Reese Kaplan -- And Now for the Rest of the Storey

Yesterday I offered up the opinion that the best way for the Mets to go in their quest for a new manager was to identify a successful minor league manager who has not yet had a major league gig (including current coaches on other clubs who may have been “the man” in the minors but serve in a supporting role to the manager at the big league level). 

Anyone paying attention to that article saw I hinted at that very thing in-house for the Mets with a “Fonzie” baseball cap.  The problems regarding Edgardo Alfonso are two-fold.  First, it’s been said (and I can neither confirm nor deny) that despite having been in the USA for many years now, his language skills are not what they might want for someone who’s going to have to face the big league press after every game.  In the minors it’s more about communicating with the players, motivating them and developing skills.  In the majors it’s more of an entertainment business with the presumption that the skills are already there on the big league roster and that cheerleading won’t move the needle much in the won-loss column. 

The other issue for Fonzie is the fondness and regard fans have for his tenure in a Mets uniform.  He was part of the “greatest infield ever” and transformed himself from a singles/doubles hitter into a genuine power threat.  He moved all around the infield as the needs arose and when he left New York he took out a full page newspaper ad to thank the fans for all they meant to him.  Would the Mets want to skewer him and tarnish all that good will when the day comes to fire him? 

So if the in-house option doesn’t necessarily fit, how about going outside for someone who doesn’t have that fan history but does have a track record of winning?  Are we ready for another Mickey?  No, not Callaway, this time it would another story altogether --  Mickey Storey.

Who’s he?

Well, for those of you who are not fans of the Somerset Patriots where he played locally in 2015 before a mid-season pickup by the Dodgers (who subsequently released him), Storey had a brief career.  He started out pitching (yes, another Mickey pitcher-turned-manager) for the Oakland organization before being traded to the Houston Astros.  He made his major league debut in August of 2012 and finished the season with a 3.86 ERA out of the bullpen.  

After that season it was a whirlwind of highs and lows for Storey.  He was claimed by the Yankees on waivers in November, but DFA’d 10 days later.  The Astros grabbed him back in December but then a mere 11 days later he was DFA’d for the second time that winter.  The Blue Jays picked him up and over the next two season he rode the shuttle between Toronto and Buffalo where the Blue Jays have their AAA affiliate.  Injuries plagued his career and he ended it before age 30. 

In 2018 the Astros reached out to him and offered him the managerial gig for the A-ball Quad City River Bandits where the rookie manager went about 30 games over .500.  That earned him a promotion to head up the Astros' AAA Round Rock Express where he did it again!

Now the Astros are regarded as one of the brightest organizations in all of baseball and have turned themselves into perennial contenders.  Rather than bottom feeding by reaching out to guys from losing organizations or people who have been out of affiliated baseball for 12 years (sound familiar?), hiring the 33-year-old Mickey Storey would be the kind of brash and bold move that has thus far been the hallmark of Brodie Van Wagenen’s career in the front office.   He’d cost nothing.  Most clubs won’t stand in the way of someone on their payroll having an opportunity to move up elsewhere.  If not him, he’s the model for the kind of guy the Mets should be pursuing.