Thursday Trade Tracker: San Francisco Giants. Say Hey, Sky King, and Wheels.

The New York Mets and San Francisco Giants are forever linked in baseball history. When the Giants (and Dodgers) broke New York's heart by moving to California, the Mets were born to fill the void - literally adopting the Giants' iconic orange as part of their identity. Can you imagine what the fans of those teams went through?

My father went through it. Born in 1919 in NYC, he was a huge fan of Mel Ott and Carl Hubbell. I often heard about the diminutive Ott's leg kick and Hubbell's screwball. And the pain of losing your team. That's why this Bronx Boy wound up being a crazy Mets fan. When it was time for my dad to take his son to a baseball game, he wasn't going to Yankee Stadium. We went to Shea to see the Giants. Of course. In August of 1973, Tom Seaver gave up a run in the first helped by fan interference. The final score was 1-0, Giants. I should have known right then what was in store for me more than half a century later. But at least I got to see Willie Mays pinch hit, in one of his final regular season games!

May 11, 1972. Mets get OF Willie Mays for RHP Charlie Williams.

Let's get this out of the way: Willie Mays is the greatest baseball player who ever lived. He simply did everything better than anyone else. He called all the defensive plays for the team from centerfield. He led the league in stolen bases 4 times, and joked that if he knew that "40-40" was going to be a thing, he would have done it every year. Mays stole bases when the team needed it. He won 12 Gold Gloves. He often played shallow to dare runners to take an extra base at their own risk. His 660 homers was solidly in third place for decades. (If we count "clean" players, MAYBE he still is in third place). When he retired, he was 8th all time in hits. Only Rose, Jeter, Yaz, Molitor, and Pujols have passed him since.

The Giants were strapped for cash in 1972. Mays was certainly slowing down at 41, and his high salary was a burden. They would only trade him where it would also be beneficial to him. Mets owner Joan Payson was a huge fan and she long desired to bring him home to his first city, New York. The Mets also promised him a long time coaching gig, securing his financial future.

The Giant financial issues continued. Starting in 1972, they traded or sold future Hall of Famers Gaylord Perry, Willie McCovey, and Juan Marichal! Other key players turned away included shortstop Hall Lanier (to the Yankees), third baseman Jim Ray Hart (also to the Yankees), and All-Star catcher Dick Dietz (to the Dodgers).

Many remember Mays' first game as a Met came at Shea against the Giants. They still show the highlight as Mays homered late in the game to key a 5-4 Mets victory. Mays wanted to control his time as a Met. He wasn't able to play too much, but manager Yogi Berra's team was decimated by injuries and Berra wanted Mays to play a lot more than Mays felt he could. Mays, being Mays, also wanted to come and go as he pleased, often trying to miss games. Berra, of course a Hall of Famer himself, was not happy with the situation.

Willie Mays Night in late 1973 was attended by Joe DiMaggio, Stan Musial, Duke Snider, and Bobby Thomson. Mays received gifts from car companies, liquor companies, the Giants...but not the Mets! Not even a card!

Mays played in only one of the five NLCS games vs the Reds, going 1-3. He only played in 3 of the 7 World Series games, going 2-7. For the last out of the last game, Berra let left handed hitter Wayne Garrett hit against lefty Darold Knowles. Righty Mays was left on the bench.

Charlie Williams was a steady reliever for San Francisco over 7 years.

TEACHER SAYS A. C'mon, its Willie Mays.

February 28, 1975. Mets purchase OF/1B Dave Kingman for $150,000.

Bias warning! Kong is my all-time favorite Met. I can't be the only one. The Mets just didn't buy a player in 1975, they bought a skyline! Kingman's moonshots were the only things tall enough to rival Shea's light towers. The Giants were continuing their sale of players and they couldn't find a place for Dave. They tried him at third base, but 12 errors in 59 chances could not happen in the majors. Steve Ontiveros took over third. Kingman's low average and high strikeout totals had to be moved. The Mets, rarely a great hitting team at the time, were thirsty for a slugger of Kingman's potential. He immediately set the Met record for homers with 36 in 1975. He got off to an even better start in 1976. He already had 32 around the All-Star break and Mets fans were looking at Roger Maris' 61 homer record. However, Dave tore a ligamant diving for a ball in the outfield.He missed 7 weeks, and Mike Schmidt eventually overtook Dave for the NL crown, 38-37. What made it sting for Mets fans, was the ball that Kingman hurt himself on was hit by a pitcher! Knuckleballer Phil Niekro.

Dave was later traded during the Midnight Massacre on June 15, 1977. He wound up on the Padres, Angels, and Yankees (Argh! The worst two weeks ever!). In a record that will never be broken, he played and homered for every division in baseball.

In a wild memory, I was at a game in 1982, and the Astros were beating the Mets 5-1 with one out to go. Kingman homered....but it was Seat Cushion Night! 34,000 was an amazing crowd in those days, and what seemed like a million seat cushions came pouring onto the field as Dave circled the bases ala Roy Hobbs. The Houston pitcher who gave up the homer en route to a complete game? Joe Niekro, Phil's brother!

TEACHER SAYS A+++!!!!! If you were around in those days, the sight of the 6 foot, 6 inch Sky King coming to the plate brought excitement when there was little to be enjoyed.

July 28, 2011. Mets get RHP Zack Wheeler for OF Carlos Beltran.

As the defending World Champions, San Francisco was desparate for offensive help after season ending injuries to Buster Posey and Freddy Sanchez. They were willing to pay a high prospect price for a rental of the future Hall of Famer. The Mets were out of playoff contention and Beltran was having a fine season. He was going to be a free agent again, so the Mets got the best offer. Beltran hit .323 for the Giants, even though they didn't make the playoffs. (What made them feel better? Two more championships in 2012 and 2014).

Wheels was a rollercoaster of high potential, sharp performance, and frustrating setbacks as a Met. After a sharp showing of ace potential in 2013, he tore his UCL. He missed two full seasons and half of another. Finally, he had two solid seasons in 2018 and 2019, but free agency awaited.

Wheeler signed with Philadelphia, where he quickly developed into a Cy Young-caliber ace. In his six Philly years, he received Cy consideration in five of them! In over 70 innings of Phillie post-season pitching, he has a 2.18 ERA.

He bowed out early in 2025 with thoracic outlet syndrome and is expected to return around June. Cris Carpenter, Stephen Strasberg, and Matt Harvey all had major issues trying to return from that. The fact that Wheeler announced he is retiring either way at the end of 2027 isn't particularly promising.

TEACHER SAYS B. Wheeler's injuries prevented him from reaching that Cy Young level as a Met. Beltran was leaving anyway.

July 30, 2025. Mets get RHP Tyler Rogers for RHPs Jose Butto and Blake Tidwell and OF Drew Gilbert.

A really recent one that didn't turn out well. Rogers had a 1.98 ERA for the season, including a 2.30 ERA in 28 Mets games. But it seemed whenever I saw him, he was giving up a run. Was it just me who felt that way? Looking even closer, his batting average against as a Giant was .212 and as a Met it was .260. That's a huge difference! He does have an excellent 2.76 career ERA in 420 games. The submariner has a style that major leaguers rarely see anymore. He signed a three year deal this off season with the AL Champion Blue Jays.

Butto had some good times as a middle reliever , but the more he pitched, the more he couldn't be trusted and the more he was pitching in mop-up situations. As a Giant, he threw to a 4.50 ERA in 20 innings. Tidwell pitched 15 innings as a Met, giving up 23 hits and 15 earned runs! You don't have to be a math teacher to figure that's a 9.00 ERA! He hasn't pitched for SF yet. Gilbert, listed as a generous 5 foot 9, brought some energy to the Giants in September, but a negative WAR and a .190 average only went so far.

TEACHER SAYS : Incomplete. Didn't you hate that grade? It meant you had to do more work. The Giants in this trade have to do more work to see the final grade.

December 16, 2001. Mets get LHP Shawn Estes for INF Desi Relaford and OF Tsuyoshi Shinjo.

Estes was a decent pitcher for the Giants over seven years, which included both 15 and 19 game winning seasons. He was an All-Star in 1997, but die-hard Met fans know why he is listed. He only went 4-9 as a Met, but he was given ONE JOB for ONE PITCH and he failed. His job? Hit Roger Clemens. Because Clemens beaned Mike Pizza at Yankee Stadium in 2001 (Yes, I was there, the Forest Gump of the Mets). I was eight rows from the plate. ESPN did a documentary on it and you can see me. I was the ONLY ONE IN A MET JERSEY! And I was standing and yelling at Clemens, as the Yankee fans sat politely. I am wearing a Dave Kingman jersey. Really.

Estes faced Clemens at Shea two years later, and his job was to hit Clemens when he came up to bat. (Yes, I was there.) Everyone knew what was going to happen. Estes threw behind Clemens and missed him by a mile. Estes was later fined $750 for intentionally throwing at a batter. Estes won the game, 8-0. Incredibly, Estes hit a home run off Clemens! Even crazier? Roger Clemens himself doubled in the game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdiUumE86uM

Shinjo was the first position player from Japan in NL history and the second after ichiro. He was famous for his charisma, high -energy and what some might call flair, with his huge colorful writstbands and often-dyed hair. He drove in 56 runs in his only Mets season. He later became the first Japanese player to appear in the World Series. (Giants, 2002)

TEACHER SAYS C Shinjo was exciting. But the team wanted a veteran lefty.

Other names in Mets-Giants trade lore: JD Davis, Darin Ruf, Angel Pagan, Kevin Bass, Leon Brown, Bob Gallager, Jim Gosger, Ray Sadecki, Chuck Hiller, Joe Pignatano, and Duke Snider!

We’ve revisited the trades, the personalities, the heartbreak, and the unforgettable moments that connect the Mets and Giants across generations — from Willie Mays coming home to New York, to Dave Kingman launching baseballs into orbit, to the Zack Wheeler deal that still sparks debate. Now it’s your turn. Which move do you think had the biggest impact, and which one still makes you shake your head? Drop your thoughts in the comments and let the debate begin.

And if you really want to dig into the arguments, the memories, and the what-ifs, join our ever-growing Kiner’s Korner Facebook group — where the opinions are as strong as a Kingman moonshot and the baseball conversations never really end.