First, to reiterate something I’ve written about a billion times in the past two weeks: I think the role of field manager is wildly overrated by both fans and the media. I think there’s a baseline of baseball intellect and motivational ability present in all men deemed worthy of Major League managing jobs, and it is high enough for any of them to helm a championship-caliber club if he has enough good players, a well-constructed roster, and a healthy dose of good fortune.
But I imagine there are teams that have been helped — if only slightly — toward a championship by their managers and teams that have won championships only in spite of their managers, so it obviously behooves the Mets to make the optimal choice.
I don’t know any of Mets’ four finalists personally. I’ve spoken to Wally Backman and Terry Collins, but never to Chip Hale or Bob Melvin. And I have not conducted multiple, hours-long interviews with any of them regarding their candidacies.
So I think it’s reasonable to defer to Sandy Alderson and his crew and assume that they’ve done a lot more to research, analyze and consider each candidate than I have. Almost all of my knowledge of the four men comes from published reports and discussions with people who have covered their teams. And all of them seem like at least decent choices to run the on-field operations of a Major League club.
All that said, if you want to know — as a couple have asked — which of the four candidates I’m rooting for (since Tim Bogar was never a real possibility), it’s Hale.
That’s not just based on my conversation with Kevin Burkhardt yesterday, though hearing Kevin rave about Hale’s attitude, candidness and relationship with the players certainly didn’t hurt.
A common refrain of the Wally Backman Lobby is that Backman has won at every managerial stop. But check out where Hale’s teams finished in his six years managing in the Minors, across three levels: First, first, first, second, second, first.
And Hale has upper-level experience over Backman, since he managed three years at Triple-A and has now spent four years coaching in the bigs.
What Hale offers over Melvin and Collins is uncertainty. I’m not sure that means much, of course, since like I said I think a manager’s record has a lot more to do with the players on his roster than anything he’s doing.
But both Melvin and Collins have failed at the Major League level, and we still don’t know if Hale’s some sort of managing savant that can reason or will all his teams to enormous success. He probably isn’t — even if he’s a good manager — but you can’t know if you don’t try. I generally root for the unproven upstart, is I guess what I’m saying. It’s like choosing the rookie over the veteran who has shown that he’s not particularly special.
Collins, in particular, worries me for a few reasons. For one, he hasn’t managed a Major League club since 1999, and that stint with the Angels ended in calamitous fashion. Second, he is very well-regarded in his role as the Mets’ Minor League Field Coordinator. And I think it’s reasonable to argue that, given the current state of the Mets and their farm system, that job is at least as important (and likely requires more stability) as being the Major League skipper.
So I’m pulling for Hale, even though I recognize that he’s a longshot. But no matter which candidate the Mets choose, I reserve the right to criticize him for some to-be-determined strategic miscue during the season.
Also, for what it’s worth, Chip Hale was the batter for future Met Rodney McCray’s SportsCenter-dominating catch. Shown here with way more Uecker than the original:
Tedquarters 
Melvin or Hale for me, in the fantasy vote. No problem with Collins but 100% agree with Ted’s point that his current role is a crucial and it seems to me you’re unnecessarily damaging your infrastructure if you choose him for another job.
I detest popular convention and in an odd and surprising twist from his playing days thats what Wally has become here. That and knowing he’s generally acknowledged as a loose cannon are probably my only gripes. (No loose cannons on rickety ships please.)
The press releases and general visibility Alderson has given the process are impressive; really a great PR idea. It gives the process added credibility in the fans eyes (consciously or not) and then will help bridge the gap to some of the fringe when he picks someone other then Backman.
In the end though +1 on deferring to Alderson and his Capos in general, whoever it ends up being.
I agree… I’m kind of with Ted in that I’m rooting for Hale. Not to say I think hes the best b/c what do I know. At the end of the day I think they will pick the best guy, I kind of just hope its Hale.
And to me the arguemntis simple to the Wally crowd. If he had done exactly the same things in his life, was the same player, same winner etc, just had done it all for a different team, not the 1986 Mets, would they still all be so convinced that “hes the guy”. My guess is that it would be doubtful since there are countless guys who were scrappy hard nosed winning type players out there, who may even have limited minor league managing success like Wally, and these people arent clamoring for those guys.
Bottom line with the Wally crowd is that its based mostly on the fact that the guy played for the 1986 Mets. And to me that doesnt qualify a guy to manage the current team.
While I think many Wally supporters are hoping he gets it in large part because he’s an ’86 Met, it’s not like he’s otherwise unqualified.
The Diamondbacks thought enough of him years ago to name him manager (if only for a day or two), without any historical connection.
That’s not what Chris was driving at though.
Backman is certainly qualified to be considered as a MLB managerial candidate. He wouldn’t be at this point in the process otherwise.
But Backman is receiving overwhelming support from the fanbase in a four horse race. Some of those supporters are 100% convinced he and no one else is the right candidate. Support like that can’t be explained by any available measurable.
It’s got to be his ties with that 86′ team, which would be a terrible thing to base a managerial hire on. Thankfully Alderson will, from all signs and reports, not do something like that.
That still might mean Backman is the choice, but theres nothing we all know as fans that should make us so certain other then irrational emotional ties to an image rather then an actual man.
Thanks for responding for me Sidd. I basically couldnt have explained my point any better.
And Uecker is the best.
And thought so little of him that they dumped him four days later when they learned about his past.
The rest of the league thought so little of him that he spent the next five years in the independent leagues.
I don’t think it’s just the Mets connection. Mets fans are angry with the team’s failure and think that the solution is a fiery manager, and Wally has been exalted by these fans as the apotheosis of fire.
Born out of anger, it is an emotional argument devoid of any rational basis, but it is the prevailing view among the most vocal of fans, as evidenced by the sports media pandering to it over the past few weeks.
Meanwhile, Bob Melvin has been branded by fans and the media as not fiery, and as a result is as vehemently despised as Backman has been deified. It would be fun to see the angry Mets fans go nuts if he were named the next manager.
Wish I read Arts post before my latest. Thats a great point about everyone hailing Wallys “fire”. I still put a lot of stock in the Mets ties but you can’t ignore Wally being the poster child for some perceived hard-nosed school of baseball.
Wally rushed an announcers booth a few years back. Thats not fire, thats having difficulty controlling yourself when you get emotional.
That goes back to loose cannon on a rickety ship thing I’d referred to above. The Mets are trying to get this thing steered in the right direction. I’d think reliability and dependability and control would be things they’d value highly in the manager.
If you think that by definition means a lack of fire then I suggest spending some time around military folk.
I would be more concerned about losing Collins from his current role if Alderson & Co. weren’t in charge. I have complete confidence in those guys that whoever they hire to replace Collins would be great. If Minaya was still doing the hiring, I wouldn’t have that trust.
And I feel the same way about the manager. I’d prefer Hale I guess, but whatever Alderson thinks is best works for me.