4 times the Mets traded a fan favorite to the Dodgers

The New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers aren’t strangers to making trades. Their first took place on December 15, 1961, when Lee Walls and $100,000 was sent to the Dodgers for Charlie Neal and Willard Hunter.

Over the years, whether both were winning or one was in a rut, they’ve often called each other up about a deal. The Dodgers have been helpful to the Mets in taking on some bad contracts. They’re also the ones responsible for bringing Bobby Bonilla back to New York.

A couple of times the Mets have ended up trading a fan favorite to the Dodgers. A search through the history of trades between the two, four favorites from four generations went from Queens to Hollywood.

1) NY Mets traded Jim Hickman and Ron Hunt to the Dodgers in 1966

Two of the early fan favorites of the Mets, Jim Hickman and Ron Hunt were traded to the Dodgers on November 29, 1966. The deal brought them Tommy Davis and Derrell Griffith. As crushing as it was to lose two of the earliest significant offensive players, the Mets were later able to use Davis in a separate trade to bring them Tommie Agee.

Hickman was one of the original 1962 Mets and was one of their more productive hitters during his tenure. Most known for being the first player in team history to hit for the cycle, he sits in the passenger seat in this trade.

While Hunt wasn’t on the 1962 team, maybe for the better, he did make his MLB debut in 1963 and would go on to have a short yet memorable career with the Metropolitans. He hit .303 in 1964 and made his first All-Star appearance that season, too. He’d get his second All-Star selection in 1966.

Hunt’s claim to fame would come later in his career. Following the trade to the Dodgers, he ended up with the San Francisco Giants where he learned the art of getting hit by pitches. In 1971, as a member of the Montreal Expos, Hunt was nailed 50 times. It was one of 7 seasons where he led the league.

Most Mets fans who were around to remember their fandom for Hickman and Hunt might feel a little more detached from them. Gone before the 1969 Championship, fans were more plentiful for this next player who was once traded to the Dodgers.

2) NY Mets traded Jerry Grote to the Dodgers in 1977

Jerry Grote’s time with the Mets came to a close the same way as Mel Rojas, Juan Samuel, and some other undesirable players in the team’s history. The difference is Grote is one of the more beloved early Mets players and for good reason.

Grote became the club’s starting catcher in 1966 and would stick around until August of 1977 when he became another casualty of the team’s rebuilding phase that involved sending all of the fan favorites away. By this point, Grote was sharing catching duties with John Stearns. Still productive, he was a two-time All-Star for the Mets during his tenure.

Grote could hit. He could field. He was known for calling a good game behind the plate. It’s hard to know for sure how much he mattered behind the plate during the team’s success in 1969 and beyond. Seeing how they were loaded with such amazing pitchers, he at least deserves a tip of the cap.

What Grote helped do was establish a desire of Mets fans to have a catcher they could rely on behind the plate. He set the standard that even to this day many hold dear. Even if you weren’t around to cheer Grote on, it’s understandable how vital he was and why having a catcher you can trust to succeed on both sides of the ball is something to enjoy.

In exchange for Grote, the Dodgers sent the Mets two guys who never made the majors.

3) NY Mets traded Jesse Orosco to the Dodgers in 1988

It’s hard to believe Jesse Orosco ever had a bad year with the Mets. Well, after throwing the last pitch of the 1986 World Series, he ended up as a piece in a three-team deal involving the Oakland Athletics and, of course, the Dodgers.

The Mets picked up Jack Savage, Kevin Tapani, and Wally Whitehurst in this move. None were ever as popular as Orosco who, about to embark on his age 31 season with the Dodgers, had plenty more left in the tank.

Orosco went from a 3-9 season with a 4.44 ERA in 1987 to a much better 3-2 and 2.72 ERA performance for the Dodgers in 1988. Moved out from the closer role a little more with only 9 saves on the season, Orosco found success in other relief roles over the years. He did fail to get any vengeance on the Mets in the 1988 NLCS as they scored twice against him in his 2.1 innings of work. The Dodgers and Mike Scioscia would have the last laugh, unfortunately.

Orosco’s Mets legacy has a lot to do with how he reignited a torch lit by Tug McGraw in the 1970s. The closer role was still being carved out and Orosco was one of a final breed of multi-inning relievers who could finish a game.

Win a World Series with the Mets and have the most iconic image in the franchise’s history, you’re a fan favorite forever.