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Bench coach: Jerry Manuel

Jerry Manuel came to the Mets at the start of the 2005 season. He was the first base/outfield coach in his first season with the Mets. Willie Randolph appointed him the bench coach at the start of the 2006 season, and he still holds that position with the Mets today.

Manuel's playing career was not productive at all as he played sparingly with the Tigers, Expos and Padres from 1975 to 1982. He was primarily a second baseman who never earned an everyday spot. He only played in 96 games throughout his entire career. After he retired at the end of 1982, he went on to manage successfully in the Expos' minor league system. He was named the minor league AA manager of the year for Indianapolis in 1990. He earned a spot with the Expos as the third base coach from 1991 to 1996. In 1997, He was Jim Leyland's bench coach for the eventual world champion Marlins. From 1998 till 2003 he served as the manager of the White Sox. His best managing season was in 2000 when he led the White Sox to a division title. The Sox were 95-67 that season, but they failed to make it past the first round of the playoffs. Despite the early exit, he was named the AL Manager of the year in 2000.

In his 6 season's as the White Sox' manager, his teams finished no worse than second in the AL Central. The criticism on Manuel's teams was that they were often stocked with one dimensional power hitters that played poor defense. His pitchers suffered numerous injuries after the 2000 season. With the rise of the low-budget Twins in 2002 and 2003, Sox Management felt the team should go in the same direction as the young Twins, so they fired Manuel and made several in house changes. After taking 2004 off, he was immediately hired by the Mets at the urging of Willie Randolph for the 2005 season. Willie and the Mets have and continue to say nothing but the nicest things about Manuel. As long as the Mets continue to play well, expect Manuel to be right by Willie's side until other managerial offers come along.

Next time we will look at the former Met player and bench coach that Manuel replaced, Sandy Alomar Sr. who is currently the third base coach.