The Apocalypse is surely upon us. In arguably baseball’s most monumental trade since the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $100,000 and a bag of balls, George Steinbrenner has successfully shipped Alfonso Soriano (.290, 38 home runs, 91 RBI in 2003) to Texas for the 2003 AL MVP and the best player of this generation, Alex Rodriguez (.298, 47 HRs, 118 RBI last season).

Is this trade about money? Of course! The Yankees don’t care that this deal will push their 2004 payroll to $190 million, or approximately $70 million higher than its closest spending competitor from Boston. That $70 million difference is also more than half the payrolls of other teams in the league alone. Rodriguez and Derek Jeter will earn a combined $38 million this year, or more than the payrolls of either the Pittsburgh Pirates or Milwaukee Brewers.

Steinbrenner has every right to try to buy a championship, a frantic quest that has eluded him since 2000 because his Yankees imploded in October by blowing three playoff or World Series leads. And if recent history is any indication, the Yankees will not stop with the A-Rod deal. They still have holes in the pitching staff with the departure of Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens, as well as a relative weakness at second base, but every other team in the league would kill for these “problems.”

Where does this trade rank among the all-time blockbusters of sport? We won’t know until we see how things play out in Arlington and the Bronx this season. Maybe Soriano will regain his 2002 form (.300, 39 HRs, 102 RBIs). Maybe, albeit not likely, Rodriguez will be the next Ken Griffey Jr. If you recall, the Junior-to-Cincinnati deal in 2000 was thought to be a lopsided trade at the time, but since has turned out to be a steal for Seattle, who got players that ended up making a bigger impact in the form of Mike Cameron and Brett Tomko, while Griffey found a near-permanent home on the disabled list.

Until A-Rod proves his worth after attempting to hit the long ball in Yankee Stadium’s Death Valley—a place Joe DiMaggio once called “the place home runs go to die”—The List can’t add him to the five biggest trades of all time below, although we have a feeling that ultimately this will make our top five.

No. 5: Herschel Walker traded for half the Vikings organization
Also the biggest trade of all time from a quantity standpoint, this deal involved a total of 12 draft picks and six players. The problem for Minnesota was that of the 18 total players involved, 12 were either present or potentially future Vikings.

In total, Dallas received five players, six draft choices (conditional) and a first-round pick in the 1992 draft. At the time, the Cowboys were in the middle of a 1-15 season in Jimmy Johnson’s first year at the helm, but the trade began to pay off almost immediately. Johnson used two of those draft picks to draft Emmitt Smith (the NFL’s all-time leading rusher) and safety Darren Woodson (a five-time Pro Bowler and the team’s all-time leading tackler).

As for the other draft choices, Dallas used them to trade up or down to obtain various players throughout the 1990s. In one instance, the Cowboys traded up in the ’91 draft for the No. 1 pick that year, Russell Maryland, who would make the Pro Bowl in only his second season.

You know the story from there: Dallas would become the team of the 90s by winning three Super Bowls over a four-year span. The Cowboys are perhaps the last great dynasty in pro football before parity became so chic.

As for USFL’s all-time leading rusher, Walker played 2 1/2 seasons with the Vikings and never eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in purple. The Vikings never won a playoff game with Walker, as the inability to build around the former Heisman winner made the team go from perennial playoff contender to a struggling franchise.

The irony? Walker ended up back in a Cowboys uniform five years later. Dallas would go on to beat the Vikings in a playoff game that season, 40-15, where Walker rushed for 62 yards on 8 carries. 

No. 4: Dr. J takes the Jersey Turnpike South
Not exactly a trade in a purest sense since only one player was involved.

In October 1976, beleaguered Nets owner Roy Boe sold Julius Erving, a.k.a Dr. J., to the Sixers for $3 million (they fine receivers almost that amount for making end-zone phone calls these days). Upon arriving in Philadelphia, Sixers owner Eugene Dixon gave Erving a $3 million raise and called him “the Babe Ruth of Basketball.”

Dr. J. led the Sixers to the 1983 championship and to the Finals on three other occasions. He would also be named to the NBA All-Star team 11 times and won the NBA MVP in 1981.

Conversely, the effect on the New York Nets organization was devastating. The team’s season-ticket holders took ownership to court for full refunds and won. A year later, financial woes forced the team to move from Long Island to the swamps of Jersey. Up until their 2002 and 2003 Finals appearances, the Nets were the Clippers of the East.

The irony? In the only meeting between Dr. J and his former team, the underdog Nets beat the defending champion Sixers in the first round of the 1984 playoffs.  

No. 3: The Great One heads for the beach
After winning four Stanley Cups in five seasons, the Edmonton Oilers traded Wayne Gretzky, center Mike Krushelnyski (not sure I even spelled that name correctly) and defenseman Marty McSorley to the Kings in exchange for center Jimmy Carson, winger Martin Gelinas, three first-round draft picks and, of course, cash.

Like Dr. J, the cash part of this equation was the driver of the deal; Oilers then-owner Peter Pocklington received $15 million. The deal was so shocking that even Gretzky cried at the press conference announcing the deal. He stated he felt a sense of urgency to "keep from being the biggest flop in Hollywood since Heaven's Gate."

At first, the deal didn’t adversely affect Edmonton, as the Oilers won a fifth Stanley Cup the year after the Great One’s departure. That would be the last time the Oilers ever even appeared in the finals, however, as the team continues to have trouble competing with the American dollar in signing top players.

Meanwhile, Gretzky took the Kings to their only Stanley Cup finals in 1993, but also never won another Cup despite playing on two other competitive teams in the twilight of his career (Blues, Rangers).

Still, his economic impact was enormous. The Kings became a hot ticket in Los Angeles, as season-ticket holders jumped from 6,000 to 16,000. Many hockey people credit Gretzky with proving that the sport can work in warm weather cities. Since his move to southern California, the league has added two NHL teams in Florida, three in California, one in Texas and another in Arizona.

The irony? So much for the revenge factor: Gretzky’s Kings were 0-3 in the playoffs against Edmonton.

No. 2: Colts trade draft rights to Elway
Give John Elway credit: His instincts were as good off the field as they were on. When the Colts drafted Elway in the great quarterback class of 1983, he steadfastly refused to play for then-Baltimore. The Colts, not putting up much of a fight, traded Elway’s draft rights to Denver for Mark Hermann, tackle Chris Hinton and a 1984 first-round draft pick (Ron Solt).

Elway would go on to become the greatest quarterback in NFL history (sorry, Dan Marino and Joe Montana fans). The numbers say it all: five Super Bowl appearances, two Lombardi trophies, second all-time in passing yards (51,475) and first in fourth-quarter comebacks (47). Elway also owns more wins than any quarterback in NFL history.

Unlike the other blockbusters mentioned to this point, the Colts did receive a great player in return, although this one never scored or threw for a touchdown. Still, Chris Hinton did appear in seven Pro Bowls.

As for Hermann, he would go on to throw 16 touchdowns in his NFL career. That's 284 less than Elway. Solt played nine seasons in the NFL and did not receive any individual awards.

The irony? Elway’s Arena League Team, the Colorado Crush, was 0-8 at home last season (Elway won more home games than any quarterback in NFL history) and finished a league worst 2-14.

No. 1: The Red Sox make the first of 85 years of worth of mistakes:

Like Gretzky, Babe Ruth was traded not long after leading his team to a championship.

Like Elway, Ruth was also a pitcher.

And like Dr. J and Gretzky, cash had much to do the Ruth trade to the Bronx.

In an effort to bankroll his musical "No, No, Nanette," Red Sox owner Harry Frazee put up for sale baseball's greatest player to the Yankees for a $300,000 loan, plus $100,000 in cash, in 1920.

The Yankees would go on to win 26 world championships, becoming the greatest dynasty in the history of sports. The Red Sox would go on to become the greatest chokers in the history of sport, known less for failing to win a championship and more for finding the most spectacular ways to lose. 

Since then, the Curse of the Bambino has expanded simply to the curse of the “B.” When reviewing closely, Beantown’s failure to win a championship can be traced to players with the letter “B.” 

In Game 7 of the 1946 World Series, the Red Sox lose thanks to the strong pitching by the Cardinals’ Harry Brecheen. In 1975, Boston blows a 3-0 lead in Game 7 of the Series. Losing pitcher? Jim Burton. The other B’s need no explanation: Bucky in ’78, Buckner in ’86, Bagwell (traded in 1990) and most recently, Boone. 

The irony? Despite Harry Frazee being from Boston, “No, No, Nanette” was a Broadway-based play. So in essence, Frazee’s sale of Ruth simply supported the New York economy. 

MORE FROM MORE NEWS AND OTHER FEATURES

PFT: Belichick says Saints are best team in football

PFT: Belichick says Saints are best team in football Rosenthal: Steelers’ playoff future slipping away PFT: Shanahan interested in Cowboys, Redskins, Texans? Rob Ryan understands why Rex is so emotional NFL union opposes reporting on teammates NFL fines Dockett $7,500 for Hasselbeck throat hit Cribbs expects to play Sunday against Lions Stefanie Spielman, wife of NFL star, dies at 42 NFL mock draft: Projecting 2010’s first round Players hide, fear concussions   Add More news and other features headlines to your news reader: