NY Mets: 15 worst trade deadline deals in franchise history

6) NY Mets Worst Trade Deadline Deals: Dave Kingman to the San Diego Padres

You know a trade was bad when it was part of an infamous day in team history. Occurring on June 15, 1977, the Dave Kingman deal with the San Diego Padres was part of the Midnight Massacre—more on that later.

Kingman was scuffling as a member of the Mets. Coming off an All-Star campaign in 1976, the home run hitting, hard-swinging Kingman wasn’t quite himself in 1977. One of the few guys on the team hitting well, he became a trade casualty. Sent off to the Padres for two players, he would end up playing for a total of four teams that year!

I don’t want to go too deep into what Kingman accomplished after leaving the Mets because I don’t think it matters much. He did eventually return.

What made the Kingman trade awful was what the team got in return for this dangerous power hitter. Paul Siebert and Bobby Valentine were the two men sent to the orange and blue. Siebert would log a total of 56 innings for the Mets combined in 1977 and 1978. His 4.50 ERA was rather average.

Valentine, a light-hitting player his entire career, lived up to the low expectations. He hit .222 in his part-time role with the club. On a positive note, it may have set up for his eventual return as a manager.