Sandy Alderson’s three pennants and one World Series championship, while a first-rate achievement, may not be quite enough to justify his ranking at number twelve. But Alderson’s place in history is enhanced by two considerations: he was the first modern GM to actively introduce analytics, though rudimentary by current standards, into a team’s decision making, and he was the first young executive of the modern era hired to run a major league team’s baseball operations without coming from a baseball background.
Source: In Pursuit of Pennants
In an all-time ranking of MLB GMs, Alderson ranks 12th.
The author writes,”Alderson was not afraid to have strong subordinates”. Really? Then why is Wally Backman still in Las Vegas? Interesting how Alderson traded Canseco for Reuben Sierra. (an older user for a younger one) All the credit to Alderson and Larussa for their success? And their willingness to look the other way! simply because the team was winning and drawing well. So what happens? McGuire broke down. Canseco got shipped off. I guess all those steroid users bodies started to wear down and Alderson being the shrewd GM finally had his luck run out. Five winning seasons in 19 years does not qualify as being successful. I.m sorry.
He’s not in the Top 12 of Current GM’s
All from days long ago and far away.
The irony here is that the teams he won with in Oakland were near or at the top in payroll for all of MLB
What is it now, 9 straight losing seasons as a GM?
Overall, I think he’s been a good GM for these Mets, but the mythologizing of this guy goes over the top.
Yes, nine. Also an under .500 record in his career. The argument for SA being some type of smart guy is what, that he discovered new ways to build crappy teams?
I guess I’m old fashioned, I prefer GMs who build winning teams.
I do think he has done the primary job he was hired to do with the Mets well, he is always willing to front for his boses and will say anything they want him to say.
I guess in that way he earns his giant paycheck.
Crazy how much publicity this list got, the book must have been written in crayon. Among peers, both Sabaen and Jockety were ranked lower than SA.
Anyone can just toss out a nutty list, maybe I will write a book saying Collins is the number one manager of all time.
Well, maybe not, but maybe this author will.
While I do think Aldersen has done wonders for the Mets Farm system. My idea of a good GM is the history of Frank Cashen. He upgraded the farm to give us a flow of young talent, but he augmented it with veteran talent. And created a mini dynasty.
Has Alderson not created a strong farm that could supplement the Major League roster for years to come?
Oh my, this is too easy.
Only time will tell Patrick. Why is it that Omar’s selections not get the same kind of elevated treatment as opposed to Alderson’s draft picks?
The posters on this site behave like children who have never gotten this guy from day one. Three consecutive pennants and a World Series win. Most GMs would give their souls for that kind of success. Win-loss records? He is ranked as high as he is because he was the first baseball executive who began the use of advanced metrics in MLB. Today every single team in MLB uses the progressive analytical approach to team building that Alderson pioneered. The New York Yankees used a sabermetric approach during their dynasty run when they won four World Series in a row. The Boston Red Sox hired Bill James as a Senior Advisor and Boston wins three World Series in large part due to the use of James seminal, original work. That is at least seven World Series won due to the type of approach Sandy Alderson brought to the game. The childish notion that always seems to find its way into sites like this is that winning baseball championships is easy. Nothing could be further from the truth. How does any so called fan know for certain that Alderson was aware of steroid use? The media whose job it is to be a watchdog in the world of sports weren’t aware of what people like Canseco and McGuiwire were doing at the time. I will agree with the poster who stated that Frank Cashen was able to rob teams of good young players such as David Cone, Sid Fernandez, Howard Johnson, etc. This is a talent Alderson has yet to display. I just get the feeling that most of this idiot criticism is based on the asinine idea that winning is easy and because the Mets haven’t done well over a considerable period of time Sandy Alderson is somehow overrated. If Harvey, Thor, Wheeler, Conforto, Plawecki, D’Arnaud, etc do as well as the many baseball professionals project them to do, the whining will stop and the cheering and appreciation for the man that Bud Selig insisted that the Mets hire as GM will begin. I am far more interested in the opinions of baseball professionals than I am in the half assed reactionary bed wetting of the frustrated fan. In spite of yourselves kiddies, better days are just around the corner. The wait will be worth it. Now go eat some ice cream and wait for Spring.
Sandy, is that really you?
I wish he read this site. But sadly we’re stuck with the same backwards thinking like forcing ourselves to carry 2 lefties, no matter how crappy they are or signing vets like Ankiel and Abreu when we should be playing the kids.
If you’re going to critique the people who respond to the blogs here on Mets 360 at least get your facts straight. Harvey was not drafted by Alderson. Our number one pitcher was chosen by Omar Minaya. Projections don’t always pan out that’s why they play the games. And in case you’re wondering which I can’t imagine you know how to do what we see is biased from our own personal experiences. Opinions are not facts. Simply observations. It’s so easy to criticize. Why diminish what people have to say? Takes no effort and no brains. Sometimes it’s better to be a silent observer than to show people what you truly are. Are you aware that when Alderson won those pennants and World Series the A’s were at or near the top in payroll for all of Major League Baseball. Yes he changed baseball thinking with his new ideas. But if he’s such an expert at running a team with a limited budget as you think how do you explain all his failed attempts the past 4 years? The 12th best GM? Hmm. If that’s the case then Billy Beane has to above him!.He’s done it with a payroll much smaller than what Alderson has had to work with..One last thought. The article you talk about was written as an opinion and an observation. Nothing more and if you are interested in the opinion of professional baseball people what are You doing here? You belong in the professional baseball fan club.
I agree that he did some groundbreaking things early on and I was excited for him to come to the Mets, but so far I don’t think he’s lived up to expectations in new York.
Pete, I never said Harvey was drafted by Alderson, so get your facts straight, yeah? Projections don’t pan out that’s why they play the games? What the hell does that have to do with any point I was attempting to make concerning Aldersons contributions to the game? Your next sentence referring to bias is so garbled and unintelligible I can’t even attempt to decipher it. Pete I am not trying to nitpick but you seem to have a bit of trouble writing a clear plain sentence so it makes it difficult for someone like yourself to express a clear and plain idea. Actually Pete diminishing what people say does take effort and brains but I have neither the energy or the intellectual capacity to get through to the likes of you. Is it really better to be a silent observer than what you truly are? Pete, you don’t have the first friggin idea who I truly am as it concerns baseball in general and the Mets in particular. Perhaps you would prefer not to read the opinions of someone who challenges your somewhat limited grasp of debate. I really was stumped by your “….the A’s were at the top of the payroll” remark when referring to Aldersons success during this time because after all Pete we all know that high payroll and not hard work and bold creative thinking has everything to do with winning championships. Oh yeah didn’t the Mets have a very large payroll at one time and very little to show for it? Pete as I continued to read your insulting and smug critique of my comments it occurred to me that your spelling, grammar, logic and syntax were deteriorating as rapidly my interest in your comments.Too bad Pete I was hoping you and I could become friends, seeing how we are both Met fans and all, but you blew it. You have hurt me deeply Pete. Deeply. I hope you’re happy with yourself. I was going to send you a Christmas card and a gallon of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. You can forget that now………….by the way the Mets are going to get better and better under Alderson whether you like it or me or not. Have a good day Pete. Keep writing.
Look Sandy, we all know you are trying hard under what must be the most difficult of situations. No Mets fan, of which we have a dedicated group of here, is impressed with your accomplishments from a by-gone era. Uncle Bud and his new offspring clearly think the world of your legacy and protect you like one of their own. But here is the deal: we’re dying out here. Yes, the money is tight, but we constantly see what appears to be moves beyond finances that leave us wondering. The defense of your coaching staff is simply beyond reason. I know it hurt to let Hudgens go, but seriously, he sucked. Warthen has prevailed over more serious shoulder injuries than any pitching coach I am aware of. And then there is Teflon Terry, the guy whose in-game decision making clearly looks as if he is consulting Miss Cleo, or perhaps shaking the magic 8 ball. He could not fill out a line-up card that optimizes talent if it was done for him. His bull pen management even defies the advice given by Miss Cleo. Yet you defend him like he is doing great things. He is not. You can change that.
We also are tired of the over-the-hill gang FAs you trot in as part of a magical spell to make us believe you have an “urgency of now”. In fact, we know you don’t care about “now,” and haven’t since you arrived here. We all knew the medicine might be hard to swallow, but wow, it has been something else. The insane trades and FA acqusitions have amounted to a huge waste of resources, much of which could have been used to secure fewer, but better, players. These all make us wonder whether you have The Boss’ “Glory Days” playing on repeat in the cobwebs. With a whole staff of number crunchers, and hell, possibly even a fleet of AI robots, churning out batted-ball-exit-speed data, and the newest Pythagorean-Record stats, we just figured a few more trades and pick-ups would have landed in the “can’t miss” pigeon hole — but you made us sit through Jon Rauch, and Pedro Beato, Frank Frank, CY, strike that, both CYs, and Marcum, and, and, and — well you get it, it is a list, you will have to admit, that is pretty extensive.
Yelling at us here in the trenches only cements an opinion held by many that you are out of touch with modern baseball practices. It is enough of a problem that fans and even GKR cannot understand a word of inning-long interviews, but even MLB TV and MLB radio folks say it is time for you to play things straight, and not be the mystery man from your Bon Jovi days, when the cool-kid GMs played everything on the down low…wow, just that thought makes me want to fire-up the ol cassette deck and crank up Livin’ on a Prayer.
We love the Mets and have done so for much longer than your stay with the team, and will continue even after you depart. We all want the Mets to be something to be proud of. You have had 4 years to clean house and get the team on the rails. Right now, even with a better farm, it is hard to tell if we are on a perpetual habitrail of “almost” with young talent rotating in, but not knowing who may stick as actual major leaguers, or is this for real. Teflon Terry is talking 90 wins, like out loud. It’s on the record, just like the white-hot can’t misses of this year’s Hot Stove: Cuddyer and Mayberry! So, just cut all us plebes a little slack. We don’t have the resources you do, but, perhaps surprisingly to you, there is a lot of intellect here — and the cup overfloweth with orange-and-blue passion. It’s February and we’re all hungry. Please give us some nutrition this season.
ps. fire Collins.
+1. From the gut and the heart of all Met fans
Happy to disappoint you Pox! As an ardent fan I am happy to read what you have to say. I will try to write at a lower level of education so you can try to understand. From what I have seen these past few years it would appear that Alderson had an agenda from the Wilpons and winning had nothing to do with it. Eliminate 50-60 million dollars in payroll and rebuild the farm system. Mission accomplished.Yeah. Now that the team appears to be progressing (after how many years?) we shall see if Alderson can fulfill his next task to make the Mets playoff worthy. I have my doubts that is going to happen. Sadly the Wilpons might say they care about winning but actions speak louder than words. Here’s wishing you have a long and prosperous life Pox. Your humble Met fan.
Pete , I’m not sure you are capable at writing at a lower level of “education” I am pretty sure you have bottomed out in that regard. I am not able to understand what you write because your ability to put your thoughts in a clear, simple and coherent manner seem beyond your reach. Now as to the rest of your post, that is more to my liking because you attempted to make points that have to do with Aldersons approach to problem solving instead of giving me a dreary and pointless lecture as to what constitutes proper blogging protocol. First off, my good man, do you remember Frank Cashen, the architect of the 1986 World Series champion Mets? When he was hired he told both Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon it would take five years to rebuild the franchise. Cashen fixed the minor leagues and made a number a shrewd trades, the likes of which Sandy Alderson hasn’t quite been able to master. If it is acceptable for Cashen to take five years to build a contender, why is it unacceptable, in your view, for Alderson to not have a contender in four years? Given the Wilpons financial mess it would appear to me that Alderson or any GM for that matter would not have any other recourse than to approach the disaster exactly the way Alderson, and previously Frank Cashen have done. Last thought, Pete, I have been a fan of the Mets since 1963 and I have seen every GM they have had from George Weiss to Alderson. In spite of whatever frustrations Mets fans like yourself may be feeling at the present time, I confident that the Mets under Sandy Alderson are in good hands. I want what you want, ya big Marine, it is just the unrealistic mewling from so many of the bloggers on sites like this one that make me rather annoyed. Now, you all have a good day Pete.
A reminder to all that in the future you criticize ideas – not people.