Trade Tracker Thursday: Detroit Tigers. Hitters Galore! : Cespy, Rusty, HoJo, and The Grave Digger

The trade history between the Mets and the Detroit Tigers has been few and far between. There hasn't been any kind of transaction between the two since Yoenis Cespedes almost 11 years ago! The wire is riddled with no names (Kyle Lobstein, anyone? Kevin (not Joe) Morgan?) and very few impactful pitchers (sorry, Flushing-born Ed Glynn fans). But there have been some dingers, ropes, and taters coming off the bats of Trade Tracker players who could go yard with the best of them.

July 31, 2015 Mets get OF Yoenis Cespedes for pitchers Luis Cessa and Michael Fulmer.

Cespedes, nicknamed "La Potencia", meaning The Power, was born in Cuba. His father was a former Cuban league catcher and his mother was a softball pitcher who appeared in the 2000 Summer Olympics. At the tender age of 10, Yoenis was sent to a baseball state run school so he could focus 100% on baseball. His first team was Oakland in 2012. The Athletics would win the AL West, with Cespedes hitting .316 with an OBP of .381 in his first post season.

He won consecutive Home Run Derby Championships in 2013 and 2014. You might remember the 2013 game took place in Citifield. After trades to the Red Sox and Tigers, he won a Gold Glove for Detroit in 2015 while playing only 99 games for them. He became only the second player in MLB history to win a Gold Glove after a mid-season trade, joining Vic Power in 1964.

At the trade deadline in 2015, the Mets were trying to add another bat. Names like Carlos Gomez, Jay Bruce, and Justin Upton were mentioned. Gomez, an ex-Met traded for Johan Santana, was supposedly already traded to the team that evening for an injured Zack Wheeler and Wilmer Flores. Flores was told about the trade while he was in the game and famously cried about leaving. Gomez wound up showing poor medical reports, so the Mets pivoted.

Simply stated, Cespedes had the most impactful two months in Mets history. Think you know of a better stretch? WRITE IT IN THE COMMENTS.

He hit 17 homers and drove in 44 in 57 games. It seemed like there wasn't a game that Cespedes didn't alter in some way. On August 21, 2015 at Colorado, he went 5-6, with 3 home runs, 7 RBI, and 5 runs scored. Maybe Edgardo Alfonzo's 6-6 with three homers was better? Maybe not.

So many huge games in the pennant race: September 8 - The Mets were losing 7-1 late and he hit a bases clearing double, with the Mets going on to win 8-7. The NEXT DAY, he hit a two-run homer in the 8th to break a 2-2 and give the Mets the win. In the playoffs against the Dodgers, Game 3 was the first post season game in Citifield history and the Mets' first home playoff game in almost a decade. Cespedes hit a 111 mph 3-run laser beam to give the Mets a huge lead. Both Cespedes and Daniel Murphy stopped hitting in the 2015 World Series and that was that.

There could be books written on La Potencia during his relatively short time with the Mets, including riding in on horseback to spring training with Noah Syndergard, and falling off his horse at his ranch while chasing a wild boar. (OK, "supposedly") Here's a great piece about Cespy by Andy Martino in early 2016:

"Terry Collins sent Dick Scott to ask Cespedes if he wanted to stretch before pinch-hitting. Cespedes was in shorts, watching TV. "Nope", he said, before taking a few swings in the cage. Then they couldn't find him, so Collins sent (Lucas) Duda on deck while the ump yelled at Collins. Finally, Cespedes ambles out onto the field, stiff and injured, takes one swing, homers, laughs, and leaves."

TEACHER SAYS A+. Cessa pitched for 8 years in the bullpen and Fullmer was the 2016 Rookie of the Year with 11 wins and a 3.06 ERA before injuries got him. However, if you liked the Mets incredible run to the World Series, you'll agree with my grade.

December 12, 1975. Mets get LHP Mickey Lolich and OF Billy Baldwin for OF Rusty Staub and LHP Bill Laxton.

Why would the Mets have traded Rusty, who had just set the team RBI mark with 105? He would keep at least a tie of the record for 13 years. Rusty was nearing 10-5 status (10 years in the majors, the last 5 with the same team), which would "grant" him the power to veto any trade. M. Donald Grant wanted to deal him before he reached that goal. Staub was also becoming a big voice for the players union. Two strikes against him. 1975 rookie phenom Mike Vail, who set a then Met record with a 23 game hitting streak, was looked at to take over for Staub. Vail would come cheap! Strike three. Rusty traded.

Vail would tear up his knee during a pick up basketball game and perform rarely and poorly for the next two years. He would eventually find his way to Wrigley, and hit .333 and .335 in 1978 and 1979 as a Cub.

The Mets told the public they wanted to add to their starting rotation and acquired Lolich. How many times could you hear "the portly lefty" before his name was mentioned. I remember a Banner Day poster saying, "Lolich's arm is Rusty." If you wrote that, come clean in the comments!

Lolich won 207 games with Detroit, including a 25 win season in 1971. He threw 376 innings that year! Think he was willing to get a handshake after 5 innings?

He was the 1968 World Series MVP, going 3-0 with all three complete games!

In his only Met season in 1976, he went 8-13. He recently passed away at the age of 85. Staub's first three years in Detroit were terrific with RBI years of 96, 101, and 121. Rusty eventually returned to the Mets in 1981. He was promised the first base job, but when the Mets also reacquired Dave Kingman, Staub became a pinch hitter full time. Staub's 2716 hits almost certainly would have been over 3,000. Cooperstown? I think so!

Staub was one of four major leaguers to hit homers as a teen and over 40. The others were Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield, and Ty Cobb.

TEACHER SAYS F. Donald Grant, you cheapskate! Hey, want a Donald Grant fact? His father, Mike Grant, is in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

December 7, 1984 Mets get 3B Howard Johnson for RHP Walt Terrell.

Johnson was frsh off his shiny 1984 Tigers World Championship. Sorry, but HoJo only went 0-1 in their post season. Sorry again, but his total post season numbers were 1-27. He later became a Mets Hall of Famer with three years of 30 HR and 30 stolen bases. He is all over the all - time Mets top ten. 7th in games played. 7th in at bats. 4th in runs scored. 10th in hits. 7th in total bases. 5th in doubles. 5th in homers. 5th in RBI. 4th in walks. 3rd in stolen bases. A true team Hall of Famer! Were you surprised at his high standing?

HoJo started the 1989 All-Star Game at 3B. The only other Met to start at 3B was David Wright. Thats over 65 years! Only SIX other Mets have started All-Star Games as infielders. That's not a lot. (Hunt, Harrelson, Hernandez, Reyes, McNeil, Lindor).

Terrell won 79 games during his 7 year tenure as a Tiger. Solid starter.

TEACHER SAYS A. Mets won a Championship with HoJo and he put forth some of the best offensive seasons in their history. And he is part of the Kiner's Korner family!

March 31, 1994. Mets get 1B Rico Brogna for 1B Alan Zinter.

Zinter was an interesting story. He was the Mets first round draft choice in 1989 , but stuck around in the minors until he got into 67 games with Houston in 2002 and 2004. Brogna was a no-name, but it was like he was shot out of cannon. In 1994, he hit .351 in 39 games. He followed that up the next year by hitting .289 with 76 RBI. And what a glove at first! Met fans were spoiled by the initial sack heroics of Keith Hernandez, but Brogna might have been the second best fielding first baseman in Mets history. Who do you think was better? (I know, it wasn't Kingman).

Brogna was traded in 1996 to the Phillies for pitchers Toby Borland and Ricardo Jordan. Two busts. How did Rico do in Philly? Three seasons with 81, 104, and 102 RBI. You didn't recall how good he was there, did you? He often hit 8th in that lineup, too. Yes, you young people...WFAN's Evan Roberts has a podcast named after him.

October 31, 1979. Mets get 3B Phil Mankowski and OF Jerry Morales for 3B Richie Hebner.

Hebner was an important member of the 1971 World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates. He hit homers off THREE Hall of Famers in the post season! In the NLCS, a game winning solo shot off of Juan Marichal won a game and a late three run bomb off Gaylord Perry tied a game that the Pirates also won. His homer off Jim Palmer in the World Series completed the trifecta.

When the Mets acquired him for pitcher Nino Espinosa, Hebner was looked upon as a savior. It didn't happen. On Opening Day, always a Mets highlight, Hebner went 4-5 with a homer, two doubles, and 4 RBI in a win at Wrigley. However, since he was used to winning in Pittsburgh and the Mike Schmidt Phillies, he soon showed his disdain for the losing 1979 Mets. After playing first because of Schmidt, Hebner had lost a TON of range at third base and had one of the loswet fielding percentages in the league. Even though he led the team with 79 RBI (tied with Lee Mazzilli), he was thrilled to e traded from the Mets.

That was the year of the umpire strike and Hebner could not control himself when the sub umps would blow a call. Hebner had memorable arguments with Dave Pallone and Lanny Harris.

Richie was known as the Grave Digger because he worked in his family's cemetary in the off season. The Boston native was also a tremendous hockey player. Buc announcer Bob Prince would refer to him as "Puck."

Mankowski was best known for playing third baseman Hank Benz in the 1984 Robert Redford classic, "The Natural." Morales, a 1977 All-Star with the Cubs, was not an All-Star performer in his only Mets year in 1980.

Other Mets-Tigers Transactions : Jack DiLauro, Dean Chance, Bob Miller, Jerry Moses, Ed Glynn, Mardie Cornejo, Mark Carreon, C.J. Nitkowski, Vance Wilson, Anderson Hernandez, and Matt Ginter.