The Family Swap

Despite the New York Yankees' storied history of abundant individual greatness and unrivaled team success, the 1972 squad was a pale imitation of the teams that had made the Bronx Bombers the most famous sports franchise in the world. 

The team was ready for change, and it came on January 3, 1973, when 42-year-old Cleveland-based businessman George Steinbrenner announced that he and a group of investors had bought the Yankees from the Columbia Broadcasting System for $10 million. But as much as Steinbrenner’s acquisition of the team would alter the course of baseball history, it was overshadowed in spring training by the surprise announcement of a transaction involving the team's pitching rotation.

On March 5, left-handers Mike Kekich and Fritz Peterson, met with the press to announce the details of a trade they had finalized the previous October. This particular trade had been carried out without the knowledge or consent of general manager Lee MacPhail, and did not bring any new players to the team. Kekich and Peterson, friends and teammates since 1969, scandalized the sports world by announcing that each had moved out of his own home and taken up with the other’s wife and children. 

While the contents of this biography have been researched, this book is not endorsed or affiliated in any way with Mike Kekich or Fritz Peterson.