It’s Era Of Wheeling, Dealing Many Clubs Willing To Risk Future For Playoff Chance

It was one of baseball’s most exciting days ever, a hectic 12 hours of can-youtop-this when big trades tilted the races minute-by-minute.

Andy Benes to Seattle and Mike Stanton to Boston. Hmmm. All-Star David Wells to Cincinnati. Oh yeah? Two-time Cy Young winner Bret Saberhagen to Colorado. Any more? Yep, Kevin Tapani to Los Angeles, right at Monday’s midnight dealing deadline.

Welcome to the 21st century, baseball fans, and hello to the beginning of the game’s post-pennant race era, a future where teams may be more worried about the wild-card spots than anything else.

Sure, finishing first would be great. But with Cleveland, California and Atlanta looking like they’re ready to run away, what’s the use?

And besides, it’s no longer necessary to win the division anyway - it would’ve been that way last year, too, but the strike took all the fun out of it. Now, the game has changed and starting this season, it’s zero in on that second spot, and take your chances in the best-of-5 opening round of the expanded playoffs.

That’s what Seattle did. The Mariners may never catch the Angels, but by getting Benes from San Diego, they’ve got a decent shot - especially if injured Ken Griffey Jr. hurries back - to make the postseason for the first time.

“We really wanted Andy Benes,” Mariners vice president Roger Jongewaard said. “We feel this year is a big year for us with the pennant race and the wildcard spot.”

A lot of teams are thinking the same way. Going into this weekend, every American League team except Minnesota was within six games of the wild-card slot, with the N.Y. Yankees leading the pack. Houston leads the wild-card chase in the National League, with four other teams within seven games of the Astros.

The Yankees didn’t bother waiting until the last minute, trading for 1994 Cy Young winner David Cone and Ruben Sierra last week. The same day, Baltimore got Bobby Bonilla, and that all came shortly after the A.L. East-leading Red Sox acquired closer Rick Aguilera.

“I certainly think the Yankees helped themselves by getting Cone and Sierra,” said Indians manager Mike Hargrove, whose team could end up meeting New York in the first round. “These kinds of deals can be a tremendous boost to teams in a position to do something in the playoffs.”

The Indians didn’t stand still, either, getting Ken Hill from St. Louis.