STATUE of Frank Robinson in Baltimore (Shutterstock).

The LA-OC sports world is excited about the Rams trading to get superstar defensive end Myles Garrett from the Cleveland Browns.

Brown, in case you haven’t heard, has been five times an All-Pro and twice the NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

The Rams gave up three draft picks and linebacker Jared Verse, a swap which looks almost like a clean getaway from Tiffany’s.

But, you know, a lot of highly-extolled trades hav turned out as disappointments. Or, more to the point, disappointments for one team, and hallelujah to the others. Or somewhere in between.

The Cincinnati Reds, as is widely known, traded Frank Robinson to the Orioles, who went promptly to the World Series, and Franklin to the Hall of Fame.

Milt Pappas is the guy the Orioles unloaded, which is often called “The Worst Trade Ever.”
But Milt was no millie. He won 209 games in his car

eer, struck out 1,728 batters and was named to the National League All-Star team three times.
The other giant fumble was Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees, but let’s not forget the Charlotte Hornets trading Kobe Bryant to the Los Angeles Lakers for Vlade Divac (who ironically later ended up back at the Lakers as a backup center).

Trades can be exciting and they can be heart-breaking. Like romance, there are no guarantees, but start off the same sort of excitement we might feel about Mr. Garrett.