NEW YORK -- On the one-year anniversary of his on-field tears, New York Mets infielder Wilmer Flores preferred to think of a happier anniversary that is still two days away.

“I try to forget that moment,” Flores said before Friday’s game against the Colorado Rockies. “…The day that I like to talk about is the 31st.”

The Mets believed they had a deal to send Flores and Zack Wheeler to the Milwaukee Brewers for outfielder Carlos Gomez on July 29, 2015.

Then-Brewers GM Doug Melvin had even contacted Gomez on the team’s charter flight back from the West Coast to inform the outfielder he was headed to the Mets.

As word leaked out and then hit social media, Flores learned about the deal while still playing in a game and began to tear up because he did not want to leave Flushing.

The Mets ultimately aborted the deal, though, over their doctors' concern about Gomez’s hip. Instead, they acquired Yoenis Cespedes two days later, which propelled them to the World Series.

In that July 31 game that Flores so fondly remembers, he belted a walk-off homer in the 12th inning to beat the Washington Nationals, helping propel the Mets toward the postseason. The combination of Flores' raw emotion at the prospect of leaving the Mets and his heroics in a 48-hour span has made him a cult hero among Mets fans.

“It was definitely a lot of emotions out there,” Flores said. “That was my first trade, basically. If it ever happens again, I’m more prepared for it. The thing is, I was out there. There was a lot of confusion out there. But I got through it and big things came to us.”

Flores said he appreciates the bond that was struck with Mets fans over the events of a year ago.

“They definitely want players to show that we care and that we show love to the team,” Flores said. “We all love this team. We care about this team. That was a way to show them that we do.”

When the Mets played in Milwaukee this June, Flores reflected on last year’s moment.

“I thought about it,” he acknowledged. “I thought I could have been playing in Milwaukee.”

As for this year’s non-waiver trade deadline, which arrives at 4 p.m. ET on Monday, Flores is better-equipped to handle it this time.

“I’m just more prepared,” said the 24-year-old Flores. “I think last year I was just a little bit more innocent about the trade deadline.”