Mets360 - Mickey Callaway and keeping pitchers healthy

 

By Brian Joura October 16, 2020

For coaches and managers, sometimes it’s hard to separate their results from what they did to achieve those results. Take Art Howe for instance. In 2001 and 2002, Howe’s teams won 102 and 103 games, respectively. The next year he managed the Mets and that 2003 Mets squad won just 66 games. It doesn’t seem like a huge stretch to say that those A’s teams simply had more talent than those Mets teams and perhaps Howe didn’t have a whole lot to do with the results his teams achieved in either Oakland or New York.

 

This isn’t meant to pick on Howe. This is how it is for a great majority of managers and coaches. It’s why we celebrate the managers who go into different locations and win. They’re the ones we can conclude made a difference in the bottom line. With this thought in mind, let’s re-examine Mickey Callaway and his tenure in Queens.

 

Callaway joined the Mets after serving as the Indians’ pitching coach, having no managerial experience at the MLB level. Callaway first served as a pitching coach in 2013. The 2012 Indians went 68-94 and had just two pitchers make at least 25 starts. In 2013, Cleveland won 92 games, had three pitchers exceed 25 starts and two others make 24.

 

In 2014, the Indians fell to 85 wins and had just two hurlers make 25 starts. The following year, Cleveland slipped to just 81 wins but it wasn’t because of the pitching. The Indians finished second in the AL with a 3.67 ERA and had four starters make at least 30 starts. In 2016, all five Cleveland starters made at least 25 starts, the club won 94 games and made it to the World Series. The Indians led the majors in both ERA and strikeouts.

Continue reading by clicking here.