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On this day in 1927, former Red Joe Adcock was born in Coushatta, LA. Adcock spent the first three years of his career in the Queen City, where he slashed .271/.314/.415 (92 wRC+) and mainly played left field. After the 1952 season, the Reds traded Adcock to the Milwaukee Braves in a four team deal that also involved the Philadelphia Phillies and the Brooklyn Dodgers. (Cincinnati received cash from Milwaukee and Rocky Bridges from Brooklyn in the transaction.) The Braves moved Adcock to first base where he blossomed as a hitter and remained a fixture in the middle of the Milwaukee lineup for the next 10 seasons. While in Milwaukee, Adcock made two all-star teams and placed in the MVP voting in several seasons. After a season in Cleveland and three in California, he retired.
Looking at his Baseball-Reference page, I am not sure why the Angels released him following the 1966 season. Adcock had a down year in 1965, but he tore the cover off the ball in 265 plate appearances in 1966 (.273/.355/.576, 163 wRC+). Even without the benefit of today's advanced metrics, Adcock hit .273 in a league that hit .240 while he smacked 18 round-trippers and drove in 48 runs in limited time. I do not think Adcock was as good as his slash line (265 PAs is not anywhere near a full season's worth of data), but even if he was battling injuries, the Angels could have used a pinch-hitter like Adcock. The Angels finished fourth the following season with Don Mincher at first. Admittedly, Mincher had a big season (.273/.367/.487, 154 wRC+), but California only had two good bench players who had significant playing time (Bubba Morton and Roger Repoz). I think the Angels or another team should have given Adcock a chance in 1967, but that is probably why I am not a general manager.
On this day in 1980, former Red and Mads favorite Laynce Nix was born in Houston, TX.
On this day in 1999, the Reds traded Stan Belinda and Jeffrey Hammonds to Colorado for Dante Bichette and cash.
On this day in 2006, the Reds signed catcher Ryan Jorgensen.