Is there any truth to the persistent Pittsburgh rumor that Dave Cash — who was born today in 1948 — triggered Steve Blass's 1973 meltdown by bedding Blass's wife? We'll probably never know, though Cash, who would become a three-time all-star as a member of the Phillies, was shipped off to Philadelphia in exchange for Ken Brett almost as soon as the 1973 season was over. Then again, the Pirates were deep at second; they already had Rennie Stennett, and Willie Randolph was coming up in their farm system, and needed a good arm to replace Blass, so it's entirely possible that the trade was simply a good business move.
In any case, it was certainly a good move for the Phillies, who got a leadoff man with a winning attitude out of the deal. From 1974 through 1976, Cash missed only two games, and led the NL each year in At-Bats; in 1975, he set an MLB record with 699 ABs (since broken by Willie Wilson and others), and also led the NL with 213 hits, 40 of which were doubles. His "Yes, We Can!" motto helped fire up the Phils in their quest of the NL East flag, which they finally took in 1976 — 26 years after the team's previous post-season appearance. Oh yeah: He only struck out 13 times that entire season, by far the best single-season AB-per-K ratio (51.23) of any 70s hitter.
Sadly for the Phils, and perhaps for Cash as well, he wouldn't be hanging around "The Vet" long enough to return to the playoff in '77 and '78, or make it to the World Series with Schmidt, Luzinski and Co. in 1980. Because in late '76, Cash — as part of the first-ever free agent draft — inked a five-year, $1.5 million deal with the Montreal Expos. Cash looks pretty pissed on all his Expos cards, like he realized he'd made the wrong career move; the Expos of '77 and '78 had some fine players, but they didn't break .500 in either season. And by '79, when they made a legitimate run for the NL East pennant thanks to Bill Lee and the all-time bad-ass outfield of Ellis Valentine, Andre Dawson and Warren Cromartie, injuries and age had caused Cash to lose his starting gig at second to Rodney Scott. Even though he hit a career-high .321 as a part-timer, the Expos shipped him to San Diego at the end of the season for the .227-hitting Bill Almon and the .207-hitting Dan Briggs; and after one unproductive season with the Padres, he was out of the majors for good.
Or maybe I'm reading too much into it. For all I know, the Topps photog could have snapped the above pic while Cash was grousing about Ross Grimsley using his afro pick without asking.
Dave Cash,Willie Stargell,Gene Clines,Al Oliver and Dave Augustine.
Manny Sanguillen put a stop to this disgusting display of cowardice,filth and immoral saga.
What a wife and they are STILL married!!
Posted by: Mr Daniel F. Maloney | 06/21/2015 at 01:28 PM