The Trade

Baseball fans know mid July is MLB trading season, but on the night of July 15th, 1972, one of the most bizarre trades in any sport went down, not amongst any GMs or owners, but between two Yankees starting pitchers, Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich.

Peterson and Kekich had been teammates for 3 years – they were roommates on the road, and their wives had become close friends. While on a double date, they decided to take two cars, each chauffeuring the other’s wife. It must have been a hell of a ride, because later on that night they decided to go home to each other’s houses and each other’s kids—with each other’s wives—for good.

They didn’t go public with their story until they called a press conference during Spring Training of the following year. “Don’t make anything sordid out of this,” said Peterson. “We didn’t swap wives,” said Kekich. “We swapped lives.”

Kekich and the former Mrs. Peterson didn’t stay together long, but Peterson and the former Mrs. Kekich are still married to this day.

If you think this sounds like a story tailor-made for Hollywood, you’re not alone: Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have plans to produce a film about the Kekich/Peterson story called, naturally, “The Trade,” and have signed on Jay Roach (Meet the Parents, the Austin Powers series) to direct.