On this day in 1989, Fred Manrique was traded to the Texas Rangers, along with another player for three players.
Nobody was happier than I was when Fred Manrique was traded off of the White Sox, but getting him onto another club came at a horrible price. The other player that was traded was fan favorite Harold Baines. It wouldn't be the last time Baines called Chicago home, but Fred Manrique was swallowed into the black hole of baseball oblivion only to be seen on a smattering of baseball cards through the 1990 season. The White Sox got familiar face Scott Fletcher in return, along with a pitcher who could not get an out in a major league game (Wilson Alvarez) before coming to the White Sox and a speedy outfielder who could not hit and didn't have much power (Sammy Sosa), only hitting a home run off of Roger Clemens and bringing a robust .238 batting average.
Baines would come back into the White Sox fold three more times; two as a player and one as a coach. Alvarez threw a no-hitter in his first game with the White Sox, compiling an ERA of infinity after two MLB starts, and became a solid start throughout the mid-nineties. Fletcher stayed with the Sox through the 1991 season and bounced around the majors until 1995. Sosa was traded for an aging player (George Bell) and went on to become a power hitter thanks to some unknown change in his daily regimen. Sosa has since forgotten how to speak English, despite years of speaking it fluently. Manrique played on the South Side for nearly three years, and has played the majority of his games with the White Sox. Fred bounced from the Rangers to the Twins to the Athletics and last played in the majors on May 11, 1991.
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