New York Mets: 15 best trades the franchise has ever made

#5 Tommie Agee

As we crack into the top five trades in Mets franchise history, we land on one of the most important pieces to the Mets first World Series in 1969 with outfielder Tommie Agee. On December 15th, 1967, the Mets acquired Agee and infielder Al Weis from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for catcher Buddy Booker, outfielder Tommy Davis, and pitchers Billy Wynne and Jack Fisher.

Fisher only played one season with the White Sox before being dealt the following offseason to the Cincinnati Reds. In his lone season for the Sox, he had a 2.99 ERA and a 1.240 WHIP over 180.2 innings pitched. Wynne pitched in three seasons for Chicago before he was traded to the then California Angels. In those three seasons, he combined for a 4.38 ERA and a 1.563 WHIP over 174.2 innings pitched.

Booker only appeared in 5 games for the White Sox in which he went 0 for 5. Just like Fisher, Davis only lasted one season in Chicago before being drafted by the Seattle Pilots who were an expansion team, eventually becoming the Milwaukee Brewers. In his one season, Davis hit .268/289/.344/.633 with 8 home runs, 50 RBI, and 122 hits over 132 games played.

For the Mets return, Weis ended up playing four years, which included the 1969 World Series Championship team. Over his four seasons, he hit .191/.245/.253/.498 with 4 home runs and 49 RBI over 279 games played. Despite his not-so-great hitting over his four seasons, he was a big part of the World Series win which saw him hit .455 with 1 home run and 3 RBI over 5 games.

Onto the meat and potatoes of the trade, we have Agee. Agee spent five seasons with the Mets and was a big part of the team while there. Over his five seasons, he went on to hit .262/.329/.419/.748 with 82 home runs, 265 RBI, 92 stolen bases, and 344 runs scored over 661 games played with a gold glove, a nineteenth place finish in MVP voting, and a sixth-place finish in MVP voting over 661 games played.

Agee’s best season came in 1970 where he slashed .286/.344/.469/.812 with 24 home runs, 75 RBI, 31 stolen bases, 107 runs scored, and 182 hits over 153 games played with a 5.4 WAR.

Agee did not disappoint in the playoffs either. In the 1969 NLCS, he hit .357/.438/.857/1.295 with 2 home runs, 4 RBI, 2 stolen bases, and 4 runs scored in only three games. He did take a step back in the World Series, but he still hit a home run and made two incredible catches in one game to help the Mets secure the win.

When it came to defense, Agee was great there as well. His combined total zone total fielding runs above average over his five seasons in New York was 16. His best season was in 1970 when he won a gold glove with his total zone fielding runs above average was 12.

Even though Agee only played in five seasons for the Mets, he made the most of it. He was a huge impact both offensively and defensively and helped the Mets win their first World Series in franchise history. With the Mets not having given up a whole lot and receiving a key piece to their first World Series Championship team who ended up being one of the best center fielders the team has had, this trade finds itself as the fifth-best in franchise history.