year-old Buckner and the veteran received a standing ovation when he was introduced at the home opener on April 9th.  Buckner's Beantown homecoming would be short-lived, however, and on this date in 1990, the veteran would retire upon being released by the Red Sox.

The first baseman made just 48 plate appearances in his second Boston go-round but would retire with a strong 22-year body of work to reflect upon.  Buckner came into his own as a member of the Dodgers before enjoying his prime with the Cubs, where he hit .300/.332/.439 across eight seasons.  While Buckner's most memorable moment on the field was his gaffe October of 1986, the first baseman was able to wrap up his impressive career on good terms with the Fenway Park crowd.

In 1999, Rickey Henderson hooked on with the Mets and turned in yet another strong campaign.  The 40-year-old hit .315/.423/.466 in 121 games and racked up 37 steals to go with it.  However, production isn't always everything and, shockingly, Henderson proved to be difficult to work with.  The veteran found himself as fodder for the tabloids when he allegedly left the Mets' dugout to play cards with Bobby Bonilla during the team's season-ending loss in the NLCS to the Braves.  The friction between Henderson and the front office would carry over in to the 2000 season when the leftfielder openly complained about his $1.9MM salary and demanded a raise during Spring Training which he never received.  On May 13th, 2000, Henderson's time in Queens would come to an end.

In an afternoon game against the Marlins at Shea, Henderson belted a shot that he felt was certain to clear the fence.  Henderson opted to watch the ball in flight only to see it fall short.  The outfielder wound up with what amounted to a 355-foot single and didn't feel the need to apologize for it.  "I didn't cause them to lose. Look someplace else," said Henderson following the 7-6 loss, according to the Associated Press.  It turns out that the future Hall of Famer would be the one who was someplace else as he went unclaimed on waivers before finally being released.  Agent Jeff Borris wasn't fazed by the news.

"I don't anticipate having a problem finding him a place to play," said Borris. "A lot of people think Rickey has a lot of baseball left in him. Rickey has had a spectacular career, and it would be a blemish if it ended this way. There are a couple of major milestones that he still wants to achieve."

Borris was right as the legendary illeist wasn't without employment for long.  Henderson quickly hooked on with the Mariners and finished out the year hitting .238/.362/.327.  While that was the end of Henderson's time playing for the Mets, he would once again don orange-and-blue as a special instructor and later on as the team's first base coach in 2007.

On this date in 1990, the Yankees traded future Hall of Famer Dave Winfield to the California Angels for right-hander Mike Witt.  However, the deal was not truly consummated until almost a week later when the rightfielder would finally give the deal his blessing.  Winfield's situation was a complicated one: the veteran had ten-and-five rights and therefore had the right to reject trades.  However, his contract included a list of seven teams that he would agree to be traded to and the Angels were on it.

"This has nothing to do with the California Angels. I respect them, like them, the city, the weather," said Winfield on May 12th, according to Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times. "I played with [Angel Manager] Doug Rader [in San Diego]. Everything's cool. I have nothing bad to say about the Angels. I'm going to play a lot of years for somebody, but it isn't going to be determined today where or when.."

Donald Fehr, the executive director of the Players Association, argued that the list was given to the Yankees under protest and the club was aware that Winfield had final say over any trade.  Fehr cited another botched deal from 1988 which would have send the outfielder to the Astros until it was rejected by Winfield.  One could assume that Winfield's refusal to sign off on on the trade stemmed from his infamous rift with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, but there was a much simpler explanation for his veto.  The outfielder was in the final year of his ten-year, $20MM deal and was looking for a contract extension from the Halos.

The Angels were now in an awkward position and ultimately decided to give in to Winfield's demands.  On May 17th, the club agreed to a three-year, $9.1MM deal with Winfield that was only guaranteed for the first season.  If released before the '91 campaign, Winfield would receive a buyout of $2MM plus an additional $450K to cover the following year.  With that, the deal was finally put through. 

For his part, Witt was excited by the prospect of joining the Yankees and resuming his role as a starter.  The 6'4" hurler turned in a 4.47 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 16 starts for the Bombers that season.  As for Winfield, he bounced back in spectacular fashion after getting off to a slow start in the first 20 games of the season.  Upon joining the Angels, Winfield hit .275/.348/.466 in 112 games and won the 1990 MLB Comeback Player of the Year Award.

Winfield would call it quits after the 1995 season, capping off a spectacular 22-year major league career.  The rightfielder was inducted into Cooperstown in his first year of eligibility of 2001 and became the first player to go into the Hall as a San Diego Padre.