Trade Tracker Thursday: These Blockbusters Almost Happened!

Alternate realities is a common theme in Science Fiction. Any 80's movie fan can tell you the horrors of Biff Tannen being a controlling force of a casino and the city in the "Back to the Future" trilogy! We will examine a few Mets trades that almost happened and ponder what might have been.

Will any be as big as Joe DiMaggio for Ted Williams in 1947? Did you know George Steinbrenner had agreed to trade an often injured minor league starting pitcher who was a failure in 1995? Mariano Rivera was going to Seattle for shortstop Felix Fermin! Rivera, with Yankee luck surrounding him, happen to have pitched a great game that night, and the trade was called off.

1981: Mets offered OF Joel Youngblood to Cubs for 1B Bill Buckner.

This trade was reported by legend Jack Lang in the Daily News. The Mets had just reacquired slugger Dave Kingman from Chicago, so the phone lines were hot. The Cubs wanted Youngblood, a clutch hitter who could play numerous positions. Youngblood was tiring of the Mets losing ways and was open to being traded. "If I am (going to be traded), I wish they'd do it now and get it over with.

Ironically, the article explained how the Mets were fearful of opening a season with the elder Rusty Staub at first base. "An outstanding hitter, Staub is a liability in the field. He let a ground ball go through his legs in the ninth inning of yesterday's game, setting up a Reds' rally."

Did Lang hint that if the Mets had Buckner, the ball would NOT have gone through his legs? That's Back to the Future crazy!

As this trade failed to happen, of course, Buckner was traded to Boston eventually for Dennis Eckersley. Eck was later moved to Oakland where he changed baseball as a 9th inning only closer, and won a World Championship and an MVP award. Eckersley winds up in the Hall of Fame.

If Buckner became a Met, there is no way the team trades for another left-handed hitting initial sacker, Keith Hernandez. There is no 1986.

Youngblood was then traded to Montreal for lefty pitcher Tom Gorman. Let's see what doesn't happen in Mets history....Rick Camp doesn't hit his famous July 4th homer? The Phillies don't score 6 runs in a third of an inning on June 11, 1985 that turns into a 26-7 loss? (I was there. It was my 21st birthday.)

1979: Mets offer RHP Craig Swan and C Ron Hodges to Angels for 1b Willie Mays Aikens and SS Dickie Thon.

Swan had developed into one of the best pitchers in the National League. He led the league in ERA in 1978, but because the Mets couldn't score, he only won 9 games. The next year, he won 14 games for a team that lost 99 games. The next closest pitcher won 6.

Swan's contract was up, and future Hall of Fame manager Joe Torre wanted the Mets to keep their ace. Swan would eventually sign a $3.125 million, five year contract, the largest in Mets history. Yes, I agree with what you are thinking, maybe some of that cash should have gone to Tom Seaver only a few years earlier.

Since Swan started to break down and was never the same, this trade would have been a gold mine. Aikens was a 24 year old slugger for California, coming off a 21/81 year. He was instead traded to Kansas City, and helped them to the American League pennant. He had a marvelous World Series, hitting .400 with 4 dingers. Aikens had four good years for the Royals, before drug issues derailed his career.

Thon was soon traded to Houston and became a star. He finished 7th in the MVP voting of 1983, winning a Silver Slugger with 20 homers and 79 RBI in an era when shortstops hit more like Buddy Harrelson and less like Alex Rodriguez. In the 5th game of the 1984 season, Mets pitcher Mike Torrez hit Thon in the eye with a pitch. Thon's season was over. He came back for 9 more seasons, but never reached his All-Star level again.

Hodges only played for the Mets in his 12 year career. Only Ed Kranepool and David Wright were exclusively Mets longer. Hodges never even played in 100 games until his next to last year in 1983. He finally had a good number of at bats, 305, but didn't even homer. In his book, Ron Darling paints a negative picture of Hodges. Darling says he was sitting nervously on the bench after his major league callup in his brand new uniform, when Hodges spit tobacco juice all over him!

I can't think of any big Hodges moments other than "The Ball off the Wall" play in 1973. List any Hodges moments in the comment section.

This had the potential to be one of the greatest trades in Mets history.

1999: Mets were offered OF Ken Griffey Jr from Seattle for Pitchers Octavio Dotel and Armando Benitez and OF Roger Cedeno.

Hall of Famer Griffey was at the height of his career. He was coming off of four seasons with these totals of homers and RBI: 49/140, 56/147, 56/146. and 48/134. Think that would have helped against the Yankees in 2000?

Dotel would be a key bullpen piece for 15 years for a major league record 13 teams. Cedeno had hit .313 with 66 stolen bases in 1999. Benitez, as always, was a dominant reliever until the fall. Then he would fall apart.

Griffey, with 10-5 rights, turned down the trade and instead went to where he grew up as his father starred in Cincinnati for the Big Red Machine.

Dotel and Cedeno were soon traded for LHP Mike Hampton, the MVP of the 2000 NLCS.

In an alternate reality, maybe Griffey helps win the World Series in 2000? But then again, do they get there without Hampton? Wait a minute, for losing Hampton as a free agent, the Mets get an extra choice in the draft and select a third baseman named David Wright! We are truly going down a rabbit hole!

2000: Mets offered SS Barry Larkin from Reds for OF Alex Escobar and pitchers Eric Cammack and Jason Saenz.

Cammack is one of four players to hit a triple in his only at-bat. Escobar, a hyped up prospect who didn't make it, was traded to Cleveland in the Roberto Alomar deal.

Gold Glove shortstop Rey Ordonez was injured and the Mets needed a shortstop. Soon to be Hall of Famer was the man the Mets wanted...but they only wanted him as a rental for a few months. Why? They had their sights on free agent to be Alex Rodriguez, who was a Mets fan growing up (so he says). Does anyone else remember A-Rod was being called Shea-Rod because his eventual signing was set in stone?

Larkin, another Cincinnati product, had no interest in going anywhere other than his home. Mets manager Bobby Valentine, catcher Mike Piazza, and Larkin's buddy, Mets pinch hitter Lenny Harris, all tried to convince him to no avail.

Would adding the Hall of Famer Larkin to Hall of Famers Griffey and Piazza been enough to win the 2000 World Series? This is what baseball talk is all about.

Griffey! Larkin! Piazza! Oh no, the photo of the World Championship Trophy is slowly disappearing.