Well, it looks like the Mets have a new manager. One day after calling back three finalists, they have settled on Willie Randolph from Tilden High School in Brooklyn. Randolph will be leaving the position of Yankees bench coach to head up the Mets as a first-time Manager. The NY Times had a lengthy profile of Randolph yesterday, which gives some insight into the new Mets manager. While growing up, he was a Mets fan, saying, "That was the underdog team in town, and they had a feisty group of professionals who played hard every day. It was very special. Growing up in Brownsville, we tried to imitate Mets players." While they might not be feisty anymore, the Mets are still the underdogs in this Yankee-dominated city.
Randolph, 50, re-joins the Mets after 11 years as a coach and 13 years as a player with the Yankees during which he won 6 championships. His final season as a player was in 1992 was with the Mets. His contract is thought to be for three years and worth $1.7 million.
The Mets now have a general manager from Queens in Omar Minaya and a childhood Met fan and former Met player as their manager. They also have the only Hispanic GM in baseball and the first African American manager in New York. It remains to be seen if the two New Yorkers can turn the Mets from underdog to top dog.
Photo from Newsday File Photo/Jim Cummins
