Free Agents

And speaking of the sanctity of marriage . . . In 1973, Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich, two Yankee pitchers, announced that they had swapped wives.  It was a big story in New York at the time, and for this 13-year old Yankee-hater, I remember feeling a combination of amusement and bafflement.  The swap did not just involve wives, but lives:  Peterson's wife, Marilyn, their two kids and a poodle were traded for Kekich's wife, the two Kekich children and a Bedlington terrier.  (Jim Bouton reportedly said, “I can see trading your wife, but the dog?”)  Both pitchers were eventually banned to Cleveland, where they faded away.  Peterson, who is almost 70 years old, is still married to the former Susanne Kekich.  The other couple did not fare as well.  An article in New York Magazine, provides the details of the scandal and reports that Red Sox fans, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are making a movie about it.