Marcus Smart joins a long list of Boston players who ended up spending time with an enemy

Boston Globe

3 days ago

It began, of course, with
the Yankees
. Since changing their nickname from the Highlanders in 1913, the team had finished seventh, sixth, fifth, fourth, sixth, fourth, and third, and had yet to win an American League pennant. What compounded the issue was Red Sox owner Harry Frazee also subsequently shipping the likes of Herb Pennock, Jumping Joe Dugan, Waite Hoyt, Everett Scott, and Sam Jones to New York, where the ex-Sox helped establish the preeminent franchise in baseball for the rest of the 20th century.
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One deal that seemed fairly innocuous at the time was the 1972 swap of Red Sox lefthanded reliever Sparky Lyle for Yankees utility infielder Danny Cater and a player to be named later, who turned out to be shortstop Mario Guerrero. Lyle would twice lead the league in saves as a Yankee, and even won a surprising Cy Young Award in 1977, when he went 13-5 with a 2.17 ERA. Cater was what we used to call a spray hitter, whose claim to fame was finishing second to Carl Yastrzemski in the 1968 batting race with an average of .290. He did hit .313 in 1973 with little power, while playing in just 63 games. The great Peter Gammons identified one of his hits as 'Cater's 1,011th career chalk-line double.'
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Now we're getting serious. Roger Clemens and
The horseback celebration of Wade Boggs further stung on the occasion of the Yankees returning to the World Series winners' circle in 1996.
RON FREHM
In the middle of all this there also was a Yankee faux pas. The Yankees had a young outfielder named Jackie Jensen, who got into 108 games in a three-year span before they shipped him to the Washington Senators. The Red Sox acquired him for Mickey McDermott and Tom Umphlett, and from 1954-59 he averaged 111 RBIs per season while leading the league three times. He also was the 1958 MVP. Even the vaunted Yankees could have used someone like that. Sadly, his career was aborted because of a fear of flying.
As far as the Celtics and Lakers are concerned, the former came away with the biggest prize. No one had any idea when the Celtics signed a free-agent substitute forward named
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John Havlicek, Don Nelson, and Dave Cowens, shown in March 1975, all are honored in the rafters at TD Garden.
Dan Goshtigian, Globe Staff
The best player going from Boston to LA was undoubtedly Rick Fox, who ranks as a Rick Pitino major boo-boo. Fox was part of some Pitino roster clearing, but Pitino should have loved Fox, who could make threes, who never quit on a play in his life, and who was just a class act. He would play an important role on three Lakers championship teams. You also can make a case for Brian Shaw, who gave the Celtics some good service (11.1-point average in 178 games) before playing 284 games for the Lakers. An even more intriguing name was
By far the biggest name with a connection to both franchises is that of California native
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Oh, and guess who was an assistant coach on that 1971-72 title team?
Here's a bonus item. The list of annoying defectors also should include
Curtis Martin, shown in 1996, was a critical part of the Patriots' 1990s renaissance before the departed Bill Parcells swiped him for the Jets.
DAVIS, Jim GLOBE STAFF
This brings us to Smart. I am not neutral on this matter. I am a paid-up member of the Marcus Smart Fan Club. I recognize his foibles, but I was always willing to take the whole package. How could I not love a player who is the all-time leader in a certain category, that being Most Alley-Oop Passes Intended for a 7-Foot Greek Intercepted by a 6-5 Guard (1). I mean, come on, what's not to like?
Seriously, I always loved his energy and his passion. I beamed when he was able to transform himself into a legitimate point guard. Yes, I wish he did not so often confuse himself with Stephen Curry. I realize not everyone was as forgiving as I with his erratic 3-point judgment. I also understood
Smart's last two years, with Memphis and Washington, were pretty much wasted because of injury. He joins a Lakers team that should be able to utilize him strategically. I also find it intriguing that, according to Smart himself, Luka Doncic lobbied for him.
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This is going to be tough for me. I can't root for the Lakers, but I also wish Marcus Smart the best. Sometimes, life can get complicated.
Bob Ryan can be reached at