George Foster (baseball) - New York Mets

New York Mets

With one year remaining on his contract, Foster was seeking a new five-year deal with the Reds. Unwilling to meet his contract demands, the Reds traded him to the New York Mets for Greg Harris, Jim Kern and Alex Trevino on February 10, 1982. After which, Foster agreed with the club on a five-year, $10 million contract.

Whereas the Reds were at or near the top of their division Foster's entire time in Cincinnati, the Mets were consistent cellar dwellers in the National League East when Foster joined his new club. The franchise was hoping for a turn around with Foster in tow, but it was not to be, as all of Foster's power numbers declined. He hit just thirteen home runs while driving in seventy his first season in New York, both the lowest numbers he'd put up since 1974.

The Mets acquired Keith Hernandez and brought up rookie prospect Darryl Strawberry during the 1983 season. Given more protection in the line-up, Foster rebounded with a team best 28 home runs and ninety RBIs. When the Mets became a contending team in 1984, Foster batted .269 with 24 home runs and 86 RBIs.

The 1985 season came down to the wire between the Mets and St. Louis Cardinals. On September 10, with the two teams tied atop the NL East, an incident between Foster and Cardinals pitcher Danny Cox caused both benches to clear. The race remained tight, but the Cardinals pulled off a three game lead as the Mets headed to Busch Stadium for a three game set on October 1. Game one was a pitchers' duel between Ron Darling and John Tudor that the Mets won in extra innings. With the Mets now just two games back, twenty game winners Dwight Gooden and Joaquín Andújar faced off in game two.

With the Mets leading 1–0, Foster led off the second inning by legging out an infield single. Three batters later, he scored the second run of the game on a fielder's choice by Gooden. In the seventh, he drove the first pitch from Andújar to deep center field to give the Mets a 4–1 lead. Foster went three-for-four to lead the Mets to a 5–2 victory, and pull to within one game of the division lead. The Mets would, however, lose the following day, and the Cardinals went on to win the division.