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New York Mets, Terry Collins Agree To Contract Extension

By Kenneth Teape

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The New York Mets season may have ended on a disappointing note, as they came up short in the World Series against the Kansas City Royals, but it was still a successful season overall. A big reason for that success was the work done by manager Terry Collins. Collins endured what was a tough rebuilding process at times, but stuck with it and is now reaping the rewards on the field. Off it, he is now being rewarded as well, as he was given a contract extension tonight.

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The 66-year old Collins will receive a two-year extension at Citi Field tomorrow morning, and it is a hard earned one. Collins was in his last guaranteed year of his previous deal this season, but will now be at the helm for at least two more seasons. This could very well be the last contract Collins has as a manager, as he has expressed a desire to retire in the near future from the clubhouse.

While some fans will grumble at the decisions that Collins makes in game sometimes, there is one thing fans cannot complain about Collins’ Mets teams and that is that they bring it every game. They come to play everyday, even when they were overmatched for most of the first four seasons Collins was managing the team.

Even at the beginning of this season, the Mets were behind the eight ball with an anemic offense, yet Collins had them in the thick of things. His work in the early season is a big reason general manager Sandy Alderson pulled the trigger on impact trades, including the one for Yoenis Cespedes that put them over the top.

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The amount of injuries that the Mets endured this season would have knocked many teams out of contention, but Collins was able to keep things afloat. While veterans David Wright, Daniel Murphy and Michael Cuddyer were sidelined along with young catcher Travis d’Arnaud, Collins still found a way to win with what was essentially a Triple-A lineup.

A big reason for that success was the pitching staff, which Collins managed masterfully throughout the season. With so many young arms, there will be some hiccups along the way with inning limits and fatigue. That alone is a tough road to navigate, but the Mets lost important pieces in Zack Wheeler, Josh Edgin, Jenrry Mejia and Jerry Blevins before the Mets played even 15 games in the season.

He was able to overcome those problems enough to get to the World Series. He showed off the embarrassment of riches the Mets had in the rotation, and pieced together the bullpen enough to succeed. Jeurys Familia essentially came out of nowhere to take over the closer’s job, one that he was, at best, third in line for when the season started behind Mejia and Bobby Parnell.

The biggest change Collins had made though puts him on a similar path as fellow New York coach, Tom Coughlin. When Coughlin was hired as the head coach of the New York Giants, he had the reputation of being a tough, no nonsense coach. It weighed on his team, and caused some people to believe his time in New York was up. But, once he began softening himself a little bit, the Giants found success in winning the Super Bowl.

Collins has found a similar path of success with the Mets. In his previous stops as manager of the Astros and Angels, Collins used a very heavy-handed approach. It was something that wore out his welcome very quickly, culminating in an open revolt by the Angels’ players in 1999, resulting in Collins resigning after 133 games.

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That has not been the case in New York, as Collins has become the quintessential players manger. He always has his players back, and has the respect of his team. They want to play for him, which is why the Mets are always scrapping even if they do not have the best roster. You saw that right up until the end, as Matt Harvey was able to talk himself into starting the ninth inning in Game 5 of the World Series, even though Collins knew it was against his gut feeling.

While many people will point to that as a reason the Mets ultimately lost the World Series, that change is really what got the team to that point. Collins is a good fit for the Mets, and should retire in a Mets uniform whenever he hangs up his cleats.

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