Post by Bornthrilla on Nov 4, 2004 2:48:41 GMT -5
mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/mlb_news.jsp?ymd=20041104&content_id=909784&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp
Mets hire Randolph as manager
Former All-Star named 18th skipper in club history
By Kevin T. Czerwinski / MLB.com
NEW YORK -- In the end, pedigree proved to be just as important as experience.
It was Willie Randolph's pedigree and his willingness to form a partnership with Omar Minaya that led the Mets general manager to choose him as the club's new manager late Wednesday night. Minaya reached his decision in the evening after going through a second round of interviews earlier in the day with Randolph, Rudy Jaramillo and Terry Collins.
Randolph, 50, will be introduced at a Thursday afternoon press conference at Shea Stadium. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it is believed to be a three-year pact worth nearly $2 million.
That Randolph, a Brooklyn native, won a pair of World Series rings with the Yankees as a player and earned four more as one of Joe Torre's coaches proved to be too much for Minaya to overlook, though he was equally impressed with Jaramillo, a long-time friend. Randolph, who served as Torre's bench coach this season, becomes the 18th manager in club history and first African-American to hold that position in New York City baseball history, joining the game's only Hispanic general manager.
Minaya spoke increasingly over the last few days of wanting to choose a manager with whom he could grow, a manager who would work year-round on and off the field to form a partnership and help build the Mets back into a winner. The three finalists were all willing to meet Minaya's extra-curricular criteria, but it was Randolph, who had interviewed several times for managerial openings prior to this one, who made the biggest impression Wednesday afternoon.
"I'm looking for a guy who I'm going to be able to work with for a few years, three to five years -- hopefully more," Minaya said earlier in the week. "I'm looking for a guy to be involved in the community and participate in different things. I want a guy committed on the baseball side, but he has to be involved in things other than the baseball realm, so we can build a partnership and grow for the next couple of years.
"I'd say it's baseball-plus. The most important thing is the baseball side, but it's fair to say I have other expectations from the manager. It's how you handle players, build relationships, being able to communicate with the front office and exchange ideas. It goes beyond what happens during the regular season. It's going to be a 12-month-a-year job."
Randolph's lack of managerial experience -- this is his first on any level -- will likely be offset by a strong, National League-savvy bench coach. Don Zimmer's name has already been floated as a possibility. Randolph played only 146 of his 2,202 career games in the National League, including his final season (1992) with the Mets.
Minaya said earlier in the day that all of the candidates presented a list of prospective coaches but added that the manager would not have the final say on the entire staff. For starters, Rick Peterson is already in place as pitching coach. Jaramillo may get strong consideration to be the hitting coach, a position at which he has excelled in Texas for a decade.
"We'll work together to put a staff together," Minaya said. "There will be guys he feels he needs to have and guys I feel he needs to have."
The former All-Star second baseman was at or near the top of Minaya's list from the very beginning of the search, a process that included interviews with Carlos Tosca, Jim Riggleman and a brief flirtation with Jim Leyland. Minaya even had former Mets skipper Bobby Valentine in the back of his mind as a candidate at one point. But when Leyland backed out of the picture earlier this week, it was Randolph's job to lose.
Now, he is charged with the task of turning around a team that has finished last twice and fourth once in the National League East over the last three seasons. The club was 71-91 in 2004, struggling at the end, when ownership decided to remove Art Howe midway through September.
Kevin Czerwinski is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Mets hire Randolph as manager
Former All-Star named 18th skipper in club history
By Kevin T. Czerwinski / MLB.com
NEW YORK -- In the end, pedigree proved to be just as important as experience.
It was Willie Randolph's pedigree and his willingness to form a partnership with Omar Minaya that led the Mets general manager to choose him as the club's new manager late Wednesday night. Minaya reached his decision in the evening after going through a second round of interviews earlier in the day with Randolph, Rudy Jaramillo and Terry Collins.
Randolph, 50, will be introduced at a Thursday afternoon press conference at Shea Stadium. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it is believed to be a three-year pact worth nearly $2 million.
That Randolph, a Brooklyn native, won a pair of World Series rings with the Yankees as a player and earned four more as one of Joe Torre's coaches proved to be too much for Minaya to overlook, though he was equally impressed with Jaramillo, a long-time friend. Randolph, who served as Torre's bench coach this season, becomes the 18th manager in club history and first African-American to hold that position in New York City baseball history, joining the game's only Hispanic general manager.
Minaya spoke increasingly over the last few days of wanting to choose a manager with whom he could grow, a manager who would work year-round on and off the field to form a partnership and help build the Mets back into a winner. The three finalists were all willing to meet Minaya's extra-curricular criteria, but it was Randolph, who had interviewed several times for managerial openings prior to this one, who made the biggest impression Wednesday afternoon.
"I'm looking for a guy who I'm going to be able to work with for a few years, three to five years -- hopefully more," Minaya said earlier in the week. "I'm looking for a guy to be involved in the community and participate in different things. I want a guy committed on the baseball side, but he has to be involved in things other than the baseball realm, so we can build a partnership and grow for the next couple of years.
"I'd say it's baseball-plus. The most important thing is the baseball side, but it's fair to say I have other expectations from the manager. It's how you handle players, build relationships, being able to communicate with the front office and exchange ideas. It goes beyond what happens during the regular season. It's going to be a 12-month-a-year job."
Randolph's lack of managerial experience -- this is his first on any level -- will likely be offset by a strong, National League-savvy bench coach. Don Zimmer's name has already been floated as a possibility. Randolph played only 146 of his 2,202 career games in the National League, including his final season (1992) with the Mets.
Minaya said earlier in the day that all of the candidates presented a list of prospective coaches but added that the manager would not have the final say on the entire staff. For starters, Rick Peterson is already in place as pitching coach. Jaramillo may get strong consideration to be the hitting coach, a position at which he has excelled in Texas for a decade.
"We'll work together to put a staff together," Minaya said. "There will be guys he feels he needs to have and guys I feel he needs to have."
The former All-Star second baseman was at or near the top of Minaya's list from the very beginning of the search, a process that included interviews with Carlos Tosca, Jim Riggleman and a brief flirtation with Jim Leyland. Minaya even had former Mets skipper Bobby Valentine in the back of his mind as a candidate at one point. But when Leyland backed out of the picture earlier this week, it was Randolph's job to lose.
Now, he is charged with the task of turning around a team that has finished last twice and fourth once in the National League East over the last three seasons. The club was 71-91 in 2004, struggling at the end, when ownership decided to remove Art Howe midway through September.
Kevin Czerwinski is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
