The New York Mets have the best managerial opening in Major League Baseball.
The little brother of New York has one of the most formidable teams in all of baseball despite missing out on the playoffs the past three seasons and being the perennial laughingstock of baseball.
Even though a first-half record of 40-50 turned into an 86-76 finish and the Mets finished just three games outside of the playoffs, second year manager Mickey Callaway was fired from the organization after two seasons.
What Callaway leaves behind is a young core of game-changing, everyday assets. Headlined by the expected Rookie of the Year and all-time rookie home run leader in Pete Alonso, the Mets are filled with talent around the diamond.
Jeff McNeil will be entering his third season next year after an all-star season batting .318 and plating 23 home runs. McNeil, who has the ability to play four different positions, also recorded the eighth highest on base percentage in the National League with a .384 while reaching 5.0 wins above replacement.
Amed Rosario, the 23-year-old starting shortstop, also improved his hitting ability while right fielder Michael Conforto continued to display why he is one of the best at his position in baseball at 26-years-old by hitting a career-high 33 home runs.
On the mound, New York’s starting pitchers have the ability to be the best staff for the 2020 season. Jacob deGrom, the 2018 Cy Young award winner, had another astonishing year, as the all-star accounted for a 2.43 earned run average while holding a .971 WHIP and a league-leading 255 strikeouts in 204 innings pitched.
Rounding out the rotation will be all-star Marcus Stroman, flamethrower Noah Syndergaard, lefty Steven Matz, and the potential re-signing of Zach Wheeler.
Although the Mets have firepower all over the field, the only negative aspect to their opening is the front office and ownership. With reports during the season that general manager Brodie Van Wagenen was making in-game decisions instead of the manager, why would an interested manager want to lead the Mets when he literally cannot lead the Mets? A manager wants power, and by taking it away from him, he is severely leashed and cannot form the squad into what his championship image looks like.
Perhaps worse than the front office, Mets ownership has long been ridiculed by its fans and the New York media, cited for being cheap with their payroll and trying to be too impactful in the organization’s roster and game decisions. The authoritative presence of Fred and Jeff Wilpon is just as unattractive since the duo wants to have their hands all over every decision.
Due to all this, the Mets job can be seen as a ‘puppet’ role. The manager is told what to do and he must do it. It is essentially a messenger role to the players and rest of the organizations. After hiring Callaway and Van Wagenen in recent years, two first timers at their positions, it is likely the trend continues in hiring a first-time manager.
Social media has been clamoring for the Mets to go after proven, experienced managers such as Joe Girardi and Buck Showalter, but it would be little surprise if the Mets went in a completely different direction. Reports already are indicating interest in candidates such as former Met Carlos Beltran and quality control coach Luis Rojas, proving the organization is more interested in having upper-tier management determine the outcome of games. Coupled with the resistance of shelling out big money to past managers, the Mets’ next manager will most likely be someone who has never been a head honcho, setting up fans for disappointment once again.
Robert Fallo can be reached at robert.fallo@student.shu.edu. Find him on Twitter @robert_fallo.
