2017 Might Be Collins Last Season with Mets

2016 was a rough year for the New York Mets and Terry Collins.

Not only did he watch his Mets lose out in the National League Wild Card game to the San Francisco Giants, but the road just to get to the one-or-done playoff game was an arduous one.

From losing David Wright to a season ending, and possibly, career threatening injury; to watching 3/5 of his starting rotation go down with season ending injuries, and having to trot out a minor league lineup every single night, yes, it is safe to say 2016 was not fun.

This past week a story came out that Collins thinks 2017 could be his last in blue and orange.

"I just need to re-evaluate at the end of this coming year what's going on, where I am, how I'm feeling," Collins told ESPN.com on Thursday. "I've always said a lot of it will be dictated by how I'm feeling. This was a tough year." 
In June, Collins was hospitalized overnight in Milwaukee and missed the series finale against the Brewers at Miller Park after becoming ill pregame. He said that medical issue did not resurface, but the physical demands of the job can be challenging. Collins, who at 67 is the oldest manager in MLB, felt particularly worn down when the Mets had to play a day game on Labor Day in Cincinnati after playing in New York the previous night on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball.  (Rubin, ESPN.com)
Collins admitted as much that the Mets quick turnaround on Labor Day, playing a day game in Cincinnati just hours after playing a night game at home took a tole on him and his players. He even said that if he feels as exhausted and worn out a year from now, he'll call it a career. 
Can't blame him. He's been through a lot since becoming the manager of the Mets in 2010. For a number of years, nobody did more to try to keep things afloat when the talent was scant to work with. Last season he got the ultimate reward for his work when the Mets went all the way to the World Series, but this season has been truly difficult. Aside from the injuries, the team went through long extended periods of not playing well, with a number of fans questioning whether he should be retained or not. In fact there were even rumors that Collins was on the hot seat in mid-August. 
2016 was an exhausting year. Let's hope Collins can get a healthier ball club to work with in 2017 so he can make his swan song season a successful one.  

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