Phillies: 5 Players Who Once Played For The Mets
There’s no question that the rivalry between the Phillies and the Mets is among the most heated in the league. That has not always been the case. After all, the franchises rarely were competitive at the same time.
There have been several players on both ends of the rivalry, including some great Phillies who went on to join the Mets.
We take a look back at some that played for the Mets before their time in Philadelphia.
Tug McGraw (Mets 1965 – 1974, Phillies 1975 – 1984)
Tug McGraw appeared in 37 games with the Mets as a rookie, posting an ERA of 3.32 in 97 1/3 innings. After a 4-19 start over the first three seasons with an exponentially growing ERA, McGraw spent the 1968 season in Triple-A.
In 1969, just the eighth season in franchise history, the Mets were World Series champions. McGraw played a key part during the regular season, going 9-3 with 12 saves in 42 appearances with an ERA of 2.24. After posting an ERA of 3.28 over 90 2/3 innings in 1970, McGraw was one of the best relievers in baseball over the next two seasons, posting identical 1.70 ERA, and allowed only 144 hits and seven home runs in 217 innings.
After a mediocre 1974 campaign, McGraw was traded along with Don Hahn, and Dave Schneck to the Phillies for Del Unser, John Stearns, and Mac Scarce. McGraw immediately showed his worth, earning an All-Star spot and went 9-6 with 14 saves and a 2.98 ERA.
McGraw was a mainstay in the Phillies bullpen, posting solid numbers through the 1978 season before having his worst season in a Phillies uniform in 1979. Although he converted 16 saves, McGraw had an uncharacteristically high 5.16 ERA and allowed nine home runs.
Arguably the best season of McGraw’s career came in 1980, particularly down the stretch he was unhittable. Finishing fifth in the NL Cy Young voting, McGraw posted a very slim ERA of 1.46 with 20 saves, allowing only three home runs and 62 hits in 92 1/3 innings. He was particularly dominant in the World Series, allowing only one earned run in 7 2/3 innings, striking out ten.
Although he was still effective in his final four seasons, his workload declined to just 34 games in each of 1981 through 1983 and 25 appearances in 1984. McGraw’s stats were nearly identical in Philadelphia (49-37, 94 saves and 3.10 ERA) and New York (47-55, 86 saves and 3.17 ERA). He will forever be remembered in Philadelphia for striking out Willie Wilson to end the 1980 World Series.
Lenny Dykstra (Mets 1985 – 1989, Phillies 1989 – 1996)
Lenny Dykstra had a mediocre rookie season in a platoon role for the Mets, hitting .254 with a home run and 15 stolen bases in 83 games. He significantly increased his production in 1986 to .295, eight home runs and 31 stolen bases. Shining in the postseason, Dykstra hit .300 with three home runs for the World Champions.
The 1987 season was perhaps Dykstra’s finest in New York, hitting .285 with 37 doubles, 10 home runs, and 27 stolen bases. After swiping 30 bases in 1988, Dykstra was traded to the Phillies along with Roger McDowell and Tom Edens in exchange for Juan Samuel on June 18, 1989.
After hitting just .222 with the Phillies in 90 games in 1989, Dykstra became an All-Star for the first time in 1990. He led the league in hits and on-base percentage while hitting 35 doubles and stealing 30 bases.
Dykstra’s next two years were cut short due to injuries. In 1991 he crashed his car and missed two months with fractured ribs, broken cheekbone, and broken collarbone. He fractured the same collarbone in August, ending his season. All told, Dykstra played in only 148 games with nine home runs and 54 stolen bases in 1991 and 1992.
The following season, Dykstra led the league in runs, hits, and walks. He set career-highs in home runs (19), runs (143), hits (194), RBI (66), stolen bases (37), and walks (129). He finished second in the NL MVP voting and was a big reason the Phillies went from last in 1992 to the World Series in 1993.
Dykstra played three more injury-plagued seasons in Philadelphia, making All-Star appearances in 1994 and 1995. He retired with 1298 hits, 81 home runs, and 285 stolen bases.
Roger McDowell (Mets 1985 – 1989, Phillies 1989 – 1991)
Roger McDowell also began his Major League career with the Mets in 1985 and was one of the top relievers in NL from the get-go, finishing 6-5 with 17 saves and a 2.83 ERA in 127 1/3 innings. A workhorse reliever, McDowell logged 128 innings the following season, winning 14 and saving 22.
After a stumble the following year to an ERA of 4.16 and more hits allowed than innings pitched, McDowell rebounded to save 19 with a 2.63 ERA of 89 innings in 1988. At the time of his trade to the Phillies along with Dykstra, McDowell was just 1-5 with a 3.31 ERA over 25 games. He was stellar the rest of the season, saving 19 with the Phillies with a razor-thin ERA of 1.11.
McDowell took over as the closer for the Phillies in 1990, and led the league in games finished with 60. He saved 22 games and did what he did best, commanding the sinkerball like a master, surrendering only two home runs in 86 1/3 innings. Despite a solid 3.20 ERA in 59 innings with the Phillies in 1991, McDowell was traded on the last day of July to the Dodgers for Mike Hartley and Braulio Castillo.
McDowell saved 14 games for the Dodgers in 1992 and posted an ERA of 2.25 in 1993, but had only moderate success over his three-plus year run in Los Angeles. He played out the last two years of his career with the Rangers and Orioles.
During his time with the Mets, McDowell won 33 and saved 84 with an ERA of 3.13. In 154 games with the Phillies, he posted a 12-17 mark with 44 saves and a 2.90 ERA.
Rico Brogna (Mets 1994 – 1996, Phillies 1997 – 2000)
After nearly five seasons in the Minor Leagues, Rico Brogna had a cup of coffee with the Tigers in 1992, hitting .192 with a home run in 29 at-bats. He spent the 1993 season in Triple-A, hitting .273 with 11 home runs and 59 RBI in 129 games.
Brogna was traded to the Mets just prior to the start of the 1994 season for Alan Zinter. He spent 67 games in the Mets’ farm system and hit a stellar .351 with seven home runs in 39 games after being called up.
During his first full season as a starter at the Major League level, Brogna hit .289 with 22 home runs and 76 RBI. He impressed in the field as well, committing only three errors for a .998 fielding percentage.
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Brogna was limited to 55 games in 1996, hitting .255 with ten doubles and seven home runs. Dealing with a form of spinal arthritis diagnosed in 1991 was a concern for the Mets, which was part of the reason for the trade to the Phillies for Rickey Jordan and Toby Borland on November 27, 1996.
The next three seasons in Philadelphia were the best of Brogna’s career. He continued his excellent glovework, consistently above the league average in fielding percentage. At the plate, Brogna had three straight 20-plus home run seasons and knocked in over 100 runs in both 1998 and 1999.
After playing just 38 games with the Phillies in 2000, Brogna was claimed off waivers by the Red Sox, but hit only .196 in 43 games. He spent one more season in the majors, hitting .248 with three home runs in 72 games with the Braves.
Brogna returned to the Phillies’ organization in December 2017 as the hitting coach for Double-A Reading.
Pedro Martinez (Mets 2005 – 2008, Phillies 2009)
Pedro Martinez began his career with the Dodgers in 1992, but after finishing ninth in Rookie of the Year voting in 1993 with a 10-win season and 2.61 ERA, he was traded to the Montreal Expos for Delino DeShields Sr.
After two solid seasons, Martinez began a long run as the best pitcher in baseball. He made his first All-Star team in 1996 and won the Cy Young Award in 1997 after leading the league in complete games with 13, ERA at 1.90 and struck out 305.
Inexplicably, Martinez was traded to the Red Sox for Carl Pavano and Tony Armas on November 11, 1997. Martinez proceeded to win back-to-back Cy Young Awards in Boston, winning 41 against only ten losses while leading the league in ERA and strikeouts both seasons. He was limited to 112 innings in 2001 due to a rotator cuff injury, but still struck out 163 with an ERA of 2.39.
Martinez made his sixth All-Star team in 2002 after posting a 20-4 record with a league-leading 239 strikeouts and ERA of 2.26. He once again led the league in ERA at 2.21 in 2003 and posted his seventh season with at least 200 strikeouts.
Granted free agency following the 2004 season, Martinez signed with the Mets on December 17, 2004. He started the 2005 season strong, winning five of his first six decisions with an ERA of 2.54 in 76 innings. Injuries to his hip and left calf sent Martinez to the disabled list multiple times. As a result, he finished with nine wins and a 4.48 ERA.
Philadelphia Phillies
Surgery on his torn rotator cuff cost Martinez most of the 2007 season and in five games, he went 3-1 with a 2.57 ERA. A strained hamstring limited Martinez in appearances and effectiveness. After a 5.61 ERA in 20 games, Martinez was granted free agency.
Pitching for the Dominican Republic at the World Baseball Classic in 2009, Martinez tried to show he had something left in the tank. The Phillies took a hard look at him and signed him on July 15, 2009. There was enough left for Martinez to go 5-1 in nine starts the rest of the season with a 3.63 ERA.
In the 2009 postseason, Martinez had one last hurrah, shutting down the Dodgers for seven innings, allowing just two hits. Although he struck out 13 in 10 innings against the Yankees in the World Series, Martinez dropped both starts with an ERA of 6.30.
Martinez retired with a record of 219-100, 3153 strikeouts, and an ERA of 2.93. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015.