How the NY Mets stole a Red Sox player then famously traded him away too soon

It was late November, 1966 when MLB held its first version of what has now become the Rule 5 Draft. The New York Mets were incredibly active, selecting three players on the major league scale. Tommie Reynolds, Bart Shirley, and John Sullivan were all taken by the club.

The draft had several rounds of minor league picks. With one of those selections, the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate Jacksonville Suns gladly took a shot on a guy who hit .329 in Rookie Ball, .270 in A-Ball, and finally .360 in the instructional league for the Boston Red Sox. The fifth round pick would make his major league debut for the Mets in 1967 and appear in a larger sample of games in 1969.

Unfortunately, he was still too green at age 22 to showcase what was to come. Amos Otis was on his way to stardom. The Mets just weren’t convinced of it yet.

The Mets stole Amos Otis from the Red Sox then gave him away to the Royals

The signs were there. Despite hitting .151 in 102 trips to the plate in 1969, Otis was hammering minor league pitching. That same season, he hit .329 with 10 home runs in 286 trips to the plate while stealing 19 bases.

After the season, alongside Bob Johnson who’d have a couple of good years as a starter/reliever in the majors, the Mets traded Otis to the Kansas City Royals. Third baseman Joe Foy came over. It was a precursor to the far more infamous trade for Jim Fregosi. Foy spent only one year with the Mets, playing in 99 games. He hit 6 home runs and had a .702 OPS. Oddly another player who was a Rule 5 Draft selection as a minor leaguer, later a pick in the expansion draft, and finally once more a Rule 5 pick after the 1970 season with the Mets (the Rule 5 Draft was much different back then), one season of not very much was all the Mets gained from this trade.

Meanwhile, Otis immediately had an impact for the Royals. He was an All-Star in 1970. His 36 doubles led the league. He’d steal a league-high 52 bases the following season. Once again an All-Star, he added his first of three Gold Gloves.

14 seasons with the Royals, Otis stacked up 1977 hits, three Gold Gloves, five All-Star appearances, and four top 10 MVP finishes. The biggest threat to the New York Yankees in the latter part of the 1970s, he finally got to the World Series in 1980. Defeated by the Philadelphia Phillies, Otis still managed to clobber 3 home runs and bat .478.

New York practically shoplifted Otis away from Boston. Almost as quickly, they gave him up for nothing.