In an article by Bill Shaikin of the LA Times, Terry Collins says that he’s grown a lot from his last major league managing experience before joining the Mets. Collins’ previous job was with the Anaheim Angels in 1999, and he resigned from his position after the team fell way out of contention and the clubhouse turned against him.
“The main thing is that I took everything that happened on the team to be my fault,” Collins said. “I took everything personally. If you were Gary DiSarcina and you went 0-for-4, I thought I failed you, and I was angry. Unfortunately, back then, I wore my emotions on my sleeve, so you thought I was mad at you.”
“So that’s changed here. I still have the same passion. I still want to win. But I’ve learned you can’t let it out. You’ve got to let it go.”
While the Angels’ ownership were willing to give Collins an extension, the players strongly objected to the general manager. Things even got so bad that DiSarcina and others told Collins they would not play if he started Mo Vaughn, who did not join the team during a fight that occurred on the field.
DiSarcina, who is now the third base coach for the Angels, met up with Collins a few years ago and talked about what went so wrong during that dreadful season.
“The one word he kept saying was patience — have a little more patience,” DiSarcina said.
“I think sometimes it takes being humbled to come to the realization you have to change,” DiSarcina said. “Obviously, he has.”
It’s great to see Collins learn from his past mistakes, and use the experience to help guide the Mets into the postseason.
Interestingly, the manager who took over for Collins that season was the Cubs’ current skipper, Joe Maddon. Maddon was Collin’s bench coach with the Angels, and the two will have a chance to face off against each other in the NLCS if both teams advance.
While he is just starting to enjoy success in the majors, Collins says he won’t be managing for much longer. At the age of 66, he thinks it’s best to retire after a few more years.
“It’s getting to be a young man’s game,” Collins said. “There is so much involved now, technology-wise, that it’s beyond me. I’m very lucky that I have coaches who can do that stuff and explain it to me.”
“I’d like to do it for a couple more years, and then it’s time to let someone else do it and let me have some fun watching it.”
