Trades From The Distant Past - Donn Clendenon

One of the few Mets' trades that actually worked out for both teams was the one that brought Donn Clendenon from Montreal on June 15, 1969. Clendenon had actually been traded to Houston after being drafted from Pittsburgh by the Expos, but refused to report. So, he was still with the first-year expansion team when the Mets saw him as a nice platoon first baseman who'd split time with Ed Kranepool and provide both a productive bat and a veteran clubhouse presence.

On the June 15th trade deadline, the Mets swapped 3rd baseman Kevin Collins, who was a pretty good young hitter, and a trio of minor league pitchers to Montreal for Clendenon, who proved to be a key piece of the puzzle that turned into the Miracle Mets. Donn was also MVP of the 1969 World Series, so unquestionably the trade was a great one for the Mets. But although Collins never panned out, one of the three young pitchers included in the deal was Steve Renko, who became one of Montreal's most dependable starters for several years, so Montreal had to be happy with their end of the deal.