A scrappy shortstop in college and minors,
His energy was evident to all scouts and signers.
What he lacked with the bat he made up for with grit,
He stole bases, and dazzled with a mitt.
A big league player he was not meant to be,
But coach was another role he could see.
He broke in with the Dodgers, but not in L.A.,
Pittsburgh’s minors were next where he’d stay.
After a season of Mexican ball,
Mr. Collins at last got the call.
He stood at the helm of the Angels and ‘stros
They didn’t win much, and so it goes.
He headed to China and Japan like Yoda,
Then he coached minors in Duluth, Minnesota.
In 2010, a call came from the Queens,
“Come coach the Mets, we’ll pay you in beans.”
The team was in transition,
But Collins came with a mission.
Act as a father to the youngest of players,
And thumb your nose at all the naysayers.
The players they worked hard for their skipper,
Though his decisions made fans less than chipper.
He led the young guns and Ces to the finale,
Though the club came up short in their rally.
They fought through adversity in twenty sixteen,
Only to lose to the MadBum machine.
This year they brought the whole band back together,
But most of the big arms fell under the weather.
Perhaps we’ll be good in twenty eighteen.
But without Mr. C.it won’t be as keen.
Very nice. I’ll remember TC doing more good than bad during his time in Queens.
I’ll just let the final shot on the last episode of M*A*S*H say it for me:
“goodbye”
“He could have said the house is on fire, and guys would have stayed, because they wouldn’t have believed him,” one A’s person said.
Every time I see that quote I think this is Sandy’s dream manager. I fully expect Geren here next year.
Sure we criticized the man in some of his day to day decisions. But for two years as the manager he gave us a wild finishes and some enjoyable exciting baseball. I remember reading here and feeling the same thing that this is the most excruciating tense baseball I’ve ever experienced.
There haven’t been too may good runs for the team and I’ve lived to see them all. 1969-1975. 1994-1990. 1999-2000 and then our just recent hurrah.
So it’s over for 2017 and most obviously over for TC. So Chris F: your right. And Matt: beautifully written. It was another year for Met history.
funny enough, with the loss of Collins there is little to believe in much change. I encourage everyone to listen to Brian’s last podcast with Mike Vaccaro.
You can find the link over there ———————>
Alderson is coming back. And like it or not, the prime reason for all the agony we see is clearly coming from above Collins…or whatever lackey they get to replace him.
As anyone who’s read my posts knows, I’m no fan of Collins’ in-game decision making – from bullpen usage, to lineups and positional decisions. However, like Bobby Valentine, what he costs the team strategically, he makes up for with inspiration and intangible leadership. Players love this guy, believe in him and rally around him. All the sabermetrics in the world can’t measure that. And as far as entertaining press conferences go, he’s second only to Jerry Manuel. Injuries are not Terry’s fault, nor were the issues that had this team come up just short in 2015 (sleeping bats, fielding errors). He was never the best manager in baseball, but he was never the worst. He put his heart and soul into this team and he deserves to be remembered fondly for it.
“Players love this guy, believe in him and rally around him.”
It’s all lip service to the media. And unless they really hate the guy, there’s no reason to roast your manager to the media – it can only turn out poorly for the player. So of course what we hear are only positive things about him.
Remember when everyone on the Mets “loved” Fatty… and then no one gave him a phone call to try to convince him to come back this year? I suspect it’s the same deal with Collins.