Mets trades with the Cubs have a noticeable gap between the deals

Earlier trades between the Mets and Cubs

I won’t make you sit through a full analysis of all of the minor trades made between the two teams in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Rather, let’s just stick to the gaps created between them. Sound good?

The final trade of the 1980s between the Mets and Cubs took place on June 30, 1986. Dave Lenderman and Dave Liddell went to New York in exchange for Ed Lynch. There was no trade again between these two teams until the Vizcaino move in 1994.

The Mets and Cubs made a handful of smaller trades in the decade with the most notable one taking place on February 28, 1981. This was the deal that sent Steve Henderson and cash to the Windy City for Dave Kingman. Before this trade, one has to go back a little bit to December 8, 1976, to find the most recent deal.

The 1970s didn’t include many deals at all between the two organizations. On March 29, 1970, Randy Bobb and J.C. Martin swapped spots. The December 8, 1976 deal was a three-team one that got the Kansas City Royals involved. Those were the only two trades made between these franchises throughout the decade.

There’s nothing unusual about only making two moves all decade long. What strikes me is how the Mets and Cubs have three noticeable gaps.

There were no trades from 1986 until 1994 and then again from 1997 to 2006 and finally from 2009 until present day. In between those years, the teams were active enough.

Want your voice heard? Join the Rising Apple team!

Write for us!

Whether it’s a coincidence, some old bad blood between the franchises, or some curse involving a farm animal in a bar—I cannot say. More than a decade has gone by since the two teams last made a deal. How long will it go?