“At the start of this year, I said I am going to enjoy the year, have some fun, get us to play good, and at the end of the year I hope they say, ‘We’d like you back,’ or maybe I will say, ‘I’m done.’”
That’s what Terry Collins told Kevin Kernan of the New York Post in typical, straightforward terms. This is the last season Terry Collins is under contract and he knows it, but right now, he doesn’t really care. All he knows is this team can win and he is going to do everything he can to make that happen.
“I don’t worry about that stuff anymore. When I got back to the Major League dugout, I said I’m not going to let this stuff get to me… I grew up in the Dodgers organization, a Hall of Fame guy had one-year contracts for 23 years in a row,’’ Collins said referring to Walter Alston. “He never worried. Tommy [Lasorda] never worried. The era of the game today is look, just go do your job, and if you do it the best way you can, things will work out.’’
While Mets fans frequently tag Collins with accusations of mismanaging the Mets’ bullpen among other things, it is undeniable that he has, overall, had a positive effect on this Mets team. Coaching the injury-riddled 2016 Mets to a playoff berth was nothing short of amazin’, but that was not the first time in his life he had overcome the odds.
“I love competition. I love to win,’’ Collins said. “I love to beat you. I say that to anybody, just because I was small. Let’s go, bring it on. I’ll take my chances. I make jokes today about when I go play golf. They all say, ‘What’s my handicap?’ What do you mean what’s my handicap? Let’s go. If you are better than me, great. When I played high school basketball, I was OK. They didn’t lower the rim because I’m 5’7. When I played football, they didn’t shorten the field from 100 yards. In baseball, they didn’t bring the fences in because I was coming up. Bullcrap, let’s go play. I’ll take my chances because I believe in what I can do.’’
In his managerial career, Collins’ record is sitting at exactly .500 with 925 wins and 925 losses. Entering his 7th season with the Mets, Collins has gone 481-491 (.495). With a 2017 season that lives up to the hype, not only could Collins’ record with the Mets be over .500, and not only could he be the first manager in Mets history to lead his team to three straight playoff appearances, but he could also be the third Mets manager to win a World Series.
