Top 5 Mets offseasons in franchise history

1) 1984-1985 Mets offseason was the best and it only took them two moves

The 1984-1985 offseason wasn’t a heavy one for the Mets. This doesn’t take away from the impact two of the trades they made had.

The first was a much less notable one. The Detroit Tigers sent Howard Johnson to New York for Walt Terrell. It would take Johnson a couple of years to get significant playing time for the Mets. When he finally did, Johnson became one of the game’s most unique threats. He could hit 30 home runs and swipe 30 bases in a single season. This is something he did three times with the club. Until David Wright came around, he was the most important third baseman in team history.

Only a few days after acquiring such an important part of the franchise’s lore, the Mets made a much bigger deal with a more immediate impact. Gary Carter was acquired from the Montreal Expos for four players. The future Hall of Fame catcher has often been referred to as “the finishing touch” for the clubs of those 1980s.

Carter drove in over 100 runs in each of his first two years with the Mets. He was an All-Star in each of his first four seasons, too. In the 1986 season, despite having poorer numbers than he did a season prior, he was the third-place finisher in the MVP race. The voters knew. Carter was on this team to do a lot more than what showed up on the stat sheet.

Which other Mets offseasons do you remember with such fondness?