1955 Larsen-Turley Trade

On November 17, 1954, the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles completed a trade involving 17 players -- one of the largest deals in baseball history. The names the Yankees sent to Baltimore included Gene Woodling, a steady outfielder who'd earned five championship rings, and Gus Triandos, a young catcher who'd become a solid regular for the Orioles. The names they got back included a hard-throwing right-hander named Bob Turley and a guy named Don Larsen who'd gone 3-21 in Baltimore the year before. Two years later, Larsen threw a . The trade that looked like a roster swap turned out to be one of the most consequential deals in franchise history.

Weiss Pulls the Trigger

George Weiss didn't get sentimental about baseball players. The Yankees' general manager had watched his club win from 1949 to 1953, then finish second to a 111-win Cleveland squad in 1954. The dynasty wasn't dead, but the roster was aging. Weiss saw the problem before anyone else did and started cutting.

Woodling was 32 and had been a productive outfielder on all five championship teams. He ran good routes, hit for average, and did his job. Weiss traded him anyway. Triandos was 24 and blocked behind Yogi Berra -- he wasn't going to catch ahead of the three-time MVP, and Weiss didn't believe in letting talent rot on the bench when it could buy something useful.

The other players heading to Baltimore -- Harry Byrd, Jim McDonald, Hal Smith, Willy Miranda, plus minor leaguers -- were depth pieces. Useful, but replaceable. The deal was completed in two stages (the framework on November 17, the final minor league components on December 1), and when the dust settled, seventeen players had changed teams.

What Weiss Was Buying

Turley was the centerpiece -- at least in 1955. He threw hard, he threw strikes (most of the time), and he was 24 years old with a live arm that could anchor a rotation for years. The Orioles had used him heavily, and his stuff played in the American League. Weiss wanted him slotting in behind Whitey Ford, and that's exactly what happened.

Larsen was the wild card. A 3-21 record is the kind of line that gets a pitcher released, not traded to the Yankees. But Weiss and his scouts believed the record was misleading -- Larsen had pitched for a terrible Baltimore team that lost 100 games, and his raw ability was better than his results. The bet was that a change of scenery, a better defense behind him, and Casey Stengel's handling would unlock something.

Billy Hunter, an infielder, came over as the third piece. He didn't make a major impact, but the deal was never about Hunter.

1955: Immediate Returns

Turley delivered right away. He won 17 games in his first 1955 season in pinstripes, going 17-13 and giving Stengel the second starter he needed behind Ford's 18-7 campaign. With Tommy Byrne adding 16 wins, the rotation had three pitchers capable of carrying a game. That kind of depth -- combined with Mickey Mantle's and Berra's 108 RBI -- pushed the Yankees to 96 wins and the AL pennant.

Larsen's 1955 was quieter. He filled the fourth-starter role, started games when called upon, and didn't embarrass himself. Nobody confused him with an ace. But he was competent, and competence from a fourth starter on a pennant winner has real value. The ceiling the scouts had talked about -- the ceiling that justified trading for a 3-21 pitcher -- hadn't shown up yet.

The ended in a loss to Brooklyn, the franchise's first October defeat since 1942. Turley and Larsen were both on the roster, part of a staff that couldn't solve Johnny Podres in Game 7. It hurt. But the trade's true purpose hadn't been about 1955 alone.

1956: The Payoff Nobody Predicted

The 1956 season turned Larsen from a footnote into a permanent entry in the record book. He went 11-5 during the regular season -- solid, unremarkable, the kind of line that gets you a spot in the rotation and not much attention from the press.

Then October 8 happened.

Game 5 of the World Series, Yankees and Dodgers tied two games apiece. Larsen retired all 27 Brooklyn batters he faced. No hits. No walks. No errors. Twenty-seven up, twenty-seven down. The only perfect game in World Series history, thrown by a man who'd gone 3-21 two years earlier and couldn't get out of the second inning in his previous start five days before. Berra jumped into his arms on the final out, and the photograph became one of the most famous images in baseball.

Without the Baltimore trade, Larsen is never a Yankee. The perfect game never happens in pinstripes.

Turley kept producing too. He won the 1958 Cy Young Award after going 21-7, and his performance in the 1958 World Series -- winning the clinching game in relief -- helped the Yankees come back from a 3-1 deficit against Milwaukee. The arm Weiss had targeted in November 1954 delivered for years.

What Baltimore Got

The Orioles didn't get robbed. Triandos became their everyday catcher and made two All-Star teams. Woodling played three solid seasons in Baltimore, hitting .280 and providing the kind of veteran presence a young franchise needed. The other pieces filled roles on a team that was building from the ground up. Baltimore wasn't trying to win in 1955 -- they were trying to become a real major league club after relocating from St. Louis the year before.

But the Yankees got the better end. That's not a close call. Turley plus Larsen -- a 17-game winner in 1955 and a perfect game in 1956 -- versus steady contributors who helped the Orioles become respectable. Weiss would've made that deal ten times out of ten.

The Weiss Method

Phil Rizzuto understood what the Larsen-Turley trade represented better than most. He'd watched teammates come and go for a decade -- traded the moment Weiss decided their value to another club exceeded their value to the Yankees. The front office didn't reward loyalty. It rewarded production, and when production started declining, the phone started ringing.

The 17-player trade was the most visible example of Weiss' approach, but the 1955 season saw more of the same. Enos Slaughter and Johnny Sain were shipped to Kansas City in May. Ed Lopat went to Baltimore in July. Jerry Staley came off waivers in September. Every move followed the same logic: shed the aging piece, add something younger or cheaper or more useful.

It worked. The 1955 Yankees won the pennant. The 1956 Yankees won the championship. And the arms that made both possible arrived on a November afternoon when George Weiss decided that Gene Woodling's five rings mattered less than Bob Turley's fastball.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the Larsen-Turley trade?

The Larsen-Turley trade was a 17-player deal between the Yankees and Baltimore Orioles completed on November 17, 1954. The Yankees sent Gene Woodling, Gus Triandos, and several other players to Baltimore in exchange for pitchers Don Larsen and Bob Turley plus infielder Billy Hunter. Turley won 17 games in 1955, and Larsen threw the only perfect game in World Series history on October 8, 1956.

How many players were involved in the Larsen-Turley trade?

Seventeen players changed teams in the deal, making it one of the largest trades in baseball history at the time. The framework was agreed on November 17, 1954, with the minor league components finalized on December 1.

What was Don Larsen's record before joining the Yankees?

Larsen went 3-21 with the Baltimore Orioles in 1954 -- one of the worst records for a starting pitcher in modern baseball. The Yankees' scouting staff believed his raw ability was better than his numbers suggested, and the 3-21 record reflected pitching for a 100-loss team. Two years after the trade, he threw a perfect game in the World Series.

Did Bob Turley win the Cy Young Award?

Yes. Turley won the 1958 American League Cy Young Award after going 21-7. He also pitched the clinching game in relief during the 1958 World Series, helping the Yankees overcome a 3-1 series deficit against the Milwaukee Braves.