On this day in baseball history, June 15, the following noteworthy events occurred. 

Ty Cobb at 41; Steals Home for the Final Time:

On this day in 1928, in his final season, Ty Cobb playing for the Philadelphia Athletics, faced the Cleveland Indians in Cleveland. In that game, he went 2 for 4 in the Athletics’ 12-5 win over the Indians, and for the 54th and final time in his career, he stole home in the eighth inning. To this date, Ty Cobb still holds the record for Stealing Home successfully.

Tome Seaver Traded to the Reds (“Midnight Massacre”):

On this day in 1977, the New York Mets traded their greatest player in franchise history Tom Seaver to the Cincinnati Reds. Wanting a new contract Seaver and Mets were at each other’s throats nonstop in terms of negotiations. Seaver decided to seek a trade, and the Mets found a taker in the Reds, and in return, the Mets received: Pat Zachry, Doug Flynn, Steve Henderson, and Dan Norman.

I’m not calling the guys the Mets got in return bums, but I will usually say when you’re dealing away the best player in the deal, you usually do not win a trade. There is no question that this trade devastated Met fans.

New York Mets Trade for Keith Hernandez from Cardinals:

UNDATED: Keith Hernandez #17 of the New York Mets poses for a portrait circa 1983-1989. (Photo by Rich Pilling/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

On this day in 1983, seven years after the Mets traded Tom Seaver, in an attempt to end their rebuild and take the next step to be a winning team again, they acquired Keith Hernandez from the St. Louis Cardinals. Keith, who was set to become a free agent at the season’s end, was hesitant to stay with the Mets long-term. However, after seeing that the Mets had some nice upcoming players like Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden, he signed a five-year deal to stay. The Mets sent away relievers Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey to St. Louis for Keith. Not calling those guys scrubs, but again when you’re a team who isn’t dealing, instead receiving the best player in a trade, your winning the trade in all likelihood. Keith, the greatest defensive first baseman of all time, would go on to have productive years with the Mets, and without Keith, the Mets don’t win the 1986 World Series, that’s for sure.

References:

  1. PHILADELPHIA ATHLETICS VS CLEVELAND INDIANS JUNE 15, 1928 BOX SCORE via Baseball Almanac: https://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=192806150CLE
  2. Tom Seaver via Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Seaver#Midnight_Massacre
  3. SNY Authors. Mets traded for Keith Hernandez on today’s date in 1983 via SNY: https://sny.tv/articles/mets-traded-for-keith-hernandez-on-todays-date-in-1983