April 26, 1974: The Yankees' Friday Night Massacre

Chris Chambliss

April 26, 1974, 50 years ago: The New York Yankees trade 4 pitchers away: Fritz Peterson, Steve Kline, Fred Beene and Tom Buskey. They are sent to the Cleveland Indians. Just 6 months after President Richard Nixon initiated what became known as the Saturday Night Massacre, the New York media calls this the Friday Night Massacre.

The Yankees traded 1/3rd of their pitching staff for 1st baseman Chris Chambliss, the 1971 American League Rookie of the Year, and 2 pitchers that nobody in New York had ever heard of. This trade was very unpopular at the time, both in the clubhouse and in the stands.

The night before, 3 of the pitchers had played in the Yankees' 6-1 loss to the Kansas City Royals at Shea Stadium, where the Yankees were groundsharing with the Mets while Yankee Stadium was being renovated, that season and the next. Kline started, and didn't get out of the 6th inning, which Beene finished. Peterson pitched the last 3 innings, allowing the last run.

In a little over 8 seasons with the Yankees, Peterson had gone 109-106 with a 3.10 ERA, including a 20-win season in 1970. Kline had gone 40-37 and 3.26 in a shade over 4 seasons. Beene was 7-3 with 5 saves and a 1.99 ERA in a little over 2 seasons. Buskey had appeared in only 12 games, all in relief, going 0-2 with 2 saves and a 5.64 ERA. Mainly, it was the trade of Peterson that upset Yankee fans, with whom he was still popular, in spite of his "wife swap" the season before with fellow pitcher Mike Kekich, who was traded soon thereafter.

But it was a great trade for the Yankees. As one observer wrote, it "broke up the country club." Upshaw never did much for them, but Tidrow became a key pitcher, both starting and relieving, on the team that would win 3 straight Pennants from 1976 to 1978. And Chambliss had both a Gold Glove and a power bat, hitting the home run that clinched the 1976 Pennant. Once the fans poured onto the field at the renovated Yankee Stadium following Chambliss' homer, Peterson had become "Fritz Who?"

Peterson went 14-8 for the Indians in 1975, but pitched only 1 more season and change in the majors, due to a shoulder injury. He would finish his career at 133-131. The other pitchers were not missed.

In 2018, Peterson publicly revealed that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and stepped away from public life. He died on October 19, 2023, although it wasn't publicly announced for another 6 months, until April 12, 2024.

Heart attacks took the lives of Cecil Upshaw when he was only 52 in 1995, and Tom Buskey when he was only 51 in 1998. Steve Kline died in 2018, Dick Tidrow in 2021. As of April 26, 2024, Chris Chambliss and Fred Beene are still alive.