Good morning, Mets fans! On Friday, the National Baseball Hall of Fame announced the cap selections for the Hall of Fame class of 2024. Todd Helton and Joe Mauer are naturally going in with Rockies and Twins caps respectively, since those are the only teams they played for during their careers. Manager Jim Leyland, who managed four teams during his career, will go in with a blank cap...
The 16-man Contemporary Baseball Era Committee elected a newest member into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown Sunday night. Out of eight nominations, Jim Leyland was the only new selectee, receiving 15 votes. The former Pirates, Tigers, Marlins, and Rockies manager spent 22 total years at the helm as a manager. He totaled 1,769 wins, the 18th most in major-league history. Of those wins,...
The Contemporary Baseball Era Committee for Managers/Executives/Umpires ballot for the Hall of Fame Class of 2024 was announced on Wednesday, and former Mets manager Davey Johnson is one of the candidates. The ballot is made up of former managers, executives, and umpires whose primary contributions to the game came since 1980 were eligible for consideration. This year’s ballot included...
When the news broke in mid-November of 2017 that Wally Backman had agreed to manage the New Britain Bees, one of eight independent teams in the Atlantic League, it took few by surprise. The baseball lifer is still chasing his dream of one day managing in the major leagues, a position he held for all of four days in November 2004 with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The club was unaware of his past...
New York was not atop Dennis Cook’s list of places he wanted to necessarily call home. The hustle and bustle atmosphere and the sheer size of the city were a bit daunting for the left-handed reliever, who had already played for seven organizations by the time he was dealt to the Mets in the winter of 1997. But something changed for Cook along the way; he fell in love with the city and the...
The dust has settled, and the New York Mets are in the playoffs and will face the Los Angeles Dodgers sans home-field advantage beginning Friday, October 9. With the postseason beginning next week, Terry Collins addressed a number of topics regarding the NLDS at his final regular season post-game press conference. Here are some of the highlights: 1. The fun is only just beginning “90 wins is a...
With the retirement of 68-year-old Jim Leyland, and the departure of Charlie Manuel in recent months, 64-year-old Terry Collins becomes the oldest manager in the majors, writes Adam Rubin of ESPN New York. Collins has invested almost 43 years into the game in various capacities, and while he’s the elder statesman for now, he;s never had a first place finish as a manager. 1994 Houston...
If you’re a true baseball fan, you’ve got to admit it; you’re going to miss Jim Leyland. He’s one of those guys you either love or hate – or maybe love to hate. But deep down inside, we all love the man because we love the sport and he’s been a part of the very fabric of baseball. It’s a little like one of your favorite stars leaving your favorite soap opera; it will never be quite the same...
Tiger’s skipper Jim Leyland will not be back at Comerica Park in 2014, says Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports via Twitter. The 68-year old longtime manager informed his players as well as the team following their Game 6 loss in the ALCS to the Boston Redsox that he intends to step down and that it was time for someone younger to take the reins. A press conference has been called by the Tigers to...
As one of Terry Collins’ most ardent supporters, I’m having a slight case of the “hindsight blues” today. Let me first start by saying, I think Terry Collins is a good manager for this team. You’ve heard it said before, and you’ll likely hear it again – “Baseball Managers don’t matter all that much.” It’s a statement spoken by fans who subscribe to a more sabermetric philosophy than an old...
Today’a announcement that catching prospect Kevin Plawecki would be promoted to Double-A Binghamton is going to make one particular person very happy – B-Mets manager, Pedro Lopez, who thirsts for the Eastern League Championship. Lopez had a taste of championship baseball in his mouth and was hungry for more. Last winter, Lopez got his first crack at managing a winter baseball team...
Well the 2013 All-Star Game has come to a close as the American League defeated the National League by the score of 3-0. It was the lowest-scoring All-Star Game since 1990, when the AL earned a 2-0 victory. I loved the Opening Ceremonies and it was great to see Carlos Beltran and Mariano Rivera get some nice ovations, but not nearly as loud and boisterous as the ovations for the Mets All-Stars...
