An American League Central Division-dominated American League Division Series begins on Saturday.
3 of the 4 teams in the American League Division Series are from the American League Central with the New York Yankees as the exception.
The matchup between the Cleveland Guardians and the Detroit Tigers is the first time these 2 teams will meet in the playoffs.
According to MLB Network’s insider Jon Morosi on ‘X,’ some irony exists with this matchup and a trade that happened 64 years ago.
The Rocky Colavito-Harvey Kuenn trade happened 64 years ago.
Cleveland is about to play Detroit in the postseason for the 1st time.
If the Guardians advance, they face New York (Colavito’s final team; he grew up in the Bronx) or Kansas City (Rocky played for the KC A’s).
The…
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) October 3, 2024
The trade happened on April 17, 1960, and it included the Cleveland Indians trading Rocky Colavito to the Detroit Tigers for Harvey Kuenn.
A unique part of this trade includes the fact that Colavito was 1959’s American League home run champion while Kuenn was 1959’s American League batting champion.
Colavito slugged 42 home runs in 1959, and Kuenn’s batting average was .353 in 1959.
Moving on, if the Guardians beat the Tigers, they either face Colavito’s final team, the Yankees, or the Royals, and Colavito played for the Kansas City A’s.
If we jump over to the National League, the Milwaukee Brewers are still alive in the postseason.
Kuenn managed the Brewers to their only World Series appearance in 1982 where they lost in game 7 to the St. Louis Cardinals.
For older fans, this series matchup might bring back some memories of that trade and make the series more personal.
There has yet to be a favorite win on the American League side, and the Guardians and Yankees will look to change that on Saturday when both series will begin.
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