"He has a history in Milwaukee and when I had the chance to trade for him I took it," explains the Milwaukee GM. "We needed a pitcher and he knew our culture and was familiar with our team. He seemed like the right man for the job."



The career of Sonny Streaker is possibly one of the most fascinating in the MLR's short history. By all accounts, he was never considered a good pitcher. In fact, he drew a lot of ire from the fake baseball community, specifically Minnesota and New York fans. He was in the center of both franchises' Dark Ages. As the 2017-18 season began, things were not looking up for the young pitcher. Columnist Jack Bing urged the newly-rebranded Brewers to rebrand themselves with a new pitcher.

They did, in the form of Dan Gerzone. Sonny Streaker was relegated to being a secondary, mainly-bullpen arm. His struggles continued. In a fierce contest with the division-rival St. Louis Cardinals, Streaker gave up strong leads twice in extra innings. The game was a turning point for both the Cardinals and the Brewers. After this game, it was the end of an era: Streaker was promptly traded to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Why did the Phillies need Streaker? It was after an unfortunate happenstance. Around that time, the Phillies iconic Cy Hadd had passed away, and they needed an arm to replace him. General Manager J.A. Bird and Milwaukee skipper Master Cashier settled on a small trade, the shipping of a lottery ticket for the troubled arm. Just like that, Streaker found himself on his third team. It was where the spiral began.

Sonny Streaker became the poster child for necessity, for filling holes more than longterm option. The Phillies found a more permanent fix in the Giants' Owen Uridge, and promptly shipped Streaker to San Francisco as a minor player in a deal that included Hunter Tuzero.

He didn't pitch a single major league game for the Giants. One minor league start later, and the Indians were in need of a reliable secondary arm. Off to Cleveland he went, where he once again was never given a major league chance. That game against the Cardinals scarred his reputation, and his 2017-18 ERA was sitting well over 9, stewing as session after session passed.

Streaker would get his chance, however. In came Rabbi Chase, the Texas GM. The Rangers had been at the bad-end of poor pitching depth through their entire inaugural season, giving the brunt of their throwing to Superbone Threefinger. The Cy Young caliber hurler was not a bad guy to rely on, but after a few rough starts, it was clear he was getting tired out there. Not a single pitcher had more info to scout than Superbone Threefinger. His IP was miles ahead of the next competitor, Sal Shark. It was clear Chase needed a secondary pitcher for the sake of his team's playoff chances.

"We needed an arm," the Texas GM states. "Once he went on waivers, I knew I had to have him."

The Indians waved Sonny Streaker, and the Rangers bit. Just as soon, however, the Phillies claimed with priority, wanting a second go. When the waiver time had allotted, neither team had gotten the claim. The Washington Nationals, with the lowest priority in the league, got him.

Shortly thereafter, the Nationals traded Streaker to the Rangers. It was the plan all along. Streaker, months out of his last major league start, had arrived in his best chance at another.