Remembering when the great Phillies turned to the dark side
There’s something about the New York Mets that we Phillies fans just don’t like. Is it the fact that they’re from New York? That they’re pesky? That their fans try to get under our skin? What is it that makes a rivalry so great?
We simply don’t like them cause they’re the Mets.
In recent years the rivalry has taken a slight step back with both teams going through their respective growing pains, but in the mid-2000s when they were both fighting for playoff positioning, it was on.
Sometimes guys leave in free agency and some get traded. There’ve been 28 trades between the Phillies and Mets. Most of them are forgettable, but some changed the history of both franchises.
Other guys left Philadelphia and ended up in New York either as a free agent or through another team’s trade down the line. Some are forgiven, but others turned into public enemy number one.
Today we’re looking at five notable Phillies who went from the City of Brotherly Love to the Big Apple.
Before we hit the biggest names, here are some honorable mentions.
Willie Montañez
Willie Montañez bounced around baseball for most of his 14 seasons, but half of those years came with the Phillies, where he almost won the Rookie of the Year in 1971. After going to the Giants and Braves, Montañez was dealt to New York in a rare four-team trade between the Mets, Rangers, Braves, and Pirates.
Ricky Bottalico
Ricky Bottalico spent seven of his first nine big league seasons with the Phillies, saving 78 games with a 3.70 ERA. After the 2003 season with Arizona Bottalico signed with the Mets for one year, was cut at the start of the season, then re-signed nine days later.
Todd Pratt
Todd Pratt played nearly as many games for the Mets as he did the Phillies, playing just 23 more games in Philadelphia despite spending three more seasons here.
Marlon Anderson
A second round pick in the 1995 Draft out of the University of South Alabama, Marlon Anderson played in Philadelphia for five seasons before making two stints with the Mets.
Marlon Byrd
The only two players in MLB with the name Marlon have played for both the Phillies and Mets. Marlon Byrd was drafted out of Georgia Perimeter College by the Phillies and spent his first three seasons in Phillies pinstripes before being traded to the Nationals in 2005. After bouncing around the league Byrd would find himself on the Mets eight years later and would also come back to Philadelphia in 2014.