Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports
We’re down to three managerial options — Buck Showalter, Joe Espada, and Matt Quatraro. By now, you probably have your preference on who you want. We definitely have ours, and we wanted to share them with you.
Sal Manzo
Now that the Mets are down to their three finalists (is this baseball or American Idol?) I guess I have no choice but to go with the experienced name in Buck Showalter. I’ve said it for weeks now on the ‘Get Metsmerized’ podcast that the Mets need an already experienced manager to take over in the dugout, but I personally was hoping for that to be Mike Shildt or Ron Washington. Obviously those folks were not brought in by the team to interview, and we are left with what a lot of people seem to feel like are three very good finalists for the job in Showalter, Joe Espada, and Matt Quatraro. Although Espada intrigues me because he’s been on the Mets manager radar before and comes with rave reviews, I have to go with Showalter simply for the fact that he’s done this before, and has already managed in New York with some success. I’m not thrilled by him, but here’s hoping If the Mets do hire Buck he can help this ball club win right away!
Marshall Field
The Mets just committed over $254.5 million to four players over the next coming years. They are partying in the penthouse with the words ‘luxury tax’ a part of the conversation. You don’t give the keys to a luxury car to a kid with a learner’s permit, you give it to a man or woman who’s driven these roads before and has the necessary experience. I realize the Alex Cora‘s of the world had success without overwhelming experience but odds favor the soldier who’s been through the wars and understands the subtle nuances inherent with the position of manager.
Buck Showalter has the necessary tenure, managing in over 3000 games in his 20 year career. He has managed four different franchise, having had varying degrees of success with all of them. Two of the teams he managed went on to win the World Series the year after he left. I believe his stern nature would bring a calming and professional nature to the locker room and his well known preparedness would satisfy even the most fastidious fan. I have no doubt that Joe Espada and Matt Quataro will make fine major league managers someday. This is not an indictment of them. Rather, it is a note from a fan of the Mets nearly since their inception looking for the best chance for them to reach the promised land. Showalter has never managed a World Series game. I’m hoping this will change shortly. Mr. Cohen, throw him the keys!
Patrick Glynn
My gut tells me Espada or Quatraro, and my brain tells me it’s going to be Showalter, but does it *really* matter? I hate to be apathetic about this, but I think all three are quality candidates, coming from a decent mix of ages and backgrounds. I think they should go with whoever will translate information from the endlessly growing front office analytics staff the best, in a way that doesn’t overwhelm or step on the toes of the likes of the Jacob deGrom’s and Francisco Lindor’s and Max Scherzer’s. They’ll also need to manage games understanding that the aforementioned are not the Tylor Megill’s and Dominic Smith’s of the world and that each player needs to be handled differently. Most importantly, they need to lead in moments others wouldn’t, as that is something it seems was an issue at times last season.
All this is stuff all three candidates know, which is why they’ve gotten to this point. All three have impressive backgrounds that give you confidence that either will be a good hire. Just round out the staff over the next couple of weeks, then shift the focus back to players—that’s still the area this team needs to improve most.
Rich Sparago
I think the Mets played this interview process correctly. The three finalists, Quatraro, Espada, and Showalter represent different skills sets that can be brought to the manager role. Espada and Quatraro are analytically savvy, though inexperienced in the manager’s role. Showalter may not be as proficient with the numbers but has significant experience being the skipper of a major league team. That’s what interviewing is all about. Bring in the candidates, ask the questions, and determine the best fit. If the candidates are all the same, what’s the point?
I do think in the end, Showalter will get the job. And that’s fine by me. He will have to accept the increased role of analytics, but his former players speak highly of him, and his demonstrated people management skills differentiate him from the other two candidates. The Mets are a veteran team, in the media capital of the world, with a rabid fan base. In my opinion, the best candidate for the role is the one who can handle the media and the personalities, and based on track record, that candidate is Buck Showalter.
I think the Mets have done a good job of bringing in a group of candidates that differ in strengths and also being deliberate with an important process. I also believe that Quatraro, Espada, and Showalter are all deserving for different reasons. Buck obviously has the major league managerial experience that the two other candidates don’t have, but Quatraro and Espada have also been active recently on very successful teams while Showalter has been out of the game for the last three seasons.
One thing I hear from a portion of Mets fans is comparing Quatraro and Espada to Callaway and Rojas as rookie managers, which is technically correct, but certainly not accurate in the terms of the experience level of Quatraro and Espada is. Callaway was a pitching coach and Rojas had only been a quality control coach at the big league level. Both of those jobs are vastly different from being a bench coach. There seems to be a misunderstanding of the responsibilities and roles that bench coaches play which allows some to downplay the legitimacy of Quatraro and Espada.
Both Quatraro and Espada play significant roles in the clubhouse and in-game decisions, which are probably the two most talked about aspects of managers. Dusty Baker has mentioned many times how he leaned on Espada to help in both areas, and that Espada had significant responsibilities in helping run the team.
Ultimately, the Mets need to pick the manager that they think is going to be the best fit for the organization in the short and long term. They need continuity in the organization after a few years of swapping through managers and front office members. The Mets have already shown given the seven known candidates were and the three finalists that experience might be a bonus, but certainly not a must to be their next manager.
Michelle Ioannou
If you know me, you know I wanted Carlos Beltran. Yes, I listened to all of your arguments that the Mets need an experienced manager, but I also firmly believe that the Mets also need someone that knows the New York market. There’s a different type of pressure in this city, both from the fans and the media, and we all know that. Whereas all three of these guys would be great choices, at this point, I’m going with Showalter. He’s literally already managed a team in New York and did pretty damn well if you recall. Now let’s just end this lockout, get our manager, and make the 2022 Mets season one to remember (for good reasons).
