MARCH 30, 1992 | CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – The Chicago White Sox traded Sammy Sosa and reliever Ken Patterson to the cross-town Cubs for George Bell on this date in 1992. It was one proven star at the end of his career for an unproven star at the beginning of his. The Cubs got the better end of the deal in Bell for Sosa.
The big name was Bell, whom the Sox hoped would be the final piece of the puzzle to get to them to the World Series.
Bell had averaged 27 home runs and 102 runs batted for the six previous seasons. Sosa was a 23-year old outfielder who showed promise as the regular right fielder in 1991 hitting 15 home runs and driving 70 for the White Sox, but he also struck out 150 times in 153 games.
It took a couple years after Sosa joined the Cubs for him to blossom into the RBI and home run hitting machine he became. Sosa’s break out year was 1993 when he hit 33 home runs and drove in 93. Sosa would hit at least 25 home runs for the next 13 seasons, three times hitting more than 60.
George Bell had a good year for the Sox in ’92 with 25 home runs and 112 RBI, but tailed off considerably in 1993, which turned out to be his final year in the majors. The White Sox found a right-field star of their own a few years later in Magglio Ordonez. He was not the home run/RBI producer Sosa was, but he was probably a better all-around player. In this trade it’s quite obvious, the Cubs got the better end of the deal. The Cubs got the better the better end of the deal in Sosa for Bell.
Contributing sources:
Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois, March 31, 1992.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/bellge02.shtml
http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/sosasa01.shtml