Reese Kaplan -- If Not the Managerial Big Three....

I’ve resisted as long as I could the urge to get into the specific names being considered for the Mets managerial opening.  I did opine that I felt a long time minor league manager would have the game smarts that Mickey Callaway lacked.  This type of candidate would also be less likely to resist the meddling efforts of the front office.  A guy like Edgardo Alfonzo has had several years of minor league managerial experience under his belt already and thus would tick those boxes, though I think there are some other issues that make him less than ideal.

From most reports, the Mets seem to want to go for the proven veteran and everyone has gone on record talking about the big three – Joe Girardi, Joe Maddon and Buck Showalter.  None of them would be a bad hire, of course, and all would bring with them lots of field experience and media savvy. 

Of these three, Maddon is the standout to me because I do not have Yankee inferiority complex and do not feel compelled to hire or trade for people who wore pinstripes in the past.  Maddon has made low budget teams competitive – the Rays – and high budget teams – the Cubs.  Granted, he got the ax this year after failing to fulfill expectations, but he has shown the creativity, communications skills and winning attitude that would make him my number one of this trio.  By all reports, he’s headed to the left coast to take over the Angels.

Joe Girardi started off with a bang, earning Manager of the Year honors for his rookie season at the helm of the Florida Marlins.  After confronting the team owner at the behest of the umpire about his heckling, the handwriting was on the wall and, of course, he was fired after that one season.  He was then offered the opportunity to replace Sam Perlozzo when he was fired from the Orioles in June, but turned it down.  He then took over the Yankees in 2007.  It took him two years, but in 2009 he got the Yankees a World Series Championship.  They didn’t return again under his stewardship and when his 4-year $16 million deal ended in 2017 he was not renewed.  You can argue all day about the effect managers have on winning, but his Yankee record of a .562 winning percentage is nothing to sneeze at – a 91 win pace year after year.  The huge red flag that should be flashing in neon is GM Brian Cashman’s reason for dumping him – that he had issues with communication and connectivity to the players.

Buck Showalter was an evolutionary hire for the New York Yankees.  He’d come up through their system, winning Minor League Manager of the Year before taking a coaching spot on the major league bench.  He had a  bit of an odd hired when he took over the Yankees for parts of three tumultuous seasons.  He won Manager of the Year, but quit his job when he was ordered by the front office to fire hitting coach Rick Down.  Does he sound like the kind of puppet Jeff Wilpon would want?  He has finished with sub-.500 records in Arizona, Texas and Baltimore.  He’s a hair over .500 for his career.

So if none of these high profile managers seem ideal for the club, who might the Mets interview for the job?  Reports are that Carlos Beltran is interviewing, but another rookie manager after the Mickey Callaway situation is likely not going to happen. Mike Bell of the Diamondbacks and Derek Shelton are another few names, though the conventional wisdom is that they won't fly them to New York for the interview which pretty much tells you all you need to know.  

There happens to be a rather distinguished manager with a career winning record who has taken every team he’s managed to the post season.  If he’s with the Mets for two years he will eclipse the 2000 win plateau – something very few can claim.  He’s never gotten a World Series ring, but most recently spurred his last team to consecutive 95-win seasons after which he was fired.  

The man has 22 years of managerial experience and at age 70 is not going to be rattled by anything you throw at him.  He’s worked with numerous owners and coaches, so even the Wilpons should not pose a major challenge.  His name, of course, is Dusty Baker.  With an 82 year old pitching coach, I think the Mets could embrace a “kid” like Dusty and he would give them instant credibility at perhaps less money than the big three over whom everyone else is salivating.  Pair him with someone like Luis Rojas or Edgardo Alfonzo as a bench coach to learn the ropes and prepare for the future, and you may have a winning formula.