Medwick trade sends shockwaves through baseball

Even when you’re one of the league’s best players, trades are always on the table.

On June 12, 1940, the St. Louis Cardinals would send former National League Most Valuable Player Joe Medwick to the Brooklyn Dodgers in a deal that would shock the league.

Medwick, considered by many at that time to be one of the best players in the game, was a focal point of the Cardinals offense for several years. Named an All-Star six times during his first stint with the team, Medwick helped lead St. Louis to its third World Series championship in 1934, hitting .379 in the seven-game series against the Detroit Tigers.

Medwick’s best season came in 1937 when he was named the NL MVP after winning the Triple Crown, the most recent player to do so in the National League.

Despite his contributions to the team, contract negotiations during the 1940 season would ultimately be the deciding factor in the end of Medwick’s tenure in St. Louis. Disputes over pay caused tensions to rise between Medwick and the Cardinals, with the front office deciding not to keep him, instead seeking out a trade.

St. Louis eventually found a landing spot for Medwick in Brooklyn, trading him to the Dodgers in exchange for Carl Doyle, Sam Nahem, Ernie Koy and Bert Haas along with $125,000. Only seven days later, Medwick would face off against his former team. The series would not go without incident as in his first at-bat on June 18, Medwick would be hit in the head with a fastball that left him hospitalized for days following the incident.

Medwick would go on to have a successful first season with the Dodgers, hitting .300 while being selected to the All-Star Game for the seventh season in a row, with him securing his eighth and ninth selections the following two seasons.

For the remainder of his career, Medwick would play for several teams including stints with the Boston Braves and New York Giants, until finally returning to St. Louis for his final two seasons.

Following the 1948 season, Medwick would retire from the game of baseball at the age of 36. He would finish his career with 10 All-Star selections, 2,471 hits and a career .324 batting average. Medwick still holds the National League record for most doubles in a season with 64.

He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1968.

Aidan Shephard was an intern in the Jim Murray Sports Communications Scholars Program at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum