The ground work was laid a week earlier when the Dodgers traded Mike Piazza & Todd Ziele to the Marlins for Gary Sheffield, Bobby Bonilla, Charles Johnson & Jim Eisenreich. It is considered one of the worst moves in Dodger history, the result of contract disputes due to Piazza becoming a free agent at the end of the season. The Marlins had won the World Series the year before and wanted to cut salary, they dropped over 22 million on this trade alone. They had a fire sale dumping all their big players and getting Piazza would give them a big chip to trade for more top prospects. The Mets had just aquired Al Leiter in the 1997 off season from the Marlins for prospect A.J. Burnett. So the GMs were on good terms, playing nice leading up to the Piazza deal.
Todd Hundley was the Mets catcher at the time and he was down on a long term injury. Alberto Castillo was the back up and he wasn't going to cut it. The Mets under Bobby Valentine were changing direction & going up wards. Piazza would give them the catcher they needed, and one of the best hitters in the league.
On May 22, 1998 the new broke in New York to the delight of Mets fans; The Mets got Mike Piazza for Preston Wilson, Ed Yarnell, & Geof Getz. The rest is history. Piazza went on to become one of the best players in Mets history. After a slow start he became a New York icon, that season he brought them within one game of the playoffs. The next two years he led them to two playoff berths, and one World Series. He came close to winning an MVP Award, made seven All Star appearances, set many offensive records becoming the face of the franchise. He set a record for most HRs by a catcher in a Mets uniform and is destined for Cooperstown joining Tom Seaver as Mets immortals.
Preston Wilson did well for Florida, he hit over 23 HRs in all four seasons he played there, driving in over 100 RBIs once and never hitting above .280. He was gone by 2003, when they won their next World Series. Yarnell was a top AAA pitcher at the time of the trade but soon faded & Goetz never made the big leagues.
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