A Very Big Deal
The 1982 Mets were a very bad team. They lost 97 games, which would likely have been the sixth straight season of 90+ losses, had not the 1981 baseball strike cut the previous season down to 105 games. They finished at the bottom of the NL East standings yet again, a position to which they were becoming quite accustomed, having not finished above fifth place in their division since 1976. They had to endure another last place finish in 1983 before it would finally turn around.
Still, there were some consequential things happening for the New York Mets that year. After getting short looks the previous two years, second baseman Wally Backman had his first season as a semi-regular, appearing in 96 games and logging over 300 plate appearances. A young CF named Mookie Wilson broke out in a big way, solidifying the leadoff spot with a .279 batting average and 55 steals. A southpaw named Jesse Orosco saved 17 games and was pushing Neil Allen for the closer role, freeing the Mets to deal Allen for Keith Hernandez the following June. Oh, and a couple of young pitchers named Dwight Gooden and Randy Meyers were taken by the Mets in the draft.
One of the most important events in that 1982 season happened away from the playing field. On Aprils Fool's Day, GM Frank Cashen made a trade with the Texas Rangers. In exchange for 27-year-old, Brooklyn-born OF Lee Mazzilli, the Mets received a pair of pitching prospects named Ron Darling and Walt Terrell. This was controversial at the time, as the still quite young Mazzilli had been the Mets best player since 1978, a rare ray of light in some very dark years. Maz had slumped badly during the strike-shortened 1981 season due to injuries, but all of us hoped and expected him to bounce back in 1982. Now, if he did, it would be in Texas.
By 1984, Terrell was a fixture in the starting rotation for the Mets, starting 33 games and going 11-12 with a 3.52 ERA. That might have made him the ace of some previous Mets teams, but things had shifted dramatically in that consequential 1984 season. 1982 first round pick Dwight Gooden electrified baseball as a 19-year old, winning 17 games and striking out 276 batters in 218 IP. Darling took a regular turn in the rotation and, despite being erratic, was clearly the number two behind Doc. And a 21-year-old lefty from Hawaii named Sid Fernandez, obtained by the Mets from the Dodgers for a utility man named Bob Bailor and a reliever named Carlos Diaz, came up in July and made 15 starts for the team.
After finishing 68-94 in 2003, the 1984 Mets went 90-72, and challenged the Chicago Cubs for the division until settling for second place. At the time, 90 wins represented the second-highest win total of all-time for the Mets, and the second place finish marked only the third time in their history that the team finished in the top 2 of their division. Walt Terrell was still an important member of the rotation, but it was clear that the Mets had no shortage of talented young arms and Terrell was expendable.
In December of 1984, Terrell was traded to the Detroit Tigers, who had just won the World Series. The player coming back was a 24-year-old third baseman named Howard Johnson. This led to much scratching of heads and jokes about the old restaurant and motel chain. Johnson hadn't shown much in Detroit, and it was reported that manager Sparky Anderson didn't like him. Meanwhile, Terrell had proven to be a more than competent mid-rotation arm. Indeed, it didn't look like a smart move by the Mets initially. Johnson took some time to develop, while Terrell continued to put up solid numbers for the Tigers while annually logging over 200 innings.
Then in 1987, things took off for Johnson in a big way. He had 36 HR and 99 RBI, scoring 93 runs and showing good patience at the plate with 83 BB. Johnson had some ups and downs, but played 9 seasons in New York, establishing himself as one of the top position players in Mets history.
The trade proved to be a win-win for the Mets and Tigers. Terrell pitched 4 years in Detroit from 1985-1988 as a solid, dependable starter. The Tigers dealt him to the Padres in October, 1988, but Terrell came back as a free agent in 1990 and finished his career in Detroit. In 11 major league seasons, Walt Terrell went 111-124 with a 4.22 ERA. He logged 1986.2 innings in his career, surpassing 200 IP in a season 7 times.
One area where Walt Terrell proved quite unlucky was in missing out on the World Series with both the Mets and Tigers. He came over Detroit after they won it all in 1984, and missed the Mets 1986 championship by a couple of years. Terrell only pitched in the Playoffs once in his MLB career. In the 1987 ALCS he made one start, and it was not a good one. Terrell started game 3 of that series, allowing 6 ER and a pair of homers over 6 innings. The Tigers spotted him a 5-0 lead in the third, but he was unable to hold it. The Tigers bailed him out, scoring 2 runs late to pull the game out, but that was their only win in a 4-1 series loss to the Minnesota Twins.
Terrell's impact on the Mets was quite profound. He came over in one of the most lopsided trades in the Mets' favor in their history. His solid pitching helped the Mets to contend in 1984, and then he was traded for an all-time great Met after the season.
In December of 1984, Terrell was traded to the Detroit Tigers, who had just won the World Series. The player coming back was a 24-year-old third baseman named Howard Johnson. This led to much scratching of heads and jokes about the old restaurant and motel chain. Johnson hadn't shown much in Detroit, and it was reported that manager Sparky Anderson didn't like him. Meanwhile, Terrell had proven to be a more than competent mid-rotation arm. Indeed, it didn't look like a smart move by the Mets initially. Johnson took some time to develop, while Terrell continued to put up solid numbers for the Tigers while annually logging over 200 innings.
The trade proved to be a win-win for the Mets and Tigers. Terrell pitched 4 years in Detroit from 1985-1988 as a solid, dependable starter. The Tigers dealt him to the Padres in October, 1988, but Terrell came back as a free agent in 1990 and finished his career in Detroit. In 11 major league seasons, Walt Terrell went 111-124 with a 4.22 ERA. He logged 1986.2 innings in his career, surpassing 200 IP in a season 7 times.
One area where Walt Terrell proved quite unlucky was in missing out on the World Series with both the Mets and Tigers. He came over Detroit after they won it all in 1984, and missed the Mets 1986 championship by a couple of years. Terrell only pitched in the Playoffs once in his MLB career. In the 1987 ALCS he made one start, and it was not a good one. Terrell started game 3 of that series, allowing 6 ER and a pair of homers over 6 innings. The Tigers spotted him a 5-0 lead in the third, but he was unable to hold it. The Tigers bailed him out, scoring 2 runs late to pull the game out, but that was their only win in a 4-1 series loss to the Minnesota Twins.
Terrell's impact on the Mets was quite profound. He came over in one of the most lopsided trades in the Mets' favor in their history. His solid pitching helped the Mets to contend in 1984, and then he was traded for an all-time great Met after the season.
Really a fun read; nice piece Mike. I remember that game in Wrigley when Terrell hit those two homers. I was working and listening to it on the radio as back then they played only day games in northern Windy City. Having remembered that, I’m surprised he wasn’t a better hitter. Two two-run homeruns to center and a 4-2 win. I’m sure he remembers it fondly. HoJo was a pretty important piece in 1985 and 1986 too, playing shortstop and third base. That three run homer off Worrell in St. Louis was a rocket that might’ve broken a seat or something in early 1986 and set the pace for the rest of the season.
ReplyDeleteAs the hitting coach for the Brooklyn Cyclones, HoJo did good work but was let go to become a fixture hitting coach for the Tacoma Rainers of the Mariners AAA team. What a shame, like Fonzie now. Too bad we can’t have nice things. We great our people like shit and there’s no one in the organization to say, “hey! We can’t have this!”
The early 80s Mets sure drafted and traded well.
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