[ifinnegan]

Seaver was really good.

I never knew why the Mets traded him.

[Dilbert San Diego]

If I recall correctly, he wanted to renegotiate his contract, as free agency had just begun in baseball in the mid 1970s. The Mets would have been in a position to have to pay him lots more to keep him when his contract expired. So they traded him to get some players in return, rather than pay him much more, or see him leave on his own in free agency.

[Dr. Sivana]

I never knew why the Mets traded him.

M. Donald Grant was dumping payroll. They also dumped a very good Jon Matlack, and held onto the worst of the three, Jerry Koosman.

What did they get in the trade for Seaver? Steve Henderson was supposed to be the slugging star. Doug Flynn the second baseman was not very good. A couple of no-name prospects and a bag of Buckeye potato chips. Henderson was okay, but wouldn't have even cracked the starting eight of the early '70s Reds or Mets. I forgot how they got Willie Montanez, who was an uninspiring 1st Baseman from Atlanta who had some pop, but a low batting average and below average glove. He was known for literally WALKING to 1st base when he drew a walk. Hence he was called a hot dog. You can get away with that if you are Reggie Jackson or Jose Canseco, or Al Hrabosky. Not if you are Willie Montanez.

I wsent to Mets DOdgers games in that era where there were as many Dodgers fans as Mets fans. Lee Mazilli was a celebrity, but more as a teen girl heart throb. He was a .300 hitting center fielder with little power. Nobody to build a team around.