Terry Collins is entering the 2017 MLB season as the oldest manager in the sport. He will turn 68 this May as he begins his seventh and possibly final season as the Mets skipper. Many have speculated that Collins will retire at the end of this season although he has cast doubt on that notion saying that he is unsure of his future. Let us look at a few possible replacements for Collins should he decide to hang it up after this season.
Edgardo Alfonso was just recently hired by the Mets to run their single A ball club the Brooklyn Cyclones after serving as a coach from 2014-15. He does not have any professional managerial experience yet, but was a very intelligent and respected player in his day. A good showing with the Cyclones could put him on his way to being groomed for a future managerial positon with the big club.
Alex Cora is another name that has been discussed as a future MLB manager for the past few years. He is a former Met who played for the club from 2009-10 and is considered to have a very keen understanding of the game. He currently works as a color analyst for ESPN and serves as the general manager for the Puerto Rican national team that is participating in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.
Of course, any decision would be dependent on what Terry Collins and Sandy Alderson decide to do after the upcoming season. While Collins had stated in the past that this could be his last season, he has recently backpedaled a bit on that statement. All of this could be proven to be a moot point should the Mets have either a terrific or a terrible season.
In the case of the Mets finally breaking through and winning a world series, Collins could decide he has accomplished all he could hope for and call it a career. While if the Mets were to have a terrible season, Alderson’s hand could be forced and he might have to let Collins go and begin a search for a replacement.
Whatever the future may hold for the Mets skipper his tenure with the team has had some highs and lows with mostly positive memories. The highlight of his tenure so far of course was the 2015 season and a trip to the world series. He has also been instrumental in the development of young stars such as Matt Harvey, Jacob DeGrom, and Noah Syndergaard. While some of his in-game decisions have seemed questionable at times, he has never been accused of losing control of his teams even in some very lean years following the Bernie Madoff debacle.
Hopefully in 2017 everything will come together for the New York Mets and they can finish what they started in 2015. With the return of Yoenis Cespedes and healthy seasons from Harvey, DeGrom, and Steven Matz the team should have a good chance of returning to the playoffs once again led by Collins.
Terry showed glimpses last season of being a bit tired and frustrated by the demands of the job. I’m sure he’s reenergized now, but if the season is rough, he could step away. I think at this point, barring disaster, it will almost certainly be on his own terms in consultation with Alderson.
When we look at the history of managers hired by Sandy Alderson, he clearly has a type. Again, he’s the man who replaced Tony LaRussa with Art Howe; Bruce Bochy with Bud Black. Just think of the most boring man in baseball — Bob Geren? — and that’s likely the next Mets manager. It’s part of the equation that has kept me from calling for TC’s head. I figured the alternative would almost surely be worse.
I was glad that this post was not a hatchet job on Collins.
After seeing the Cowboys blow a golden opportunity this past weekend, I was reminded of how important leadership is.
If Collins is actually a strategy-challenged individual he is perceived to be, why are they wasted years of controllable players with him? And if he is soooooooooo important to holding the clubhouse together, why are they afraid to trade Granderson? Maybe Granderson is actually the glue???
I am convinced through leaks that Collins is a Fred Wilpon decision that Alderson must live with, and Wilpon doesn’t give a rat’s ass who likes it and who doesn’t. His buddies come first.
When you consider the real challenge of managing in a major market— player visibility….Press Coverage that is mostly Personality/”off-field centered”— you eliminate neophytes like Cora and Alphonso. You need to know that your guy has an appetite and energy for all of the crap that comes with a NY Team.
If anything, that stuff has been a strong point for Terry.
Gus… Grandy is an 800 ops LH bat with Power and The ability to Glove CF. He’s an excellent Baseball player— a good baserunner. He can Play in NY.
Your understanding of Grandy is seriously lacking if you essentially capture him as “a Good Guy”….he is That, too!
Collins inherited a bad situation, suffered
through the rebuild and the plea for patience by management and then was often not given the tools to win. He certainly had moments when he seemed to get caught up in the game – not taking Harvey out and letting Flores run with a bench full of faster pinch runners – but we made the playoffs two years in a row and a third seems likely. Let’s at least give him the benefit of the doubt. After all he does not pitch, hit, run or play the field. They say a manager makes a difference in maybe a dozen games a season. If the Mets continue to field a competitive team I have no issue with Collins at the helm. #LGMets!!