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

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.