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New York Mets: What Is The Fans Fixation With Wally Backman?

By Steve Contursi

Aug 5, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; A fan displays an autographed New York Mets helmet before a game between the New York Mets and Miami Marlins Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 5, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; A fan displays an autographed New York Mets helmet before a game between the New York Mets and Miami Marlins Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports /
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The New York Mets wagons are circling. Scalps will be taken. Terry Collins must go. And Wally Backman must replace him. Why?

In a recent article evaluating the front office and management of the New York Mets, I made the case for retaining Terry Collins. I cited him as the “glue that has held the team together” during this injury-plagued, disappointing season.

One reader disagreed, which is fine. But then he brought the name of Wally Backman up for what must be the zillionth time in print as Collins replacement. What is up with this fixation Mets fans seem to have with this guy?

Okay, I get the part about Backman being the scrappy second baseman who hit .320 for the championship team in 1986. But from there, his career turned downward. It started with his trade by the Mets to the Minnesota Twins for four minor leaguers; none of whom ever made the majors. Finally, he fizzled out in 1993 with the Seattle Mariners at the age of 33.

From there, he began his managerial career four years later with the Catskill Cougars in an Independent League. He continued on for seven more years, managing teams in the low minors including a stint with Chicago White Sox affiliates.

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Finally, in 2004 he was promoted to the majors as manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He lasted for all of four days!  What happened in those four days is best chronicled by Jeff Pearlman in a piece he wrote for ESPN in 2007. Take the time to at scan through the article; it clearly points out a checklist of things Backman withheld from the Diamondbacks during the interview process.

Sketchy personal finances, a DUI, charges of wife battering from two previous spouses, and the list goes on. Clearly, any or in some cases all of these may or may not be cause for dismissal (think Tony LaRussa and his DUI or Jose Reyes, currently a starter for the Mets). It’s just that Backman chose not to be forthcoming.

Perhaps, Backman thought that none of this was germane to his job as a manager? Who knows, but clearly he came out of this as someone who was desperate for a job in the majors and he hoped it could and would be swept under the rug. It wasn’t.

Backman and his family were devastated by this development. To Backman’s credit, he emerged out of the hole he had dug for himself and took jobs with such inglorious teams as the South Georgia Peanuts and the Joliet Jack Hammers.

Digressing for a moment, take a look at this profanity-laced snapshot of Wally Backman being Wally Backman shortly thereafter as a manager of the Peanuts. Can you imagine Joe Maddon or Joe Torre giving a “pep talk” like this? (Video Is Not Safe For Work)

With little or no future in sight, the story goes that he picked up the phone and called one of the Wilpon brothers; he was then granted a managerial position with the Class A Brooklyn Cyclones. From there, he rose through the ranks with stops in Double AA Binghamton, Triple-A Buffalo (can you even remember when the Mets had a team there?), and finally the Las Vegas 51’s where he is now.

Backman is a soldier who has paid his dues. You can even give him the benefit of the doubt that he has seen the light and has reformed himself as a man by throwing away the past.

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But just because someone works for a company for ten years in the business world, no one automatically assumes that person should have a position in upper management. And lest we forget, baseball is a business with a capital B.

Backman has been a good soldier for the Mets. You could even say he has “paid his dues” for the franchise. But in the real world, that means nothing. Just ask Terry Collins who toiled away in the minors for years before he was offered a job by the Mets. Does that mean that he gets to keep his job now? Of course not.

So, we’ll wait and see how the Mets move forward. Will Collins indeed be dumped by the wayside with a replacement is hired? The salient point remains though that Backman could or could not be one of those interviewed for the job. If he is interviewed I’d hope the Mets at least ask him, “Anything else you might want to tell us about, Wally?”

Digressing again, here’s another snippet of Wally Backman caught on tape as the face of his team. Again, this is not safe for work.

One final point. One of the charges made against Collins is that he misuses his bullpen. While that is something to evaluate with regards to Collins, consider this. Backman almost (and maybe did) destroy the career of Jack Leathersich. Backman had him throw 57 pitches in a relief appearance in a game that was long lost.

Leathersich went on the disabled list and had subsequent arm surgery. He then bounced around with two minor league teams and is currently in the Chicago Cubs system.

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So, let’s cool it with the drumbeat for Backman. Because surely if Collins becomes the declared scapegoat for the 2016 season, the least the Mets can and do for themselves and their fans is to look beyond the confines of a Wally Backman to replace him.

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