Kirk Gibson reacts to Stephen Drew trade
Aug 21, 2012, 7:44 PM | Updated: 8:49 pm
Few people have been in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ dugout longer than Kirk Gibson.
That list got shorter Monday night when the D-backs traded shortstop Stephen Drew to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for minor league shortstop prospect Sean Jamieson.
Tuesday, as the Diamondbacks prepare for their first game without Drew, manager Kirk Gibson joined Burns and Gambo on Arizona Sports 620 to share his feelings on the trade.
“I’ve been here since 2007, I’ve been with Stephen pretty much all the way, he’s a very good personal friend of mine, so it’s always hard to trade somebody. Stephen’s got great moral character, he’s busted his tail on the field for us. We’ve been to two playoffs with him,” Gibson said. “Organizationally, we had discussions and we put him on waivers and he got claimed and ultimately we made the decision to move on.”
Drew batted just .193 in 40 games this season after returning to the field following a terrible ankle injury suffered last July. But during his seven seasons in Arizona, Drew has compiled statistics that have him ranked in the franchise’s top five in games played, at-bats, runs, hits, total bases and doubles. He’s the Diamondbacks all-time leader with 52 triples and was a solid defensive shortstop.
