Races in statistical categories can be entertaining during the final weeks as the season comes to an end.
Over the years, efforts to win batting titles, home run crowns and other honors have been well-documented.
Trades are also an important part of baseball history, but sometimes it’s difficult to understand why a league-leader in an important category like home runs would change teams in the middle of a season.
However, there are times when change can be good for a player.
Braggo Roth and Gus Zernial are the only two players in baseball history to be traded during a season in which they won the home run title.
Ironically, they were both traded from the Chicago White Sox for players who would become famous in the Windy City.
On Aug. 21, 1915, Roth was shipped by the White Sox to the Cleveland Indians with cash and two other players for Shoeless Joe Jackson.
At the time of the deal, the 22-year old Roth had three home runs with all of them coming in June. During the final two weeks of the season, Roth hit four home runs to claim the American League title. The final blast came in Detroit on the second to last day of the season as Roth edged Rube Oldring of the Philadelphia A’s.
An infamous member of the 1919 White Sox, Jackson would finish with five homers. A future power hitter named Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox ended in a tie for ninth with the first four long balls of his career. The National League would be led by Gavvy Cravath of the Philadelphia Phillies.
Roth was in his second of eight big league seasons in 1915. He finished his career in 1921, after playing with the White Sox, Indians, Red Sox, Washington Senators and New York Yankees.
Overall, he had 30 homers in his career with his best year coming in 1920 with Washington when he hit nine to lead the Senators. Ruth finished with 54 homers that year to win the AL title.
Zernial Traded in April
Zernial joined Roth in 1951 as a home run champ who was traded during the season he won the title. After four games in April, Zernial was sent to the A’s from the White Sox as part of a seven-player swap that also involved the Indians.
By the end of the season, Zernial led the American League with 33 home runs and a career-high 129 RBI. He beat out Ted Williams, who had 30 homers and 126 RBI for the Red Sox.
As with the Roth trade, the exchange worked out well again for the White Sox as they picked up Minnie Minoso. Minoso finished the year as an all-star and was second in the Rookie of the Year balloting behind Gil McDougald of the Yankees.
Minoso, who actually finished his career in 1980 as a White Sox legend, was a seven-time all-star and three time gold glover winner.
Zernial would play 11 years in the majors from 1949 to 1959. He was an all-star in 1953 and although he didn’t lead the league, he had a career-high 42 homers to go with 108 RBI. He drove in over 100 runs per season with the A’s from 1951 to 1953.
He remained with the A’s after they moved to Kansas City in 1955 before ending his career with the Detroit Tigers in 1958 and 1959.
The Texas native hit 237 career homers with over 20 in six different seasons. He became a member of the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame in 2001.