NEW YORK -- James Loney arrived in the Dodgers' farm system in 2002 at the age of 17 out of Lawrence E. Elkins High School in Missouri City, Texas, and he was greeted by an unfamiliar face.
At the time, Terry Collins, currently in the midst of his sixth season as the Mets' manager, was Los Angeles' field coordinator and would become the Dodgers' director of player development in 2005 as Loney ascended through the ranks. Fifteen years have passed since their first counter, but the two have reunited in New York after the Mets acquired the first baseman from the Padres for cash considerations on Saturday.