Mike Torrez, 1975 SSPC #381

Mike Torrez's career was so long, and he traveled so extensively, that it barely even registers that he was once an Oriole. The big righthander pitched for 7 teams in 18 seasons. He was a Cardinal, Expo, Oriole, Athletic, Yankee, Red Sox, and Met. The O's acquired him in an absolute heist of a trade in December 1974, trading Rich Coggins, Dave McNally, and minor leaguer Bill Kirkpatrick for Torrez and Ken Singleton. At age 32, McNally was done, racking up a 5.24 ERA in a dozen starts in Montreal before retiring in midseason. Coggins, who had hit .319 as a rookie outfielder for the Birds two years earlier, was purchased by the Yankees in June 1975 and was out of the league a year later. Singleton was an offensive force in Baltimore for the next decade, putting up a whopping .388 on-base percentage and slugging 182 home runs.

Torrez stayed in Charm City for only a year, but it was a good one. He went 20-9 with a 3.06 ERA and 16 complete games, though he must have been a master of smoke and mirrors: he led the American League with 133 walks allowed and struck out only 119. In the offseason, the Orioles traded him to Oakland to acquire Reggie Jackson, a strong gamble that didn't quite pan out. However, the Birds also acquired pitcher Ken Holtzman in the deal, and in mid-1976 they sent him to the Yankees in the trade that brought Scott McGregor, Tippy Martinez, and Rick Dempsey to Baltimore. So you could say that Mike Torrez had a small part in building the 1979 American League Champs and 1983 World Series Champs.