There are now seven clubs in Major League Baseball that are looking for new managers after the New York Mets announced on Thursday that they’ve dismissed Mickey Callaway after two seasons.
Callaway was 163-161 in his two seasons as the Mets’ manager, including this season’s 86-76 mark that saw New York finish in third place in the National League East, 11 games behind first-place Atlanta, and three games out of the second National League Wild Card spot.
“I feel unfulfilled. I feel we left some games on the field that we should have won, and we didn’t fulfill what we really had as a goal, which was get to the postseason,” chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon said on a conference call Thursday. “We’re not playing October baseball, and that’s what it’s about.”
The Mets join the Angels, Cubs, Padres, Giants, Pirates and Royals as MLB teams looking for new managers this offseason.
First Gig
Callaway was hired by the Mets for his first managerial gig after spending five seasons with the Cleveland Indians as the team’s pitching coach, including the 2016 campaign in which Cleveland advanced to the World Series.
New York finished 77-85 in Callaway’s first season, 13 games out of first place and in fourth in the NL East. Then offseason acquisitions of Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz didn’t turn out like the team planned this season.
The Mets struggled through the first part of this season, and Callaway had an incident in June in which he cursed at a Newsday reporter after Callaway was repeatedly asked about a bullpen decision.
Still, the Mets, who were expected to be sellers at the trade deadline, instead surprised most of the league by trading for Marcus Stroman from Toronto. That seemed to help fuel a hot stretch that saw New York win 15 of 16 games to get back into the playoff hunt.
The hot streak wasn’t enough, as, despite a nine-game improvement, the Mets fell short of the postseason for the third straight season. And that ended up costing Callaway his job.
Bright Future
There are no early candidates for the managerial job with the Mets, but whoever takes it will have some talented players to work with.
Besides the aforementioned Stroman, New York also has Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Zack Wheeler in its rotation, though Wheeler will be a free agent this offseason.
The Mets also have one of the brightest young stars in the game in Pete Alonso, who set the MLB rookie record for home runs with 53 this season. Alonso and Jeff McNeil are two young stars to build around, though general manager Brodie Van Wagenen has some work to do.
“We want to thank Mickey for his consistent work ethic and dedication over the last two seasons, and I’m certain these characteristics will serve him well in his next opportunity,” Van Wagenen said in a statement. “A decision like this is never easy; however, we believe it is in the best interest of the franchise at this time.”
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