On this day in 1989, the Mets traded Lenny Dykstra, Roger McDowell, and Tom Edens to the Phillies in exchange for Juan Samuel.
Dykstra, who is quite the outspoken, avid Twitter user, commemorated the anniversary today:
On this day, 32 years ago, the #Mets acquired their center fielder of the future! pic.twitter.com/mthrBFTcqo
— Lenny Dykstra (@LennyDykstra) June 18, 2021
Dykstra was already a World Series champion with the Mets in 1986, and went on to have three All-Star seasons with the Phillies in 1990, 1994, and 1995. He was also a crucial part of their 1993 pennant season, helping the Phillies win their first division title and NLCS since 1983.
Dykstra has spent the day tweeting about the trade.
In addition to making fun of Samuel, who struggled with the Mets, Dykstra has spent the day retweeting his fans:
So instead of having a homegrown outfield of Kevin Mitchell, Lenny Dykstra and Darryl Strawberry, we ended up with a left fielder who hated baseball and a second baseman in center
— In Cohen We Trust (@DaveKingman9) June 18, 2021
Safe to say the Mets never really recovered from this deal
— Turd Ferguson (@turdusferguson) June 18, 2021
From the minute you won the championship and took ownership of the city, Cashen was intent on ripping the heart out of the team.
— In Cohen We Trust (@DaveKingman9) June 18, 2021
a top 5 worst day of my Mets fandom. I'll never forget watching the game that Sunday and them announcing the trade right after the game. Terrible day in Mets history. Took the heart and soul out of the team. The day the '86 era died.
— The Pups (@thepups15) June 18, 2021
In the end, Samuel also was a three-time All-Star, Sporting News‘ Rookie of the Year in 1984, won a Silver Slugger, is in the Phillies’ Wall of Fame, and is in the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame.
As for Dykstra? His life is a whole other story…