(NY Daily News Archive)

After coming up short in the playoffs in 1999, general manager Steve Phillips went into the offseason in search for an ace to pair with Al Leiter atop the New York Mets rotation. On December 23, 1999, Phillips made a trade with the Houston Astros to acquire All-Star Mike Hampton.

Hampton was coming off an outstanding season in which he finished second in the NL Cy Young race to Randy Johnson. The left-hander led the league in wins, picking up 22 victories with the Astros.

To acquire Hampton, the Mets sent Roger Cedeno, Octavio Dotel and Kyle Kessel to Houston, while also receiving outfielder Derek Bell back in the deal as well. The trade proved to be one of the better moves that Phillips made to put the team over the top, eventually leading to their winning the pennant.

Bell hit .266/.348/.425, with 18 home runs, 31 doubles and 69 RBIs, playing in 144 games in 2000. Hampton was the real prize of the trade, as he helped anchor the starting rotation.

The then-27-year-old went 15-10 and pitched to a 3.14 ERA. Hampton led the Mets with 217 2/3 innings pitched and also sported the best ERA+ in the starting rotation at 142. Hampton was particularly good at home that year, pitching to an 11-4 record and a 2.05 ERA across 19 starts at Shea Stadium.

Along with his great performance on the mound, Hampton was an asset to the Mets lineup at the dish. Coming off the first of what would be five-straight Silver Slugger awards, Hampton hit .274 across his 73 at-bats.

Once the Mets made the playoffs, Hampton really began to shine in the NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals. Pitching in Game 1 and the clinching Game 5, Hampton did not allow a single run across 16 innings pitched. In his second start, Hampton threw a complete game shutout. Following the series, Hampton was named the NLCS MVP.

In his lone start in the World Series, Hampton yielded four runs across six innings pitched in a losing effort. That would be the final start for Hampton in a Mets uniform as he became a free agent following the season. He went on to sign the biggest contract in MLB history at the time, an eight-year, $121 million deal.