Fritz Feelings

As a red blooded, America loving, non-livestock raping, family man I hate hate HATE the New York Yankees. I am, however, wise enough to give credit where it is due. I was looking up a baseball player named Fritz so I could do a post called Fritz Feelings with the not-so-obvious-to-anyone-with-a-life joke being that it was a takeoff on the name of former Warner Brothers cartoonist Fritz Freleng. Funny thing is, after, oh, say, 1920 it appears people stopped naming their kids "Fritz". The most recent example I could find was a man named Fritz Peterson, who was a lefty starting pitcher for the Yankees, Indians and Rangers from 1966-1976. A quick look at his stats showed that he had some pretty good years and made one All Star team, but that wasn't really all that interesting. So I took a look at his Wiki page, and HOLY BALLS, I was not prepared for what I stumbled upon.

However, he is better remembered today for swapping families with fellow Yankee pitcher Mike Kekich, an arrangement the pair announced at spring training in March 1973. Peterson and Kekich had been inseparable friends since 1969; both families lived in New Jersey, their children were about the same age, and often they all would visit the Bronx Zoo or the shore or enjoy a picnic together. They decided that they would one day trade wives, children, and even dogs.

Excuuuuuse me? How? What? HUH? This is... odd? IT GETS BETTER!

The affair began in 1972, when the two couples joked on a double date about wife swapping, a phenomenon that caught on in some uninhibited circles during the early 1970s. According to one report, the first swap took place that summer, after a party at the home of New York sportswriter Maury Allen.

I see. In case you're curious, they decided to swap wives at a party thrown by this guy:

That's hot. Back to the real story.

The couples made the change official in October; Kekich moving in with Marilyn Peterson and Peterson with Susanne Kekich, but no word leaked out until spring of 1973. A light moment came when New York Yankees General Manager Lee MacPhail remarked, "We may have to call off Family Day." The trade worked out better for Peterson than it did for Kekich, as Peterson is still married to the former Susanne Kekich, with whom he has had four children. Kekich and Marilyn Peterson did not last long.

THE HELL YOU SAY! A marriage built on a night of wife swapping didn't go the distance? Shocking, really. But before you start feeling bad for Mr Kekich, read on.

Peterson's pitching seem to suffer in 1973 and 1974 after this "deal," and he was roundly booed in nearly every American League ballpark afterwards. In April 1974, the Yankees traded him to the Cleveland Indians.

In the event that LeBron James is reading this (and I'm CERTAIN that he is) I have two things to say: 1- We could really use a Marlins writer and 2- If you REALLY want people to hate you, you need to give some serious thought to getting married and then trading wives with a teammate. Might I recommend Mike Miller's wife?

Alas, things haven't all been a bed of roses for the new Mr. and Mrs. Peterson.

Later, Peterson and Susanne Kekich lived outside Chicago, where he worked as a blackjack dealer at a casino.

Although he did eventually accomplish this.

Fritz Peterson released his first book, Mickey Mantle Is Going to Heaven in July 2009. Sports author Maury Allen is quoted as saying, "Fritz's book is even better than Bouton's Ball Four."

So, uh, there is that. So in closing, I'd like to say LICK IT, YANKEES.