This Date in Mets History: November 24 - Mets Add Delgado, Form Carlos y Carlos

The Mets took advantage of one of the Florida Marlins' semi-annual Black Friday doorbuster deals on this date in 2005, acquiring Carlos Delgado for Mike Jacobs and minor leaguers Yusmeiro Petit and Grant Psomas. For GM Omar Minaya, landing the two-time All-Star marked the end of a pursuit over a year in the making. Initially, Minaya sought to sign Delgado as a free agent after the 2004 season and even enlisted help from the recently-inked Carlos Beltran in persuading the first baseman to join the Mets. Those efforts were for naught, however, as Minaya also relied on the special assistance of Tony Bernazard, who reportedly insulted Delgado's intelligence by using what he called "street Spanish" in negotiations. As a result, Mets fans were subjected to seeing "Jose Offerman, 1B" written on too many of Willie Randolph's lineup cards in 2005. Thankfully, this trade rectified that unspeakable wrong.

Birthdays

• Bob Friend is 82. A longtime ace for the PIttsburgh Pirates, the right hander spent his final year in the bigs filling out the back end of the '66 Mets rotation. After posting a 5-8 record in 22 games, Friend retired and returned to the Pittsburgh area where he served as Allegheny County controller from 1967 to '75.
• Jason Jacome turns 42. Called up in June 1994 to fill the roster spot opened by Dwight Gooden's drug suspension, the lefty pitched like an ace early in his MLB audition. Jacome blanked the Dodgers for a complete game shutout in just his second career start and went six innings every time he took the mound in the strike shortened season. Unfortunately, Jacome's sophomore year was every bit as bad as his rookie campaign was good. After five brutal starts and a 10.29 ERA, the Mets flipped him to Kansas City for three minor leaguers.
• George Herbert Walker, Jr., one of the original owners of the Mets and uncle to President George H.W. Bush, would have been 107 today. In 1960, Walker bought a six percent stake in New York's proposed new National League team. He later doubled down on his affiliation with the club by naming his two dogs Metsie and Yogi.

Transactions
In addition to the Delgado deal mentioned above, the Mets have made one other trade on this date. In 1993, GM Joe McIlvaine sent outfielder Dave Gallagher to the Braves for pitcher Pete Smith. The only member of the vaunted Atlanta rotation to post a losing record in the team's 103-win season, Smith cratered the following year in Queens, allowing a league leading 25 homers en route to a 4-10, 5.55 ERA stat line.

Amazin'-ly Tenuous Connection
This connection is about as tenuous as it gets, but here goes: Forty-nine years ago today, Jack Ruby fatally shot Lee Harvey Oswald as the alleged JFK assassin was being transferred from Dallas Police Headquarters to the county jail. The killing, caught live by network TV cameras, did much to foster the idea that President Kennedy's death was part of a wide-ranging conspiracy, a notion that was deemed likely 13 years later during the House Select Committee on Assassinations. Those hearings were, in part, inspired by the Church Committee, a Senate-led investigation into potential illegal actions carried out by the CIA. At the time of Church's inquiry, the agency was under the leadership of George H.W. Bush, nephew of Mets co-owner and November 24 birthday celebrant George Herbert Walker, Jr.