The New York Mets have named Al Leiter as a baseball operations adviser for the club and will rejoin the Mets after a near 15 year absence. The team also announced that current Mets’ ambassador John Franco will have expanded duties as also serving as a baseball operations adviser as reported by Tim Britton of The Athletic.
Met general manager Brodie Van Wagenen praised Leiter saying, “Al’s passion for the game is infectious. His unique ability to communicate his knowledge to players, coaches and the front office will immediately make us better.”
Leiter’s new job will be to help the mental preparation for Mets’ pitchers, especially that day’s starter. He will also be involved in scouting and player development.
Al Leiter pitched in the big leagues for nineteen years. He pitched for the Mets for seven of those years, from 1998 through 2004. The Toms River, NJ native had an 95-67 record with the team with a highly respectable 3.42 ERA. He was named an All-Star in the 1996 and 2000 seasons and is a three time World Champion. He won the Roberto Clemente award in 2000 as a Met, an award that exemplifies “the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual’s contribution to his team.”
John Franco has been in an ambassador for the Mets since 2010. He pitched for the Mets for 14 years mostly as a closer and racked up 276 saves and pitched to a 3.10 ERA. Overall, he saved 424 games ranking him fifth all time and still first for left-handed relievers. He was named to four All-Star teams and led the league in saves three times. Franco was a two-time Rolaids Relief Man Award in 1998 and 1990.
Franco was the Mets’ third captain following stints by Gary Carter and Keith Hernandez and preceding David Wright. He was elected to the New York Mets Hall of Fame on June 3, 2012.
Hopefully, these administrative changes will further strengthen a front office that has come under derision in the past as Van Wagenen continues to make changes (hopefully for the better) both on and off the field for the Mets.
