The 25 Strangest Trades in Sports History

Would you trade your best player for a musical? How about some catfish?

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Trade season has become a 12-month event in professional sports, as teams constantly look for ways to make themselves better. Even when one league’s trade deadline passes, another pops up in its place to fill the void and supply ravenous fans with the kind of intrigue and rampant speculation that helps feed the 24-hour sports news cycle. In the end, though, most trades end up being pretty boring: players are swapped for other players, or sometimes cash or draft picks. This lack of variety can be, dare we say, boring.

However, some general managers dare to be different. We don’t always give them the credit they deserve, but some are capable of being very creative. While this rarely happens in the major professional leagues nowadays, there are still instances where a coach like Doc Rivers will make headlines as part of an odd compensation exchange.

The smaller, more fringe leagues are where strange things tend to happen, and immortalize guys like Ken Krahenbuhl and Walter Restrepo who become the centerpieces of absurd deals. Whether it’s in exchange for food, equipment, or something else entirely, here are the 25 Strangest Trades in Sports History

25. Ozzie Guillen for Two Players to be Named Later

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24. Stan Van Gundy for Draft Picks

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23. Jon Gruden for Draft Picks and $8 million

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22. Chuck Tanner for Manny Sanguillen

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21. Lou Piniella for Randy Winn

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20. Kerry Ligtenberg for $720 Worth of Baseball Equipment

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19. Doc Rivers for a First Round Draft Pick

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18. Bill Belichick for Draft Picks

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17. Lefty Grove for a Fence

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16. Tim Fortugno for a Bag of Balls and $2500

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15. Harry Chiti for Harry Chiti

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14. Cy Young for a Suit

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13. Bill Parcells for Draft Picks and a Charitable Donation

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12. John McDonald for John McDonald

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11. Keith Comstock for a Bag of Balls

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10. Joe Gordon for Jimmy Dykes

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9. Cliff Dapper for Ernie Harwell

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8. Walter Restrepo for Two Nights of Hotel and Transportation Arrangements

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7. John Odom for a Bag of Baseball Bats

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6. Fred Roberts for Two Preseason Games

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5. Ken Krahenbuhl for 10 lbs. of Catfish

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4. Dave Winfield for Dinner

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3. Johnny Jones for a Turkey

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2. Tom Martin for a Bus

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1. Babe Ruth for "No No Nanette"

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