December 11, 1986: The Kevin Mitchell Trade Dooms The Mets

December 11, 1986: The Mets trade one left fielder for another: Kevin Mitchell to the San Diego Padres for Kevin McReynolds.

McReynolds got booed because the Mets weren't winning anymore, and, as someone who was not a member of their 1986 World Champions, he was a convenient target. His career stats and Mitchell's were very close, and he certainly didn't deserve the poor treatment he got. There were far worse players the Mets could have acquired.

But they shouldn't have gotten rid of Mitchell. The Padres soon traded him to the San Francisco Giants, and he became an All-Star, helping them reach the Playoffs in 1987 and the World Series in his Most Valuable Player year of 1989. He batted .326 as a regular with the 1994 Cincinnati Reds, and was still productive as late as 1996. The Mets could have used him in their close-call seasons of 1987, '88, '89 and '90.

I have called the Mets' failure to win another World Series for 36 years (through the 2022 season) "The Curse of Kevin Mitchell." The trade isn't the biggest reason they didn't win another Pennant until 2000. (There were injuries, and there was substance abuse, and some guys just dropped off without a rational explanation.) But, like McReynolds, it is a convenient symbol.

*

December 11, 1986 was a Thursday. Football star turned sportscaster Ahmad Rashad and his then-wife, actress Phylicia Rashad, became the parents of future actress Condola Rashad.

Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. There were 4 games played in the NBA:

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 115-94 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.

* The Golden State Warriors beat the Houston Rockets, 111-104 at The Summit in Houston. (The arena has since been converted into the Central Campus of the Lakewood Church, Dr. Joel Osteen's "megachurch.")

* The Utah Jazz beat the Dallas Mavericks, 103-99 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City.

* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the San Antonio Spurs, 113-107 at the Seattle Center Coliseum.

And there were 5 games played in the NHL:

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the New York Rangers lost to the Montreal Canadiens, 6-2 at the Montreal Forum.

* The New York Islanders beat the New Jersey Devils, 8-4 at the Brendan Byrne Arena in the Meadowlands. Bryant Trottier and Mikko Mäkelä each scored 2 goals and an assist. Pat LaFontaine also scored 2 goals.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Vancouver Canucks, 4-2 at the Boston Garden.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Calgary Flames, 5-3 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

* And the Detroit Red Wings and the Minnesota Twins played to a tie, 6-6 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.