As of this writing Mickey Callaway is still the manager of the
Mets. That has not stopped people from
guessing who the next manager of the Mets will be if he does get fired.
Two different recent articles each listed 13 different
possible candidates. Besides the usual
suspects, Joe Girardi, Joe Maddon, and Buck Showalter, one
even included Yankees broadcaster David Cone and another
MLB Network’s Mark DeRosa.
Watch out, the Yankees hired a broadcaster with no managerial
experience and won a division. The Mets sometimes like to copy their cross-town
rivals.
What do both of these above articles have in common? They both exclude the man that won a
championship for the Brooklyn Cyclones, Edgardo Alfonzo.
So, he won a championship in Brooklyn, what’s the big deal?
Well, it was the first time anyone did that since 2001, the year
the Mets put a team in Brooklyn. That
year, as the championship series was cancelled due to 9/11, Brooklyn was
declared co-champions. Fonzie was therefore
the only manager to ever win an outright championship in 19 years in Brooklyn.
The NY Penn League is not an easy league to manage. Teams are comprised with a very diverse group
of players. This includes college
players that have come right from the June draft, players from the Dominican
leagues and non-drafted free agents.
More than the fact that Fonzie won, it was the way he won, how the team
played, the emphasis on fundamentals, the emphasis on defense, the emphasis on
the running game and the emphasis on manufacturing runs. They scored runs on outs time and time again. Brooklyn was a flat-out exciting team all
year.
They hit against the shift.
Took extra bases when the shift had players out of position and bases
uncovered. Scored from third if the ball
got by the catcher. Even when they were
thrown out by being a little too aggressive, it was great to watch.
It was the type of baseball that helped the Royals beat the Mets
in the 2015 World Series and those Cardinal teams in the 80’s beat the great
Mets teams though those 80’s Mets were much more talented on paper.
Fonzie was able
to win despite the fact that the 2019 Brooklyn team was not a team
with many top 20 Mets prospects.
Fonzie had the team working on fundamentals and defense
everyday including daily bunting drills. Remember last year when Mickey
Callaway was asked why he didn’t have Dom Smith bunt in a given situation and Mickey
answered something like “I don’t think Dom has ever bunted before”?
In Brooklyn last year, they all could bunt. Even catcher Jake Ortega was able to bunt. In the ninth inning of the deciding game in
the first playoff round, Jake bunted over what proved to be the winning run.
They played hard.
They played baseball the right way.
Remember when much heralded Mets prospect Fernando Martinez
came up to the Majors, hit a pop up near home plate that ended up landing in
fair territory and he didn’t run? He was
tagged out by the catcher.
In Syracuse this year I was at a game when the backup catcher,
Colton Plaia, with men on second and third and one out, hit a pop up to the
catcher that landed in fair territory.
Colton did not run and was tagged out.
(He also hit about .150 and stayed on the roster all year when Patrick
Mazeika spent his second full year at Binghamton but that is another story).
In the first Brooklyn playoff game, first baseman Joe Genord
(not a speedster) hit a pop up to the infield that the Hudson Valley catcher
did not handle and it landed in fair territory.
When it did land, Genord was standing on second like he should have
been. He later scored on a single.
Could the Mets use Fonzie in Queens? Yes.
However, they could use him in Syracuse, Binghamton, St. Lucie, and
Columbia. More importantly the style of
play in Brooklyn, and the fundamentals that Fonzie emphasizes needs to become
the norm for the Mets, not the exception.
That style of play.
The emphasis on defense and fundamentals is the right choice for the
organization. No matter if the Mets
manager in 2020 is Mickey Callaway, Joe Girardi, Joe Maddon, David Cone, or
Mark DeRosa.
Do the Mets share this opinion? Well, Fonzie won the
championship in Brooklyn but the Mets named David Davalillo, the Gulf Coast
League Mets' manager, the Mets Minor League Coach of the Year.
That could be why no one is leaking his name as a possible
future Mets Manager.
Surprising, huh?
What do you think?
9 comments:
Ultimately, the manager has to be someone who can speak frequently in video sessions. Edgardo's English is decent but not great - I wonder if that is a factor? I don't think it should be, but this game is all about marketing.
I agree with Tom.
One must master the english language to be in a position this visible.
I just think Fonzie should be in the discussion. Ultimately, the best position would be to make sure fundamentals and defense were stressed at every level in the minors. This way players woukd come to the majors playing hard and playing sound baseball. Not watching a pop up land fair and be tagged out.
It's been a long time since I have heard Fonzie interviewed, but I don't remember him having any problem with English. That shouldn't hold him back.
I still want Mickey to get another year, but if he's replaced, I like your idea, John.
Good article. I hope Brodie reads it. 👍
I was debating the same topic generically with Bill and others yesterday. I said ikd take a newbie with a track record of minor leagues success or a veteran with recent winning experience. Fonzie is the former. Callaway was not. Terry was not the latter.
I love your description of his managerial style.......despite the infatuation with home runs, playing the game the right way
still works, evidenced by his success in Brooklyn.
If he isn't under consideration now, I suspect he will be in another year or two for another organization.
If there is a guy already in the organization that will stress fundamentals, speed, and defense and who speaks to the media better than Fonzie, I would be all for him. I don't think such a person exists.
John -
There is... Tim Teufel... but his Mets time has passed.
Good choice Mack. I just hope they are looking at substance and not style. I think they have gone more with style in the past.
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