For Phillies fans who were around at the time, the rationale for the trade by GM Paul Owens with the Cleveland Indians that brought Von Hayes to town following the 1982 season seemed sound.
The Phils had been regular contenders for the better part of the period from 1975-1981, a seven year string of success that had yielded a World Series championship, 4 N.L. East titles, and even a split-season title in the work stoppage season of 1981.
In 1982, the Phillies had not been far off. They finished 89-73, just 3 games behind the Saint Louis Cardinals in the N.L. East. The Cards went on to win the World Series that season. But even prior to that 1982 season, the organization had begun the turnover from the 70's core to a new generation of players.
They said goodbye to 1980 World Series heroes Larry Bowa, Bob Boone, Bake McBride, Keith Moreland, and Dickie Noles as well as manager Dallas Green. Coming in to Philly were starting pitcher Mike Krukow and shortstop Ivan DeJesus.
Krukow joined with holdovers Steve Carlton, John Denny, and Dick Ruthven to give the team an enviable pitching rotation, but the team's offensive core was limited and aging. Mike Schmidt and Garry Maddox were 32, Gary Matthews and Manny Trillo were 31, and Pete Rose was now 41 years old.
A 7th round pick of the Tribe in the 1979 Draft out of Saint Mary's (CA) College, he could run, hit, field, and hit for power. At the minor league level, he played 2 full seasons. As a 21-year old in his first pro season at A-Waterloo in 1980, Hayes hit .329 with a .405 on-base percentage. He showed his power/speed combo with 15 homers, 90 rbi, 51 steals, and 105 runs scored.
Hayes skipped AA completely, and in 1981 at AAA-Charleston hit .314 with a .401 on-base percentage, 10 homers, 73 rbi, and 34 steals in almost 120 fewer plate appearances than the year before. His performance resulted in a promotion to the Indians, and it would be a decade until, late in his career, he saw another minor league appearance.
After getting his feet wet over the last couple months of the 1981 season in Cleveland, his first full 1982 season resulted in 14 homers, 82 rbi, and 32 steals. The Phillies scouts had seen enough, and Owens pulled the trigger during the off-season in what would become one of the more controversial and discussed deals in team history.
The problem with the deal, at least as far as the media was concerned, was not with the player coming to the club, but in the price paid to land Hayes. The media hung the handle "Five-for-one" on Hayes to recognize that the Phils gave up 5 players in order to bring this one individual to the organization.
The package headed to Cleveland included longtime popular World Series hero 2nd baseman Manny Trillo, starting rightfielder George Vukovich, and a trio of prospects: infielder Julio Franco, pitcher Jay Baller and infielder Jerry Willard. To many, this seemed a steep price to pay, and the deal would be criticized for years. But the fact is, when evaluated fairly, the Phillies got the better end.
In his first season with the Phillies, Hayes split time at all three outfield spots, playing mostly in rightfield. He got just 392 plate appearances, stealing 20 bases, for a Phils team that put on a late charge to win the N.L. East and eventually reach the World Series. Hayes saw limited postseason action, going 0-5 as a pinch-hitter and defensive replacement. He appeared in the first four games of the World Series that was eventually lost to the Orioles 4-1.
In 1984, Hayes played his first full Phillies season. It was the first of four consecutive years, and five of six, in which he would appear in at least 152 games. He hit .292, stole 48 bases, drove 16 homers, and drove in 67 while scoring 85 times. He tailed off in 1985, with his average (.263), homers (13), runs (76), and especially his steals (21) all dropping.
Meanwhile, the Phillies were also collapsing. In 1984 the club finished exactly at .500, with an 81-81 record and in 4th place. In '85 they dropped even further, to 75-87 and 5th place. As the championship era faded further into the past, Von Hayes, who was supposed to lead the charge into the future, became a poster boy for the team's struggles with his own personal struggles. The nickname "Five-for-One" became a full-blown insult thrown in his face at every turn.
Hayes did have a bright moment in 1985. On June 11th that season, Hayes led off with a homerun against New York Mets pitcher Tom Gorman. The Phillies batted around, and Hayes came up again. In his 2nd at-bat of the opening frame, Hayes again homered, this time off Mets reliever Calvin Schiraldi. He thus became the first player in MLB history to hit 2 homeruns in the 1st inning of a game. The Phils won 26-7, the most runs scored by a team in MLB in more than 40 years.
