Mets Rumors: Terry Collins Was Almost Fired In August

New York Mets Rumors: Had the Mets not beaten the San Diego Padres in mid-August, Terry Collins could have been replaced as the manager.

New York Mets rumors have been quiet lately. The focus has been on the performance on the field, not hypotheticals off of it. With the Mets about to begin postseason play for a second consecutive season, a rumor from earlier in the season has popped up.

Manager Terry Collins has come under fire multiple times this season. He led the Mets on a magical run to the World Series in 2015, earning a two-year contract extension. The honeymoon stage did not last long though, as the Mets fell off after a hot start to the season.

The Mets had a 15-7 record at the end of April and were rolling. They slowed down a bit in May, but still had a winning record in the month, going 14-12. The downturn truly began in June, as the Mets had their first losing month of the season, going 12-15.

The Mets tread water in July, going 13-13. But August started off as a disaster. The Mets traded for Jay Bruce to help jump start their lineup, but it put Collins in a tough position. He was in need of a centerfielder but was given another player that was exclusively a corner outfielder. Times were difficult for the Mets, and the performance showed on the field.

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Their play cratered, as the Mets actually fell under the .500 mark by mid-August. On Friday, August 12th, the Mets fell under .500 for the first time since April 17th. The front office was at their breaking point, and Collins job was in serious jeopardy.

According to Bob Klapisch, of The Record, the Mets were ready to fire Collins during that series in San Diego. The Mets had followed up a series sweep at the hands of the lowly Arizona Diamondbacks with a disappointing loss to start their series against the Padres. Had the Mets lost another game, Collins was going to get the ax.

"The date was Aug. 13, which as Terry Collins may or may not know, represented his near-miss with getting fired. How close was it? Fangraphs.com had the Mets’ chances of making the playoffs at 16 percent. One more loss to the Padres — who’d already beaten the Mets 24 hours earlier and followed a humiliating three-game sweep at the hands of the Diamondbacks — and the New York hierarchy would’ve moved against the manager who’d taken them to the World Series a year ago."

Klapisch said that a member of the organization believes Collins’ job was saved in the days following. The Mets defeated the Padres the next two days, August 13th and 14th, and the Diamondbacks on August 16th, giving the Mets a modest win streak and wins in three out of four games.

While that isn’t a season-changing winning streak for the Mets, it was a career saving one for Collins. Collins was afforded extra time as manager and he made the most of it.

While the Mets lost that series to the Diamondbacks, they quickly turned things around under the watchful eye of Collins. They split a series with the San Francisco Giants and took two of three from the St. Louis Cardinals to end the road trip on a high note.

The Mets would ride that momentum throughout the end of August and through the end of the season. After the Mets’ record fell to 60-62 on August 19th, the turned into one of the best teams in baseball.

Collins would lead the Mets to a 27-13 record the rest of the way. That not only got them back into the postseason, but they are hosting the NL Wild Card game at Citi Field Wednesday. Had the Mets gone through with firing Collins, it is hard to imagine if they would have had the same turnaround with a new manager taking over.

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The front office made a good move sticking with Collins as he had a big hand in getting the team back to the postseason. He pushed a lot of right buttons to finish the regular season on a high note after a summer swoon.

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