Trade Tracker Thursday: Chicago Cubs. PCA, The Matt Franco Game, and Nobody Beats the Viz.

The history of trades between the Mets and Cubs is a fascinating study of revolving door rosters and high stakes gambles. While they aren't frequent trade partners, there are some impactful deals that were made. The rivalry was hot in both 1969 and 1984, with the outcome being one apiece. The most significant trade might have been the most recent one!

July 30, 2021. Mets get INF Javier Baez and RHP Trevor Williams for CF Pete Crow-Armstrong.

Are you seeing a "thumbs-down" in your head? Are you seeing "El Mago" (The Magician) putting an incredible tag on someone or making a baserunning play not seen since Mays and Jackie? The Mets were a few games up in the division at the time of the trade, and Francisco Lindor was having injury troubles. Baez, with a tattoo of the MLB logo, was quite a pickup at the time. In 2018, he was second in MVP voting, won a Silver Slugger, and was a first time All-Star. He hit 34 homers and led the NL with 111 RBI.

As a Met, he chose number 23 to honor Ryne Sandberg. Another former Cub, Kris Bryant, did the same when he played with San Francisco and Colorado. The Mets later did what they do, falling down the division. The fans were not happy and booed their heroes. Baez and Lindor started to go "thumbs down" on the negative reaction. Owner Steve Cohen voiced his displeasure and each player later apologized. Although Baez only played 47 games as a Met, he hit a career best .299 and career best .371 OBP. Was he pumping his stats for a free agent run? It worked, as the Detroit Tigers gave him a $140 million dollar contract. The first three years were abominable. However, a move to centerfield worked well in the first half of the 2025 season, as Baez was named the starting centerfielder for the AL All-Stars.

Ironically, the NL starting CF in that game was the man he was traded for -

Pete Crow-Armstrong (PCA). PCA was the Mets' first round draft pick in 2020, but was often injured and GM Zack Scott has explained that even though they knew "the make-up, speed, and defense would play, we did not think the bat would." Scott gives credit to PCA for making the adjustments. PCA was shockingly a 30-30 man last year. Since his last All-Star Game, PCA has hardly hit his weight. Has the league caught up to him? Even if he never hits like last year, this Gold Glover will remain very valuable to the Cubs.

FUN FACT: PCA's mother, Ashley Crow, played the mom in the 1994 movie "Little Big League" eight years before Pete was born. His father, also an actor, is Matthew John Armstrong. You might remember him from the TV shows "American Horror Story" and "Heroes."

TEACHER SAYS F. Yikes, PCA is quite an exciting player. Why couldn't the Mets have given them Brett Baty?

January 5, 2008. Mets get CF Angel Pagan for two minor leaguers.

He started the 2008season as the Mets' starting leftfielder. Do you recall which injured player he replaced? Moises Alou. (It didn't matter what age Alou was, that guy could always hit.)

Pagan played 88 games in 2009, hitting .306. It was the next year that Pagan became an impactful player. He hit .290, scored 80 runs, had 168 hits and stole 37 bases. He also drove in 69 runs, and, just as important, was a tremendous glove in the outfield. On May 19, 2010, he became the second player in history to hit an inside the park homer and take part in a triple play in the same game! He started the play with a diving catch off Washington National Cristian Guzman. The play went 8-2-6-3. Too bad Pagan didn't run the ball in himself, because the runners took off and didn't think the ball would be caught. It was almost an inside the park homer and an UNASSISTED triple play in the same game!

Pagan came off the DL in 2011 as the team sent down Fernando Martinez...another can't miss Mets prospect that missed. Pagan was later traded to the Giants, where he starred for a World Championship team. He set a Giants record for a home hitting streak at 28 games, breaking a record from 1906! He also set the team record with 15 triples. He led the majors with triples that year. Pagan won two World Championship rings with San Francisco, although the often injured outfielder missed the 2014 postseason.

TEACHER SAYS A. Pagan was an exciting player who put up numbers for a short time, but nothing was given up.

April 8, 1996. Mets get INF Matt Franco for a minor leaguer.

There are some interesting facts about Matt Franco:

He set a major league record with 20 pinch-hit walks in 1999.

He later played in Japan and won a Championship with Chiba Lotte. His manager? Bobby Valentine.

You might have heard of Matt Franco's uncle: Actor Kurt Russell! Russell has had many famous roles, but to me he is "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes."

But if we are talking about Matt Franco, it's "The Matt Franco Game." The history of Inter-league Mets vs. Yankees games weren't pretty from a Mets perspective. I still have nightmares of Mel Rojas being brought in to pitch to Paul O'Neill. It only took one pitch!

On July 10, 1999, the Mets would get possibly their most exciting win vs. The Bombers. The game featured 20 hits and 6 home runs. It broke a streak of 124 consecutive Yankee wins when leading after 8 innings.

Derek Jeter hit cleanup that day. Was that the only time? Joe Torre liked to do strange things against the Mets. Tim Raines hit cleanup in the Mel Rojas game.

The Mets were up 4-2 on a Robin Ventura double and a Rey Ordonez sac fly. Ricky Ledee and Jorge Posada hit back-to-back homers to start the fifth and O'Neill and Chuck Knoblauch later homered for a 6-4 Yankee lead. In the bottom of the seventh, Mike Piazza hit a three-run blast off Ramiro Mendoza that went into Flushing Bay. (I'm sticking to my story). Almost immediately, Posada hit another homer to give the Yanks a lead again.

In the ninth, it was time for Mr. Automatic, Mariano Rivera. Brian McRae grounded out, but Rivera walked Rickey Henderson and Edgardo Alfonzo doubled. Fonzie's deep drive to left center was in and out of the glove of Bernie Williams. I was there and Williams simply dropped it. Anyone else remember it that way?

John Olerud grounded out and, obviously, Piazza was walked intentionally. Yes, they had to throw four balls. It was 1999. Franco pinch-hit for Melvin Mora and a strike two pitch looked perfect, but was called a ball. Thank goodness no ABS system yet! Franco lined the next pitch to right, with Rickey and Fonzie scoring for the win! The crowd was insane! After so many tough losses to the Yanks, this one meant something. Was someone cutting onions in the loge that minute?

The game was almost 4 hours long. The winning pitcher was Pat Mahomes. (The KC Chief QB's father for you young folks).

That winter, I was at the Westchester Mall and bumped into Rivera! I tugged on my Mets jersey and stated, "Matt Franco." The polite closer simply smiled.

TEACHER SAYS A++++. For one moment, it was all worth it.

March 30, 1994. Mets get SS Jose Vizcaino for RHP Anthony Young.

Vizcaino is one of only three players to play for all four former and current New York teams: Mets, Yankees, Giants, Dodgers. The only others are the previously mentioned Ledee and old friend Darryl Strawberry.

After four years not starting for the Dodgers and Cubs, the Cubs gave Vizcaino 151 games in 1993 and he hit .287 with 158 hits. As a Mets starter in the two incomplete seasons due to the strike, he was a steady glove at shortstop and even hit .287 again for the 1995 Mets with a career high 56 RBI. He started off 1996 hitting .303 in 96 games before being traded to Cleveland for Carlos Baerga. (I almost wrote Bo Bichette). Who else went to the Indians in that deal? HALL OF FAMER Jeff Kent.

Whenever Vizcaino would get a big hit, the scoreboard would flash "NOBODY BEATS THE VIZ!" Parents, you might have to explain the reference to the kiddos. (Should I say Grandparents? Yikes)

Poor Anthony Young set a record by losing 27 games in a row. But bad luck Anthony had 13 quality starts in those 27 losses. In his 3 years as a Met, he went 5-35. His Mets ERA was 3.82! Take a look at the starting ERAs of Mr. Manaea, Mr. Peterson, and Mr. Senga.

Young continued his dark cloud in real life, dying from a brain tumor at the age of 51.

TEACHER SAYS A. Vizcaino was a solid number 2 hitter for a few years. They should have kept Jose, because we all know what he did to the Mets in the 2000 World Series.

August 2, 1967. Mets purchase RHP Cal Koonce.

Koonce was a valuable swingman for the Mets for four years. In 1968, his 55 games was second most on the staff to '"closer" Ron Taylor. Koonce had a 2.42 ERA in 97 innings. In 1969, he had a few rough outings, as a 4.99 ERA was quite high for a bullpen pitcher at the time. He had 18 saves as a Met, when saves were a rare stat. Due to the tremendous Mets pitching in the 1969 post season, Koonce did not appear in any games.

He was one of the first 1969 Champions to pass away. He died in 1993 at the age of 52.

Koonce later was inducted into the Campbell, NC, University Hall of Fame. Koonce was only the third baseball player to have that honor after the Perry Brothers, Gaylord and Jim.

TEACHER SAYS A. The Mets won a Championship with Cal as a bullpen workhorse.

February 28, 1981. Mets get OF Dave Kingman for OF Steve Henderson.

The Mets get back Kong! Dave led the league with 37 homers. However, it was rare that a home run champion had a lower batting average (.204) than the Cy Young Award winner. Steve Carlton hit .218. One of Kingman's homers was an inside the park homer, which was enough to give him the crown over Dale Murphy's 36.

Henderson has one of the highest lifetime batting averages in Mets history, hitting .287 over 1,800 at bats. He never played more than 121 games in any season after he left the Mets. But Mets fans will always remember June 14, 1980 when Hendu Did Do with his famous home run. Article coming on that incredible game. Hendu got engaged that day and he and the Mrs. are still married!

TEACHER SAYS A. Biased rating. Sky King is my all time favorite Met.

Other great names in Mets - Cubs lore: Richie Ashburn, Sammy Taylor, Rob Gardner, Bob Shaw, Jim Dwyer, Butch Benton, Tom Veryzer, and Terry Leach.