So Long, Sonny Boy
There's at least one place where blood is not thicker than water: the front office. Just ask Jake Gilmour
Last week Doug Gilmour, a Hall of Famer who now is the G.M. of the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League, traded away his 16-year-old son, Jake, a forward who now is a member of the Niagara IceDogs. While it might sound like a recipe for a very awkward Thanksgiving dinner, dealing away a relative is often done with the kid's best interest at heart. In 1989, Greg Booker was traded by his father-in-law, Padres G.M. Jack McKeon (nicknamed Trader Jack), to the Twins for journeyman pitcher Freddie Toliver. "I'd been hearing the nepotism stuff the whole time I'd been in the organization," says Booker, who is now the pitching coach of the Triple A Syracuse Chiefs. "[The trade] didn't surprise me at all."
There have been several other family trades:
• Eric LaCroix, 1998. With the team struggling, the Avalanche winger actually asked his father, G.M. Pierre, to trade him. "The situation was a little distraction and then became a bigger distraction," said Eric, who was shipped to the Kings.
• Jim Campanis, 1968. One of the first moves Al Campanis made upon becoming G.M. of the Dodgers: off-loading his light-hitting son (a .149 career average to that point) for cash and two minor leaguers.
• Joe Cronin, 1934. Though he was married to owner Clark Griffith's niece, newspapers often referred to Cronin as Griffith's son-in-law. Fearing claims of nepotism would grow—and in a financial pinch—Griffith sold the future Hall of Famer (who was also the team's manager) to the Red Sox for $225,000. And the Senators, who had won the pennant in '33, became the AL's perennial doormat.
POP CULTURE GRID...
series, now I'm reading the books," says Dempsey. "I'm a big J.R.R. Tolkien fan—Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit—and I grew up loving Zelda, all that good-versus-evil stuff."
They Said It
"At least my car is still in Texas."
Adam RosalesRangers infielder, after he was claimed off waivers by Texas for the second time in 11 days on Monday. The A's designated the light-hitting Rosales for assignment on July 31. The Rangers picked him up on Aug. 2, then let him go three days later—Oakland then picked him up last Thursday and designated him for assignment once again on Saturday.
EXTRA MUSTARD ON SI.COM
To get up close with Dillon Powers, this week's breakout performer presented by Schick, go to SI.com/breakout
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PETER READ MILLER FOR SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (MCKEON)
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BRAD MANGIN/MLB PHOTOS/GETTY IMAGES (ROSALES)
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NINTENDO (ZELDA)
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BANTAM/SPECTRA BOOKS (A FEAST FOR CROWS)
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WIM LANCLUS/FOTOLIA.COM (COOKIES)
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JJAVA/FOTOLIA.COM (OMELET)
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PHIL WALTER/GETTY IMAGES (BIRD)
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SIMON BRUTY/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (DEMPSEY)
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ROBERT BECK/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (PACQUIAO)
