It seems that June 2017 is a month for milestone anniversaries. June 15, 2017, is the 40th anniversary of the Tom Seaver trade. At that time I worked as a chemist for Pfizer in Groton, CT and lived in nearby New London. It was not a happy time in my life, but that is another story I won’t discuss here. I couldn’t believe it when I first heard it that night and I had to see or hear at least 3 media reports until I realized that it happened. The Mets sent Seaver to the Cincinnati Reds for Pat Zachry, Doug Flynn, Steve Henderson and Dan Norman.
Seaver was “The Franchise” as he was the team’s premier pitcher, but M. Donald Grant, the cheapskate general manager, just didn’t want to pay him a competitive salary. Three of the four players the Mets got from the Reds had decent careers, but they just couldn’t replace Tom Seaver. It took several years for the Mets to become competitive again.
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