Kevin Tapani is best remembered as a Minnesota Twin, but he got his start with the New York Mets in 1989. He pitched in three games — all in relief — before being included in the Mets’ trade for Frank Viola.

David West was supposed to be the key player in that trade for the Twins, but Tapani actually had a much better career. West lasted 10 years in the big leagues and finished with a 31-38 record with a 4.66 ERA. Tapani pitched for 13 years and had a 143-125 record with a lifetime 4.35 ERA.

(Viola pitched for the Mets for parts of three seasons, compiling a 38-32 record. His best season in New York was 1990, when he won 20 games.)

While Viola, West and even Jack Savage (a throw-in in the trade who never pitched a game for the Mets in the Major Leagues) all have major-issue cards featuring them in Mets uniforms, the only baseball card evidence that Tapani ever wore the blue and orange is this card from the 1991 Wiz Mets stadium giveaway set.