4 times the Mets traded a fan favorite to the Dodgers

4) NY Mets traded Curtis Granderson to the Dodgers in 2017

The 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s all had a fan favorite get traded by the Mets to the Dodgers. If you want to look into the 1990s, the closest moment was when Todd Hundley was sent to Los Angeles. Hundley wasn’t nearly as popular as the others on this list, including this guy from the 2015 team.

The 2017 trade deadline included an entire dismantling of the Mets roster with one of the trades sending Curtis Granderson to the Dodgers for reliever Jacob Rhame. Granderson was struggling through much of the 2017 season, only really providing a lot of power with 19 home runs for the Mets through his first 395 plate appearances.

Knowing they wouldn’t re-sign him, the Mets traded one of the free agents who “got it” better than any others in team history. Granderson’s famous “true New Yorkers are Mets fans” quote was the ultimate heel turn against his former team, the New York Yankees. On the other hand, it was precisely what needed to be said for him to be accepted forever by those true New Yorkers.

Granderson became one of the more unorthodox leadoff hitters in Mets history. He didn’t steal a whole lot of bases or hit for a high average but he found ways to get on base and started off many games of Terry Collins with a long ball. He had 7 leadoff home runs in 2015 and 4 more leading off innings not in the first.

The Mets couldn’t have asked for much more out of Granderson in his three and a half years in Flushing. He represented the franchise perfectly and will forever be a favorite of everyone who lived through the magical 2015 run.