Holtzman actually started the season with the Baltimore Orioles, for whom he just got traded to right before the season started on April 2nd as part of the blockbuster Reggie Jackson deal.
Some two and a half months later he was on the move again, as part of a huge 10-player deal that saw Rick Dempsey, Tippy Martinez, Rudy May, Scott McGregor and Dave Pagan go to Baltimore with Holtzman, Doyle Alexander, Elrod Hendricks, Grant Jackson and Jimmy Freeman coming to the Yankees.
Though he’d go 9-7 for the Yankees the rest of the way, helping them to their first World Series berth in 12 years, his best days were already behind him, winning only nine more games over the next three years before retiring for good in 1979 at the age of 33 with a career 174-150 record along with 31 shutouts and 1601 strikeouts.
Along the way he was part of three World Champion teams (A’s 1972-1974), and was named to a couple of All-Star teams.
