The greatest trade in New York Mets history wouldn’t have been so great if his stay in Queens lasted four months. Keith Hernandez — already with a batting title, an MVP, and several Gold Gloves decorating his resume — was sent from the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals to the perennially downtrodden Mets in June 1983 for reliever Neil Allen and starter Rick Ownbey. And it sent the...
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Whether good or bad, you always knew Al Leiter’s feelings in real-time. He wore emotions on his sleeve — and just about anywhere else he could. Leiter would’ve made a terrible poker player, but he was a terrific left-hander for the Mets with an infectious passion that the team fed off of during the late 1990s and early 2000s. At age 32, Leiter had been part of two World Series winners and...
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His contributions to the Mets were measured in quality — not quantity. Injuries deprived us of knowing if Johan Santana could have reached the expectations placed on him when he arrived in New York. He was a two-time Cy Young award winner with the Minnesota Twins and perhaps the best starting pitcher in baseball. The Mets were intent on avenging a late-season collapse in 2007 and a major...
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Most everyone when they talk “Mets” and “trades” usually discuss the bad ones. We’ve heard them all: Seaver to the Reds, Ryan-for-Fregosi, Dykstra and McDowell for Juan Samuel. But the Mets have been the beneficiaries of transactions and here are five of the best in the team’s 60-year history. 5. Donn Clendenon from the Montreal Expos On the verge of...
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How do you let Tom Seaver go? A rhetorical question for most, but the Mets actually had an answer on June 15, 1977 when they traded him to the Reds. Five-and-a-half seasons later, Seaver came back to Queens. In 1983, his 17th big league season, he made 34 starts, posted a respectable 3.55 ERA, and had the third-best bWAR (2.6) for a young team that managed just 68 victories. At age 39 and on the...
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