The New York Mets have their new manager in former Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway.
After a weekend of intense speculation that the franchise would go for someone familiar like hitting coach Kevin Long, or former bench coach Manny Acta, the franchise decided to go with one of the best pitching coaches in the sport as its next skipper. While nobody knows how Callaway will do in the pressure cooker of New York City, this was an intriguing and bold move by the Mets.
For starters the hiring of Callaway means that the Mets were willing to be wowed by someone from the outside. Just having an open mind is huge points to the Mets front office, because they reeled in a man who learned from one of the best in the game in Terry Francona.
Speaking of Francona, it is interesting to note that even he was was wowed by Callaway when he first met him in 2012. The story goes that when Francona took the Indians job, he was encouraged to meet with Callaway as a potential candidate for his pitching coach. Within five minutes, Francona knew he wanted to work with Callaway. Together the duo turned around the Indians into a World Series contender. Since 2013 the Indians 3.65 team ERA is the best in baseball. This season alone, Cleveland led the league in ERA (3.30), shutouts (19) and were third in the league in opponents batting average at (.236).
What's more the last time a Terry Francona pitching coach got a managerial job, his name was John Farrell. He would win a World Series and a couple of division titles in Boston. While Farrell and Callaway are two different people, it's a worthy comparison considering where they both came from.
Considering the Mets are built on pitching, hiring a pitching guru makes all the sense in the world. And he will have his hands full. Callaway's two biggest projects will be getting both Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard back on the right track. Both starters are coming off injury plagued years. The expectation now is that Syndergaard will return to form, but Harvey is another story.
Harvey has turned a once bright career into one plagued by injuries and off-the-field trouble. After coming back from a shoulder injury in September, Harvey was 1-4 in 22.1 innings with an ERA of 11.28. He was awful. His command was gone, his confidence shattered. Not to mention he has had a rough relationship with the Mets over the years. If the Mets are going to get anything out of Harvey this year, his walk year, Callaway might be the right guy to get Harvey back on track. If Callaway can't get Harvey to steady his career in 2018, nobody can.
Aside from Syndergaard and Harvey, Callaway will be tasked with guiding the likes of Zach Wheeler, Steven Matz, Seth Lugo, Rafael Montero and even embattled closer, Jeyrus Familia back to form. All these pitchers showed tremendous promise two years ago when the Mets were a World Series team. They hope that Callaway can show them the light.
Considering Callaway's success with the Indians, he should be the right man for the job. He turned Trevor Bauer from mediocre pitcher to solid starter, and a Game 1 Postseason pitcher in 2017. Bauer set career highs for wins (17) and strikeouts (196) this season under Callaway. In addition he has guided some of the sports best pitchers in Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and relievers like Andrew Miller and Cody Allen.
Miller, who saw continued success with the Indians when he was sent there last season after a trade with the Yankees, said of Callaway, "Mickey is a really good communicator with everybody, whether its Cy Young or a guy that has been up and down. I think his personality will work as a manager as it did as a pitching coach."
But it won't be all pitching that Callaway has to worry about. He will need to find a way to communicate with Yoenis Cespedes, who has been an odd player with the Mets. He will need to find a third baseman for a team that doesn't know what to do with oft-injuried David Wright, and has to get the most out of youngsters Amed Rosario and Dominic Smith. It's a tough job. But if Callaway took good notes from his friend, Francona, then maybe the Mets found the right guy.
After a weekend of intense speculation that the franchise would go for someone familiar like hitting coach Kevin Long, or former bench coach Manny Acta, the franchise decided to go with one of the best pitching coaches in the sport as its next skipper. While nobody knows how Callaway will do in the pressure cooker of New York City, this was an intriguing and bold move by the Mets.
Speaking of Francona, it is interesting to note that even he was was wowed by Callaway when he first met him in 2012. The story goes that when Francona took the Indians job, he was encouraged to meet with Callaway as a potential candidate for his pitching coach. Within five minutes, Francona knew he wanted to work with Callaway. Together the duo turned around the Indians into a World Series contender. Since 2013 the Indians 3.65 team ERA is the best in baseball. This season alone, Cleveland led the league in ERA (3.30), shutouts (19) and were third in the league in opponents batting average at (.236).
What's more the last time a Terry Francona pitching coach got a managerial job, his name was John Farrell. He would win a World Series and a couple of division titles in Boston. While Farrell and Callaway are two different people, it's a worthy comparison considering where they both came from.
Considering the Mets are built on pitching, hiring a pitching guru makes all the sense in the world. And he will have his hands full. Callaway's two biggest projects will be getting both Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard back on the right track. Both starters are coming off injury plagued years. The expectation now is that Syndergaard will return to form, but Harvey is another story.
Harvey has turned a once bright career into one plagued by injuries and off-the-field trouble. After coming back from a shoulder injury in September, Harvey was 1-4 in 22.1 innings with an ERA of 11.28. He was awful. His command was gone, his confidence shattered. Not to mention he has had a rough relationship with the Mets over the years. If the Mets are going to get anything out of Harvey this year, his walk year, Callaway might be the right guy to get Harvey back on track. If Callaway can't get Harvey to steady his career in 2018, nobody can.
Aside from Syndergaard and Harvey, Callaway will be tasked with guiding the likes of Zach Wheeler, Steven Matz, Seth Lugo, Rafael Montero and even embattled closer, Jeyrus Familia back to form. All these pitchers showed tremendous promise two years ago when the Mets were a World Series team. They hope that Callaway can show them the light.
Considering Callaway's success with the Indians, he should be the right man for the job. He turned Trevor Bauer from mediocre pitcher to solid starter, and a Game 1 Postseason pitcher in 2017. Bauer set career highs for wins (17) and strikeouts (196) this season under Callaway. In addition he has guided some of the sports best pitchers in Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and relievers like Andrew Miller and Cody Allen.Miller, who saw continued success with the Indians when he was sent there last season after a trade with the Yankees, said of Callaway, "Mickey is a really good communicator with everybody, whether its Cy Young or a guy that has been up and down. I think his personality will work as a manager as it did as a pitching coach."
But it won't be all pitching that Callaway has to worry about. He will need to find a way to communicate with Yoenis Cespedes, who has been an odd player with the Mets. He will need to find a third baseman for a team that doesn't know what to do with oft-injuried David Wright, and has to get the most out of youngsters Amed Rosario and Dominic Smith. It's a tough job. But if Callaway took good notes from his friend, Francona, then maybe the Mets found the right guy.
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