June 15, 1969: Donn Clendenon from the Montreal Expos

For a time, this was the final date to deal. At the time in 1969, the Mets trailed the Chicago Cubs by eight games in the NL East and the offense averaged a meager 3.8 runs.

More importantly, he reinforced the Mets’ lineup against left-handed pitching, deepened a relatively thin bench, was defensively solid at first base, and added experience to a team that had never faced the pressures of a pennant race.

New York steamrolled to the division title and then conquered the National League pennant. Then came the World Series—when he batted .357 and went deep in Games 2, 4 and 5 to garner Most Valuable Player award honors. While the five players traded for him proved to be of small consequence, Clendenon enjoyed a better season in 1970: slugging .515, charting an OPS of .863 and driving in 97 runs.

June 15, 1983: Keith Hernandez from the St. Louis Cardinals

Six years after the team’s darkest day (sending Tom Seaver to the Reds) came one of its best—and the greatest trade in Mets history.

In Cashen’s efforts to restore respectability, he had cultivated promising prospects that had reached—or were approaching—big-league status. But no amount of veteran leadership would come from the farm system. Cashen pulled a coup that put the Mets rebuild on the accelerator by getting Keith Hernandez.

The first baseman and St. Louis manager Whitey Herzog were at odds. It made the former MVP and multiple Gold Glove-winning first baseman expendable. All the Mets had to give up was a declining relief pitcher, Neil Allen, and another arm, Rick Ownbey, who would make seven more big-league starts and win once.

Hernandez’s leadership changed the attitude of the Mets. The team improved in each of his first three full seasons, culminating of course with the championship in 1986—a significant reason why his number is in the Citi Field rafters.

August 28, 1984: Ray Knight from the Houston Astros

We’re getting a little creative, but for good reason. Beyond the trade deadline were opportunities to swap players via waivers. So in late August, as the Mets remained in sight of the Chicago Cubs for the NL East, they picked up a veteran third baseman. Ray Knight had been in the postseason with the Reds. He’d been an All-Star as a Red and Astro.

In addition to Hernandez and eventually Gary Carter, he brought much-needed experience to a relatively young (and emerging) team. He also provided a good helping of toughness—especially in 1986.

And when it counted, Knight was there in the big moments. In Game 6 of the ’86 NLCS, he delivered a key 16th-inning RBI single in Houston as New York eventually took the pennant. Against Boston in the World Series, he batted .391—including a two-out single in the all-important 10th inning of Game 6 that led to him scoring the winning run and the homer that broke a 3-3 tie in the seventh inning of Game 7 to help him win MVP.

July 23, 1999: Darryl Hamilton from the Colorado Rockies

His effect may not resonate like Clendenon, Hernandez or Knight. But the late outfielder played a role in consecutive postseason trips.

Acquired for outfielder Brian McRae and two minor league pitchers, Darryl Hamilton slashed .339/.410/.488 over the final two-plus months of the ’99 regular season as the Mets reached the playoffs for the first time in 11 years. And in those playoffs, Hamilton was solid there too with a batting average and on-base percentage at .353.

He spent much of the 2000 regular season injured, but for his 120 plate appearances which spanned 43 games, Hamilton went .276/.358/.362. He had just two hits that October, but one of them was crucial. It was in the top of the 10th in Game 2 of the NLDS at San Francisco. With two outs and the bases empty, Hamilton hustled out a double and then came around to score a tie-breaking run on Jay Payton’s single. That was the difference in a 5-4 victory.

July 31, 2015: Yoenis Céspedes from the Detroit Tigers

The pitching staff was maturing on the fly, keeping the Mets above .500 and within arm’s reach of the NL East-leading Washington Nationals despite an offense short on power and shorter on depth. Remember John Mayberry Jr. and Eric Campbell?! That was what the Mets were trotting out in a starting lineup in late July.

Two days earlier, management infamously failed to acquire Carlos Gómez from Milwaukee. Jay Bruce became the focus next, but a path to that deal became impassable (for a year, at least). The target then became Yoenis Céspedes—18 home runs, 61 RBIs and a .293 average with Detroit.

At somewhere way too close to the 4:00 p.m. cutoff, Alderson shipped off two prospects for an instant offensive upgrade while avoiding a village full of unhappy fans on Mets Twitter. But no fan could have anticipated the ripple effect his addition would have. The leader of a three-month thrill ride to the NL pennant, Céspedes turned the lineup from powerless to powerhouse. Fifty-seven games, 17 home runs, and 44 RBIs later, the Mets were postseason-bound and eventually en route to the World Series.

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With a winning percentage of .656 over 61 openers, no major-league team is better at making a first impression than the New York Mets. And this after losing their first eight. The start of the regular season is cause for fans to celebrate, and Mets fans have celebrated more often than others. With 40 wins in the last 53 years, the only thing we can usually count on is a Mets victory. Then, we can worry about the rest of the schedule tomorrow. Here are the top moments from the Mets’ rich history of Opening Day success.

10. 2015: Buddy Saves the Day

The Mets began their most recent World Series season with their annual win, but not in the ordinary way. At age 41, Bartolo Colón became the oldest Opening Day starter in club history. He was up against the Washington Nationals’ newest ace, once enemy turned current ally, Max Scherzer. New York couldn’t muster a hit for more than five innings until Lucas Duda was helped out by a Washington fielding miscue. The Mets went up 2-1 that inning and added another run before calling on 37-year-old Buddy Carlyle to record the final two outs and notch his only save in the orange and blue.

9. 2013: Need More Cowgill

Opening Day is that chance to elevate yourself above a performance in any ordinary regular-season game. Just ask Collin Cowgill. The 26-year old outfielder acquired from Arizona, who earned a spot in the starting lineup thanks to a solid spring training, made just 61 at-bats as a Met and played in only 23 games with an OPS+ of 45. Yet, he’s remembered better than most thanks to his seventh-inning grand slam over the left-field wall — punctuating a terrific team hitting display in a 11-2 demolition of the San Diego Padres.

8. 1992: Bonilla Cashes In

Sometimes a game one win is a precursor to later success. Other times, it’s 1992. A 3-2 extra-inning victory in St. Louis was not a signal of would lie ahead for the 92 Mets. It was just a lie. The initiation of our ongoing saga with Bobby Bonilla actually began well: a tenth-inning homer down the right-field line at Busch Stadium against Lee Smith that capped a 3-for-5 evening. David Cone went eight innings, struck out nine, allowed two hits, and two runs. He would’ve a tough-luck loser if the Mets hadn’t pushed across a score in the top of the ninth, narrowly avoiding a game-ending double play.

7. 1975: A Pair of Aces

The Hall of Fame pair of Tom Seaver and Steve Carlton combined for 640 wins, 7,700-plus strikeouts, and seven Cy Youngs. The two met on Opening Day five times and on three straight occasions beginning in 1973. Lefty-Seaver III lived up to their standards: trading K’s and scoreless innings. Only a Dave Cash third-inning RBI double and a Dave Kingman fourth-inning solo homer accounted for the entirety of the scoring heading into the ninth. Neither starter would let a reliever settle this 1-1 tie. Seaver held up his end and the Mets offense did not waste any time (or outs) in the bottom half. Félix Millán singled, John Milner walked, and Joe Torre’s base hit to left scored Millán — chalking up another W in Seaver’s column.

6. 1970: Breaking the O-fer

As the Mets basked in the glow of a championship, they still were trying to figure out how to get their season off right. As insignificant as it may seem, the Mets had been 0-for-8 in openers up to that point. The drought ended once they had a World Series ring in hand. Neither Tom Seaver nor Pirates ace Steve Blass factored into the decision as a 3-3 tie lasted into the eleventh, when the Mets were beneficiaries of shoddy Pittsburgh defense. A sacrifice and an intentional walk let World Series MVP Donn Clendenon show he had another big hit to spare. The former Pirate singled to bring in the deciding runs. From there, the Mets were off and winning — taking 18 of their next 20.

5. 1998: Castillo the Unlikely Hero

The old saying goes that the baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint. But it took one game into the ’98 season for the Mets to feel like they had already gone the full route. At least they could celebrate when it ended. In a 1-0 win over the Phillies that took 14 innings and more than four hours to finish, a Mets catcher supplied the necessary offense. Not Mike Piazza — he was two months away. Not Todd Hundley, with 71 homers over the previous two seasons. He was sidelined while recovering from Tommy John surgery. The starting lineup had Tim Spehr behind the plate. He had two of the seven hits, but neither produced the run. After nobody else could, Alberto Castillo did. The pinch-hitter delivered the game-winning single and ended the seemingly endless string of goose eggs.

4. 1988: Strawberry Almost Leaves Olympic

Talk about a flying start. Mets bats slugged what was an Opening Day record six home runs against the Expos, the most prodigious coming from Darryl Strawberry — challenging the confines of Olympic Stadium. Strawberry went deep twice. So did fellow outfielder Kevin McReynolds. Kevin Elster and Lenny Dykstra supplied the rest of the power in a 10-6 win. Strawberry led off the top of the second against Dennis Martínez for his third Opening Day home run in five years. This was a pedestrian 400-foot shot compared to what would come later. In the seventh inning with the Mets now ahead by three, Darryl sent Randy St. Claire‘s pitch out of the yard — almost literally. The mammoth blast hit the top of the stadium and might have cleared customs if not for the roof.

3. 1996: Rey’s Amazin’ Play

It’s rare a comeback becomes forgotten, but the defensive wizardry by Rey Ordóñez in his major league debut is still what’s most remembered. The Mets had sliced a 6-0 deficit in half by the time the Cardinals were at bat with two outs in the seventh and Royce Clayton on first. Ray Lankford went down the left field line — a hit that could have extended St. Louis’ lead. Soon after Bernard Gilkey fielded the ball near the side wall, Clayton rounded third. Gilkey’s throw to Ordóñez — the cutoff man — was low, but Rey got down and fielded the short hop. Then, from his knees on the outfield grass, he fired it some 150 feet home to Todd Hundley before Clayton reached the plate. Ordóñez complemented his extraordinary defense minutes later with a single to right field that set up the Mets’ game-winning four-run rally, but Rey, the rookie, truly saved the day with his glove and arm.

2. 1983: Tom’s Return

With 16, no pitcher has more Opening Day starts than Tom Seaver. Of the five meetings he had with Carlton, none were more memorable than when “The Franchise” returned to the team he’s forever tied to. “Welcome Home, Tom” was a sign draped over the stands down the left field line and it was the message echoed by an anticipatory Shea Stadium crowd that roared as Seaver walked from the bullpen to the dugout. At age 38, by baseball standards, he was an old Tom Seaver. But when he took the mound against Carlton and his Phillies — a glorious sun-drenched afternoon — a packed house got to witness something resembling the Tom Seaver of old. He shut out Philadelphia for six innings in a vintage performance despite a no-decision.

1. 1985: Welcome to New York, Gary Carter

The only opener that could top the return of The Franchise occurred two years later. This wasn’t a reunion, but instead an introduction. The arrival of Carter, once the face of the Montreal Expos, headlined the most anticipated season in Mets history. It began with another storybook ending, and their new catcher offered the heroics. On a cold, blustery afternoon at Shea, Carter came up in the bottom of the tenth against former Met Neil Allen. “Kid” swung and connected on a sharp curveball that cut through the biting wind and snuck its way over the left-field fence. Chants of “Gary…Gary” rang through stands and made the chilly temperature more than bearable.

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In April 1969, humans were hundreds of thousands of miles away from setting foot on the moon just as the New York Mets seemed far away from a World Series title.

By October 15, both distances had been covered and two feats once thought of as miracles were achieved.

The Mets—cellar dwellers for the better part of their first seven years—headed into Game 5 on the brink of an accomplishment registering as much awe July’s moon landing.

Even 100 regular-season wins and a sweep of the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS  did not convince skeptics that New York was capable of toppling the 109-win Orioles in the World Series.

Despite dropping Game 1 in Baltimore, the magic refused to fade. Three straight wins turned skeptics into believers. And now a win away, the elements bringing the Mets to this juncture — superb starting pitching and timely hitting — carried them to the top.

But fate intervened once more, with the Orioles up 3-0 and poised to take the series back to Baltimore. The first pitch from  Dave McNally  to start the bottom of the sixth dove in on Cleon Jones and rolled toward the Mets’ dugout.

Jones went up the first base line thinking it hit him in the foot before home plate umpire Lou DiMuro called him back. Hodges stoically approached DiMuro and presented what turned out to be indisputable evidence: a ball with a small smudge of shoe polish. DiMuro was convinced. Jones was awarded first base.

Soon to be named MVP, Donn Clendenon stepped in and belted his third homer of the series to pull New York to within a run. Al Weis, emblematic of the unlikely nature of the Mets’ unexpected success, delivered in the seventh with a game-tying home run — the only round-tripper he hit at Shea all year — to finish off a fabulous .455 batting average over the five games. Two doubles and two Oriole errors in the eighth led to a 5-3 Mets’ lead.

It was an advantage the Mets’ superb big-game pitcher would protect. Through three innings, Jerry Koosman had allowed four hits and three runs. He yielded just one hit the rest of the way while his hitters mounted their comeback.

Koosman’s pitch in the top of the ninth to O’s second baseman (and future Mets’ manager) Davey Johnson was sent to deep left field. Jones, on the warning track, knelt as he secured the clinching out almost as if to pay respect to the heavens. It was one of the franchises’ iconic images, as was Koosman jumping into the arms of catcher Jerry Grote as the masses congregated on a Shea Stadium turf about to be torn to shreds.

What had been inconceivable in April was reality in October. One hundred-to-one odds to win it all when the season began, now the Mets were World Champions.

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June 15 covers the spectrum of Mets trades. Each had an impact on the franchise, for better and for worse.

By 1969, the Mets couldn’t get much worse. But they were reversing the trend which was their reputation over the first seven years of the franchise.

So when the mid-June trade deadline arrived, the Mets—over .500 yet in a rather distant second place—looked to improve the offense to complement an exemplary pitching staff.

Clendenon reinforced the Mets’ lineup against left-handed pitching, deepened a relatively thin bench, was defensively solid at first base, and added experience to a team that had never faced the pressures of a pennant race.

It led to the overthrow of the Chicago Cubs’ NL East lead, steamrolling to the division title and then conquering the National League pennant. Those happenings were prologue to what took place in the World Series—when he batted .357 and went deep in Games 2, 4, and 5 to garner Most Valuable Player award honors.

Tom Seaver was among many who benefited from Clendenon’s heroics. Seaver, naturally, was a tremendous impact on the World Series season himself, winning Game 4 of the Fall Classic and earning a Cy Young Award.

All he did after was further his Mets legacy—so much that it seemed impossible to see him in another uniform.

Leave it to M. Donald Grant to ruin a great thing. The deaths of Joan Payson and Gil Hodges erased Seaver’s sources of comfort. As team chairman, Grant had little to no interest during the advent of free agency and initially scoffed at his star pitcher’s demands for more money.

Grant wasn’t alone in challenging the face of the Mets. He had a powerful voice taking up his argument. Dick Young, the legendary and cantankerous columnist for the New York Daily News, shared Grant’s disdain for free agency and regularly wrote with scorn for Seaver.

Tom went into 1977 disgruntled and continued to pitch with little support, but had secretly worked out a three-year extension with Lorinda de Roulet two days before the trade deadline.

On that fateful day, Young’s latest piece alleged that Tom’s wife, Nancy, was jealous of Nolan Ryan’s wife, Ruth, because his former teammate was earning a higher salary with the California Angels. That was a match to the powder keg.

Seaver asked out of New York. The Mets bent to his demand, sending him to the Cincinnati Reds and letting the proverbial wrecking ball loose on what is now known as the “Midnight Massacre” (which also included a separate trade for Dave Kingman to San Diego). The cumulative WAR of the four players the Mets received over their careers in New York (12.3 combined) was only slightly above Seaver’s best season (11.0 in 1973). And it certainly couldn’t measure up to his stature. As expected, the Mets cratered into irrelevance.

Six years later, much had changed with the organization. Grant was gone, new ownership was in, Frank Cashen was installed as general manager, and seeds for the future had been planted in the farm system.

But a lot hadn’t changed. They were still at the bottom of the NL East.

Six years to the day of the team’s darkest day came one of its most significant—and the greatest trade in Mets history.

In Cashen’s efforts to restore respectability, he had cultivated promising prospects that had reached—or were approaching—big-league status. But no amount of veteran leadership would come from the farm system. Cashen pulled a coup that put the Mets rebuild on the accelerator by getting first baseman Keith Hernandez.

Hernandez and St. Louis manager Whitey Herzog were at odds. Thus, the former MVP and multiple Gold Glove-winning first baseman was expendable. All the Mets had to give up was a declining relief pitcher, Neil Allen, and another arm, Rick Ownbey, who would make seven more big-league starts and win once.

Hernandez’s leadership changed the attitude of the Mets. The team improved in each of his first three full seasons, culminating of course with the championship in 1986—a significant reason why his number will soon be in the Citi Field rafters.

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The current version of the Mets is poised to make last year’s disappointment an afterthought. If all things were equal, as in a full 162-game schedule, they’d have a great opportunity to join this list of the most substantial one-year improvements in team history.

What are the greatest one-year team turnarounds in Mets history? Let’s take a look.

Note: the 1982 season, which had a 24-win increase, is not included as strike-shortened 1981 consisted of 105 games.

1969: 27 wins better than ’68

The least surprising team here remains one of the great surprises baseball has ever seen. “Miracle Mets” is an applicable nickname in an alliterative sense, but it was more than celestial gods at work. There was brilliant pitching from Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman, outstanding defense from Tommie Agee, Bud Harrelson, and Jerry Grote, and timely hitting from players like Cleon Jones.

None of that, though, would’ve been possible without the strong leadership of second-year manager Gil Hodges. Under his guidance, New York improved by 12 games with a franchise-best 73 wins and a ninth-place finish in 1968 — just the second time the Mets had reached such a height.

But it was nothing compared to what was to come. Showing signs of significant development by June, they acquired veteran Donn Clendenon before really taking off in August. 100 regular-season wins. A division title. A sweep of the Braves in the playoffs. And a five-game World Series triumph over Baltimore. Amazin’.

1984: 22 wins

The nucleus of a team that would take the World Series title two years later had pretty much come together. Certainly, this was the season of rookie Dwight Gooden captivating New York City and the baseball landscape. Doc struck out 276, had a 137 ERA+, and nearly won the Cy Young — at age 19. Darryl Strawberry, who preceded Doc in winning Rookie of the Year honors, showed more glimpses of his potential. Keith Hernandez, traded for in June ’83, was the experience new manager Davey Johnson could rely on to provide on-field leadership.

While the Chicago Cubs outlasted the Mets and took the NL East by seven games, everyone around the sport was convinced that the Mets — which won 90 and had a winning season for the first time since 1976 — were the team of the future.

1997: 17 wins

This may have been Bobby Valentine‘s best job as Mets manager.

Bobby V took over an underachieving club in the summer of ’96. And in this brief pre-Piazza era, he helped keep New York in the Wild Card race until the final week. Edgardo Alfonzo topped all players in bWAR at 6.2 with a .315 batting average and an on-base percentage that neared .400. Offseason trade acquisition John Olerud did have a .400 OBP along with 105 RBIs. Catcher Todd Hundley maintained his power and led the club in homers for the second straight year. Rick Reed was a replacement player as the strike leaked into the start of the ’95 season. By ’97, he was the Mets’ top starter. He had the highest ERA+ (141), the lowest WHIP (1.042), and the most innings of anyone in the rotation.

2006: 14 wins

A common theme of this group is new managers — either in their first or second full season. The trend continues here.

Willie Randolph debuted in 2005 and oversaw an 83-79 club that was 12 wins better than ’04. But there were many reasons why it could — and would — get even better. Carlos Beltrán rebounded from a rough start in New York and produced to his capabilities with a franchise-tying mark of 41 homers. Carlos Delgado was picked up from Florida and was an instant success as a middle-of-the-order presence. Then there was the continued growth of their two homegrown talents: David Wright and Jose Reyes. Together, they solidified the left side of the infield, with Wright matching Beltrán for most RBIs and Reyes leading the league in triples and steals.

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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 staggering baseball’s foundation by the middle of June in 1969, the time of the old trade deadline, the Mets trailed the Chicago Cubs by eight games in the NL East. Pitching was plentiful, but the contact-driven offense averaged 3.8 runs.

But beyond the periphery, Clendenon reinforced the Mets’ lineup against left- handed pitching, deepened a relatively thin bench, was defensively solid at first base and added experience to a team that had never faced the pressures of a pennant race.

It led to the overthrow of the Chicago Cubs’ NL East lead, steamrolling to the division title and then conquering the National League pennant. Those happenings were prologue to what took place in the World Series — when he batted .357 and went deep in Games 2, 4 and 5 to garner Most Valuable Player award honors.

While the five players traded for him proved to be of small consequence, Clendenon enjoyed a better season in 1970: slugging .515, charting an OPS of .863 and driving in 97 runs.

4. Gil Hodges from the Washington Senators

Not all trades are for players. In this case, Hodges did more than any player could.

He had been a Met, a member of the original 1962 club in the twilight of his playing career. More famously, he was a significant part of the Dodgers’ success in the late 1940s and 1950s. The leadership qualities which made him a respected first baseman weren’t lost on organizations seeking a manager. And for more than four seasons, he oversaw an inexperienced Washington Senators club which improved incrementally each year.

Mets vice president Johnny Murphy sought a replacement for the recently-departed Wes Westrum after 1967. He had a connection in Washington: George Selkirk, the Senators’ general manager and Murphy’s former roommate when they were Yankee teammates.

Selkirk wouldn’t give in so easily. But shortly after Murphy took over GM duties from Bing Devine, the offer was Hodges for right-handed pitcher Bill Denehy and $100,000 as compensation to release Hodges from his deal with Washington. Realizing the possibility of no return if he decided to leave when the contract expired following the ‘68 season, Selkirk relented.

In the story of any franchise, there are a few seminal moments. The insertion of Hodges as manager is one of them. Inheriting a club that had suffered 100 or more defeats in five of its first six seasons, he instilled a confidence that future Mets teams would be different than their predecessors. And in 1969, he took them to a place that few — if any — thought was possible.

3. Gary Carter from the Expos

From 1983 to 1984, the Mets crawled out from their cellar dwelling and ventured up a few flights up with a 22-win improvement. Then came their last big stride toward the summit in December ’84.

A good hitting catcher who can also play solid defense and nurture pitchers is akin to a diamond in the rough. Frank Cashen, and just about everyone else who watched, knew this was their glaring weakness. While serviceable, Mike Fitzgerald provided next to no impact on offense.

When the Mets’ GM got word that the Montreal Expos were dismantling, he made his move. Carter — a two-time All-Star MVP, Gold Glover, middle-of-the-order bat and natural-born leader — checked every box.

Even if it took dispatching the popular Hubie Brooks, plus Fitzgerald, Herm Winningham, and Floyd Youmans, it was a deal worth making. The Mets had upgraded from having a catching void to having the best catcher. And with it came anticipation for a season unlike any in more than a decade.

The perceived reputation about Carter’s fixation for the camera and unabashed enthusiasm quickly took a back seat. Gary immediately gained favor with the public and his new teammates. A walk-off homer on Opening Day was a good way to do that. But so is a career-high thirty-two home runs, 100 RBIs, helping a young starting rotation to newfound success, and a blistering September that led the Mets to 98 wins.

He spent four more seasons in a Mets uniform. His last peak year was in ’86, but it ended perfectly. He set a franchise record with 105 RBIs. More importantly, the Mets got their championship ring. Carter delivered crucial hits in October — none more than the single to keep Game 6 of the World Series alive.

2. Mike Piazza from the Marlins

Up until 2016, Tom Seaver was the only player inducted into the Hall of Fame as a New York Met. If not for some persistence in the front office coupled by media and fan fervor in May 1998, he’d still be the only one — and Mike Piazza would be in Cooperstown wearing someone else’s cap.

From 1993 through 1997, Piazza batted .337 with an average of 33 homers and 105 RBIs — remarkable for any hitter and extraordinary for a catcher. But he and the Los Angeles Dodgers couldn’t agree on a contract extension. L.A. sent Piazza to Florida in a mega-deal. But with the Marlins in the midst of a fire sale, his stay in Miami wasn’t permanent.

The New York public and media saw an irresistible opportunity for the Mets to sign a transformative figure. The Mets had broken a six-year losing season skid with 88 victories in 1997. They resembled a good team, but one that wasn’t going to scare anyone. The fans knew the type of difference maker Piazza could be.

Management waffled at first, but eight days after he landed to South Beach, the Marlins got Preston Wilson, Ed Yarnall and Geoff Goetz. In return, Queens got its Piazza delivery — causing tremendous buzz, even by New York standards.

From ’98 through 2005, on his way to becoming the most prolific home run-hitting catcher in baseball history, Piazza compiled 220 as a Met while driving in 655 runs. He still holds the highest slugging percentage in team history, ranks second in OPS, and third in homers. He led the Mets to consecutive postseason appearances, a World Series, made six All-Star appearances, and delivered an unforgettable home run in the first game in New York City following September 11, 2001.

1. Keith Hernandez from the Cardinals

In June 1983, the Mets wanted Hernandez, but Hernandez didn’t want the Mets. When he got word of his transition from the reigning champion Cards to the moribund Mets, Keith contemplated retiring rather than playing in New York.

In Frank Cashen’s efforts to restore respectability, he had cultivated promising prospects that had reached — or were approaching — the big-league level. But no amount of veteran leadership would come from the farm system. At the trade deadline — ironically, six years to the evening from when the franchise broke with relevancy by shipping away Tom Seaver—Cashen pulled a coup that put the Mets rebuild on the accelerator.

Hernandez and St. Louis manager Whitey Herzog were at odds. Thus, the former MVP and multiple Gold Glove-winning first baseman was expendable. All the Mets had to give up was a declining relief pitcher, Neil Allen, and another arm, Rick Ownbey, who would make seven more big-league starts and win once.

In short, this was grand larceny.

But it wasn’t really stamped a steal right away. Another last-place finish did little to convince Hernandez to stay as he headed into free agency. He batted .306 over 95 games, maintained his streak of NL Gold Gloves, and quickly cemented himself as a team leader. Keith needed to assurance that New York was the right place long-term. His father, Cashen, and Rusty Staub all spoke to him about the benefits of being on the Mets —  specifically about the talent coming in the near future.

Keith was convinced. And soon, the greatest trade in Mets history would reap its benefits.

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In case we weren’t already reminded before this past weekend, Mother Nature has let everyone in the northeast know it’s officially winter time. Between the single-digit temperatures and the threat of snow, it certainly feels like baseball isn’t close to happening yet (and that’s without even mentioning the current state of the lockout).

So, with that said, why not warm ourselves up with an excellent picture of Donn Clendenon during the 1969 World Series at Shea Stadium? Yes, let’s do that:

“Old Days”Donn Clendenon connects for a HR in Game 5 of the 1969 Orioles-Mets World Series at Shea Stadium.#Orioles #Baltimore #Mets #LGM #NYC #MLB #1960s pic.twitter.com/tbjcQmgW8o

— Tom's Old Days (@sigg20) January 16, 2022

Clendenon was one of the most pivotal acquisitions in franchise history. New York officially traded for the right-handed hitter on June 15th, 1969 by sending a package of four players that included Kevin Collins, Steve Renko, Jay Carden, and David Colon to the Montreal Expos. In the 72 games he played for the Mets during the regular season, he slashed .252/.321/.455 with 12 home runs, 37 RBI, and 31 runs scored. That’s all well and good, but it’s what he did in the postseason that really mattered.

He didn’t appear in the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves, but he made up for it during New York’s World Series matchup against the heavily-favored Baltimore Orioles. He registered five hits in 16 plate appearances, which is already pretty good, but was even better because four of them went for extra bases. Three of those extra-base hits went over the wall, and another one went for a double. Clendenon added four RBI and four runs scored to go along with his .357/.438/1.071 line, which led to him earning series MVP honors once the final out was recorded.

This ended up being the only taste of postseason baseball Clendenon would ever experience, so one can assume he was happy about maximizing the one opportunity given to him. Below is a great clip of his highlights from the ’69 Fall Classic, and it doesn’t just include the things he did at the plate — it also included a couple of plays over at first base:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZFVKNluykU

Clendenon actually finished 13th in National League MVP voting as a 34-year-old for the Mets in 1970, as well. He did this off the strength of a .288/.348/.515 line with 22 home runs and 97 RBI, but it’s what he did during that five-game stretch in October of 1969 that will link him to this organization forever.

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Six months earlier, such a scenario would have defied comprehension. For a civilization which recently witnessed a moon landing, the Mets — cellar dwellers for the better part of their first seven years — were on the brink of an accomplishment registering as much awe as what took place 239,000 miles from earth.

Even 100 regular-season wins and a sweep of the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS  did not convince skeptics that New York was capable of toppling the 109-win Orioles in the World Series.

Despite dropping Game 1 in Baltimore, the magic refused to fade. Three straight wins turned skeptics into believers. And now a win away, the elements bringing the Mets to this juncture — superb starting pitching and timely hitting — carried them to the top.

But fate intervened once more with Orioles up 3-0 and the poised to take the series back to Baltimore. The first pitch from Baltimore starter Dave McNally in the bottom of the sixth dove in on Cleon Jones and rolled toward the Mets dugout.

Jones went up the first base line thinking it hit him in the foot before home plate umpire Lou DiMuro called him back. Hodges stoically approached DiMuro and presented what turned out to be indisputable evidence: a ball with a small smudge of shoe polish. DiMuro was convinced. Jones was awarded first base.

Donn Clendenon, soon to be named MVP, stepped in and belted his third homer of the series to pull New York to within a run. Al Weis, anything but a power threat, delivered in the seventh with the game-tying home run (the only round-tripper he hit at Shea all year) to finish off a fabulous .455 batting average over the five games. Two doubles and two Oriole errors in the eighth resulted in a 5–3 Mets lead.

It was an advantage the Mets’ superb big-game pitcher would protect. Through three innings, Jerry Koosman allowed four hits and three runs. He yielded just one hit the rest of the way while his hitters mounted their comeback.

Koosman’s pitch in the top of the ninth to O’s second baseman (and future Mets manager) Davey Johnson was sent to deep left field. Jones, on the warning track, began to kneel as he secured the clinching out—almost as if to acknowledge the heavens for the miracle that had occured. Koosman jumped into the arms of catcher Jerry Grote as the masses congregated on a Shea Stadium turf that was ready to be torn to shreds.

What had been inconceivable in March was reality in October. The Mets, hundred-to-one odds to win it all when the season began, were World Champions. Amazin’.

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It wasn’t so much a pennant race as it was two teams passing each other in the midst of their respective, opposing late-season streaks.

From August 16 through September 23, the New York Mets — which spent its initial seven years in or near the National League cellar — won 32 of 42. The Chicago Cubs — who held first place for much of ’69 — went 14-23.

Greeting and effectively, the Mets took care of the Cubs with an early September sweep at Shea. One night later, New York was in first place for good.

Gil Hodges‘ club kept its distance with one mini-miracle after another. The Mets won both ends of a doubleheader in Pittsburgh in which the only runs were produced by their starting pitchers. The Mets won in spite of Steve Carlton baffling them to the tune of 19 strikeouts.

But New York’s pitching was even more marvelous as Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman collectively went 19-4 over the final two months.

With the magic number at one, it would be another promising young arm — rookie Gary Gentry — who culminated the Mets’ remarkable regular season with a brilliant 6-0 shutout performance that ensured the NL East title.

Once again, New York hitters were up against Steve Carlton. But this time, Carlton didn’t stand a chance.

Just as fitting as it was for a Mets pitcher to dominate the evening, so too was the batter who carried the offense. Donn Clendenon — the key acquisition at the trade deadline that helped ignite the team’s summer charge — delivered a pair of homers. He opened the scoring with a three-run homer to center field.

The Mets eventually put up a five spot in that inning. Veteran third baseman Ed Charles snapped his career-long postseason drought with a two-run blast of his own.

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On June 29, 1969, Tom Seaver defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates by a 7-3 score at Shea Stadium to become the Mets’ all-time leader in wins by a pitcher with 44. He presently holds the franchise record for wins with 198.

In 1969, Seaver won his first of three Cy Young awards. That year, he went 25-7 with a 2.21 ERA and a 1.039 WHIP.

In this particular game against the Pirates, Seaver went the distance, striking out 10 and walking four, allowing three runs on six hits. Here is the lineup he faced that day.

1. Matty Alou (CF)
2. Richie Hebner (3B)
3. Roberto Clemente (RF)
4. Manny Sanguillen (C)
5. Jose Pagan (LF)
6. Carl Taylor (1B)
7. Bill Mazeroski (2B)
8. Freddie Patek (SS)
9. Bob Veale (P)

The Mets countered with this lineup:

1. Rod Gaspar (RF)
2. Bobby Pfeil (2B)
3. Tommie Agee (CF)
4. Cleon Jones (LF)
5. Ed Charles (3B)
6. Donn Clendenon (1B)
7. Jerry Grote (C)
8. Al Weis (SS)
9. Tom Seaver (P)

In the bottom of the first inning, Charles and Clendenon singled in runs to give the Mets a 2-0 lead. A home run by Taylor tied the game for the Pirates in the top of the second inning, but Clendenon broke the tie with a two-run double in the bottom of the third.

In the bottom of the fourth, Jones tripled in two runs for the Mets, and Charles drove in another as the Mets raced to a 7-2 lead. Taylor drove in the Bucs’ last run in the eighth, as Seaver sailed to his 44th career win.

Seaver is, of course, the most iconic player to ever wear the orange and blue in Flushing. He ranks number one in franchise history in the categories below (not including active players):

• ERA – 2.57
• Wins – 198
• Innings pitched – 3045.1
• Strikeouts – 2,541
• Games started – 395
• Complete games – 171
• Shutouts – 44

June 29, 1969 was a stepping stone for Seaver, as he would go on to set many franchise records during his 12 seasons in New York. Not to be overlooked is that he also propelled the Mets to their first world championship in 1969.

On Opening Day of the 2022 season, a statue of “The Franchise” will finally be unveiled outside of Citi Field. While long overdue, it will be a welcome sight and source of pride for Mets fans of all ages.

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