Steve Carlton Traded To The Phillies: Today in Sports History

On February 25th, 1972, the St. Louis Cardinals traded pitcher Steve Carlton to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for pitcher Rick Wise. Carlton was moved due to a salary dispute with the Cardinals, who balked at their pitcher’s request for a $65,000 salary for 1972. In seven years with the Cardinals, Steve was 77-62 in starts, throwing to a 3.10 ERA and 1.279 WHIP. The 3-time All-Star accumulated 20.9 bWAR in St. Louis. Carlton and Wise both earned $65,000 deals with their new teams, but only one of them earned 4 Cy Young awards during their career. Carlton led the National League in ERA in the ensuing 1972 season, posting a career-best 1.97 ERA across 346.1 innings. Steve Carlton earned 64.6 bWAR over 15 seasons in Philadelphia, pitching to a 3.09 ERA. The first-ballot Hall-of-Famer is considered one of the greatest Phillies of All-Time. No disrespect to Rick Wise, but Wise didn’t fair as well in St. Louis, playing just two seasons with the Cardinals. They were good seasons, but nowhere close to Carlton’s greatness in Philly.