Flushing, New York
- Dusty Baker- Baker bring a 22-year managerial career to the table, one in which he reached the postseason with the San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals with an overall record of 1,863-1636 (.532).Managerial Record 1,863 – 1636 (.532). Veteran presence would be refreshing for a club plagued with recent managerial flops. He is noted for his ability to withstand media criticism and the New York media wouldn’t phase him a bit. One of his greatest assets is his ability to communication, a skill for which he is highly regarded around the MLB. He’s 70 years old, which raises questions as to his fitness to manage a 162-game season.
Dusty with his trademark toothpick and “deep in thought” look.
(Photo: Associated Press)
- Eduardo Perez – Perez is also a skilled communicator and he impressed in his last round of interviews, in which a mock press conference was undertaken. Handling the pressure of the New York media is a must, as they are a heavily scrutinizing group. He’s only 50 years old and his hall of fame father…Tony Perez has given him invaluable advice. His dad was part of the great “Big Red Machine” team. Eduardo Perez is praised for his nuances to the analytical portion of the game, while also keeping old-school, time tested practices. Translation: he can combine the new wave strategies with ones that have yielded results in the past. Basically he is very well rounded in that regard. Has minimal coaching experience. In 2013, he served as the bench coach for the Astros. Perez also had a short tenure as the Marlins hitting coach. Important to note is his recently signed contract with MLB, as an analyst. He may favor job security as an analyst, due to the nature of Mets’ managers seemingly of an endless pursuit to find stability. Translation: The Metropolitans fire a lot of managers.
(Photo: MediaMoves.com)
- Tim Bogar – Former Mets Infielder. Experience includes a ring last year, as the Washington Nationals first-base coach. He has subsequently been promoted to the bench coach for the upcoming season. Bogar is quite versed with dealing with the NL East, as he has spent the last two seasons with the Nationals organization. Held an interim Managerial role with the Rangers, in which he was praised and showed potential for the future.
(Photo – USA Today)
- Hensley Meulens- Bruce Bochy, the near consensus elite coach of the San Francisco Giants. Meulens being his bench coach is an obvious “Pro” in regard to his resume. His 10-year tenure with the Giants included two years as a bench coach, then eight as the hitting coach. In addition, he’s multilingual which is a huge asset in today’s game. Meulens speaks a total of five languages. He has been described as intelligent, as well as tough and hard-nosed, meaning, he has the prowess to dissect complex scenarios and personalities. Also he won’t take any non-hustling from anyone and will not yield to confront players about it. His biggest asset may be his tactician-mind, for which the Mets hired him as the Mets bench coach this season. He may be promoted very soon, due to being in house already and bringing a plethora of abilities to the table.
(Photo – USAToday)
Prediction: Meulens, due to his age being only 52, along with his experience with a well-regarded manager Bruce Bochy. May not be a big “splash”,as he is an in house selection. But his ability to be a tactician is exactly what the Mets may need. Being able to speak five languages fluently is an intriguing component of his repertoire. The Mets need to settle down and find some stability. Meulens may be the man to bring the Mets out of Mediocrity.
Christian Quaranta
BackSportsPage.com
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