Last week, the New York Post really ruined my day (not really) when they reported that Wally Backman might be heading to the Washington Nationals to join Davey Johnson’s staff as his third-base coach.
Guess what? Wally is staying!!!!
Yes, it’s true and he even said so himself on the radio which you can check for yourself on MetsBlog if you don’t believe me, Bayonne. 😀
I find it interesting that nobody ever mentions that Backman’s team, the Binghamton Mets, finished in fifth place this season with a 66-76 record. Seems like all we heard last year was how great Wally managed the Cyclones in short-season league. Remember the love-fest?
Is he above such things as his poor record this season?
Wally was blessed with one of the most talent laden rosters of all the Mets affiliates this season. His roster featured an abundance of the best Mets prospects including Matt Harvey, Jeurys Familia, Jordany Valdespin, Juan Lagares, Matt Den Decker and Reese Havens. So what happened?
Look, I don’t mean to pick on Wally, I really don’t, but I just don’t understand why he gets the red carpet treatment from the fanbase. What has he done that makes him so much better than other former Mets like Tim Teufel or Mookie Wilson? And those two have been model citizens.
You look at Wally’s career and there’s nothing there and at 32 years old he was finished and out of the game. He had a career OPS of .687 for crying out loud and his glovework was nothing to write home about and please lets not forget his awful range.
He even gets the rock star treatment – when fans say his first name you know exactly who they mean like Elvis, Prince and Madonna. Just call him Wally.
What in the world is it about Wally?
Let me guess, it’s that gritty thing again, isn’t it?
Come on, admit it, you all saw that video when he managed the Peanuts and threw a bucket of balls and a handful of bats onto the field and used the “F” word a lot and thought “Wow, I wish our manager was like that”.
Everybody loves those fiery guys regardless of whether or not they have any skills or replacement level production. Oh and fiery guys make the best managers, right?
