Tuesday April 21,1964
Covington And Amaro Traded To Pittsburgh
Philadelphia,Pa.-The rumors had been circulating for a few days now but today the inevitable happened.The Phillies have traded 32 year old left fielder Wes Covington and 28 year old shortstop Ruben Amaro to the Pittsburgh Pirates for 23 year old shortstop Gene Alley.When asked about the move,Phils Gm John Gindville explained that he was taking the team in another direction."I believe you win in this league with defense and pitching"said Gindville "and by making this trade we become dramaticaly better defensively at 3 positions,LF,1B and SS"."I really believe now we have a team to challenge for a pennant".Covington has a lifetime batting average of .286 with 104 home runs and 395 RBI in 9 big league seasons but his struggles in the field made him expendable.Alley on the other hand in in his first big league season.His scouting report says he's an excellent fielder with a good to very good bat and good speed.
Covington