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Mets: Three all-time best Mets trades in the month of June

By Tim Boyle |
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 05: A general view during the game between the New York Mets and the Miami Marlins at Citi Field on August 05, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Steven Ryan/2019 Steven Ryan)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 05: A general view during the game between the New York Mets and the Miami Marlins at Citi Field on August 05, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Steven Ryan/2019 Steven Ryan)
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Joel Youngblood is one of the best players acquired in a June New York Mets trade. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
Joel Youngblood is one of the best players acquired in a June New York Mets trade. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

These are the greatest New York Mets trades made in June.

Previously on Rising Apple, we covered the worst June trades in New York Mets history. Naturally, it’s time to look at the good ones.

June isn’t the month when we usually see the best blockbuster trade deadline deals. That’s because the trade deadline moved back from June 15 to July 31. It’s also only in recent years when the trade deadline has become such a major event.

These three memorable Mets trades all took place back when the trade deadline was in June. Two directly led to a championship while the other landed a quality player who managed to crack an All-Star roster. Who are they and what did it cost to get them?

3) Best Mets trades in June – Joel Youngblood for Mike Phillips on June 15, 1977

The Midnight Massacre wasn’t all bad for the Mets. On June 15, 1977, while the team was busy dealing away Tom Seaver and Dave Kingman, they also picked up Joel Youngblood.

In a deal with the St. Louis Cardinals, the Mets picked up Youngblood in exchange for Mike Phillips. Phillips was a light-hitting infielder and career .240 hitter. In the years after the trade, he never played in more than 76 games in any single season.

Youngblood’s story was much different. Aside from having an awesome name, he was actually one of the better players on the team from 1978-1982. In 1979, he hit 16 home runs while batting .275. He actually finished his time in New York with a .274 batting average across 2,103 plate appearances which isn’t anything to scoff at.

Youngblood’s best season came in the shortened 1981 campaign. Although he played in only 43 games and had just 161 plate appearances, Youngblood was an All-Star. The reason for the honor is quite clear when looking at his .350/.398/.531 batting line.

Most notable of all, Youngblood is the only player to get a hit for two different teams on the same day. Following a 1982 trade from New York to the Montreal Expos, he traveled south to Philadelphia where he got a hit against future Hall of Famer Steve Carlton. Amazingly enough, the hit he had as a member of the Mets was also against a guy who landed in Cooperstown, Ferguson Jenkins.

JUPITER, FL – MARCH 12: New Era caps and Wilson gloves of the New York Mets sit on the dugout steps during a spring training baseball game against the Miami Marlins at Roger Dean Stadium on March 12, 2019 in Jupiter, Florida. The Marlins defeated the Mets 8-1. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
JUPITER, FL – MARCH 12: New Era caps and Wilson gloves of the New York Mets sit on the dugout steps during a spring training baseball game against the Miami Marlins at Roger Dean Stadium on March 12, 2019 in Jupiter, Florida. The Marlins defeated the Mets 8-1. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

2) Best Mets Trades in June – Donn Clendenon from the Montreal Expos on June 15, 1969

An even more important trade deadline deal than the Youngblood trade in 1977 was this deal between the Mets and Montreal Expos in 1969. It took a lot to get him, but the Mets ultimately landed Donn Clendenon in what is one of the greatest trade deadline deals in franchise history.

The cost for Clendenon included Jay Carden, David Colon, Kevin Collins, Steve Renko, and a player to be named later who happened to be Terry Dailey. Carden, Colon, and Dailey never made it to the big leagues. Collins spent one year in Montreal while Renko went on to have a 15-year career. Fortunately, he didn’t do anything close to what Clendenon did in his first year with the Mets.

Clendenon is and will forever be the answer to a great Mets trivia question: who is the first World Series MVP in franchise history?

Before he was starring in the playoffs, Clendenon gave the Mets a quality finish in 1969. It included 12 home runs across 226 plate appearances and a .252 batting average. His clutch hitting, including 3 World Series home runs, is what made him a Mets legend and ultimately led to this trade becoming ga landslide victory for New York.

Clendenon remained in Flushing through the 1971 season. He had a very productive year in 1970, smacking 22 home runs and driving in 97 with only 443 trips to the plate. Add in his .288/.348/.515 batting line, this trade looks even better.

Unfortunately, Clendenon was already on the decline by 1971. We’ll always have the 1969 World Series. Without him, who knows what the results would be.

Keith Hernandez is the best player the New York Mets have acquired in a June trade. (Photo by Rich Pilling/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Keith Hernandez is the best player the New York Mets have acquired in a June trade. (Photo by Rich Pilling/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

1) Best Mets trades in June – Keith Hernandez from the St. Louis Cardinals on June 15, 1983

Our final entry is yet another June 15 trade. This time, instead of adding a one-time All-Star or a World Series MVP, the club added arguably the greatest at his position to ever suit up for the Amazins. On June 15, 1983, Keith Hernandez was traded by the St. Louis Cardinals to the Mets.

Exactly six years removed from losing the Youngblood trade, the Cardinals lost another with the Hernandez deal. Although still a productive player, Hernandez’s off-field issues were apparently too much to keep him around. The decision backfired on St. Louis especially for what they got in return.

Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey are the two players the Mets traded away to land El Sid. Allen had some fine years with the Mets and was serviceable for the Cardinals. Ownbey had a similar yet far shorter career in Major League Baseball. He pitched his last game as a big leaguer in 1986.

As for Hernandez, I’m not sure what there is to say. We all know how great he was. His three All-Star selections, superb defense and Gold Gloves, and the .297/.387/.429 slash line he gave the Mets all helped make him a franchise legend.

Hernandez wasn’t important to Mets history the same way as Clendenon. He didn’t have one single moment. Hernandez gave them years of fantastic service.

Hernandez is about as close to a Hall of Famer as a guy can get without punching a ticket. If some of his walks were hits, I think voters may have looked at his case differently.

Next. Greatest Mets trade deadline deals of all-time

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There aren’t enough words to express how important Hernandez was to the Mets during their golden years in the 1980s. Now an icon in the booth, this is the best Mets trade made in the month of June.

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