4 times the Mets traded a fan favorite to the Phillies

3) NY Mets traded fan favorites Lenny Dykstra and Roger McDowell to the Phillies

Mets and Phillies fans will argue over who gets to claim Tug McGraw. They’ll let each other take Lenny Dykstra.

Long before the chaos later on in his career but more so in retirement, Dykstra was a darn good baseball player. He was a part of the 1986 Mets whose status with fans has them on a mantel few athletes in New York ever will reach.

This trade between the Mets and Phillies was much different than the McGraw deal. Along with another fun guy we can consider a favorite, Roger McDowell, Dykstra changed uniforms in exchange for a bust addition. Juan Samuel came over from the Phillies in an absolute steal of a trade for Philadelphia.

Dykstra would become an even better player with the Phillies, putting up his most monstrous numbers in 1993 when he was the runner-up for MVP. In his first full year with the team in 1990, Dykstra led the league with 192 hits and a .418 OBP. The June 18, 1989, swap was a quick disaster for the Mets. Samuel was traded the very next offseason in hopes that in the age before the internet everyone might forget he was ever in orange and blue.

We remember. Events from the prehistoric 1980s live on forever. This deal didn't just send one player fans in Queens liked. It got rid of two.