New York Mets: Who is new manager Mickey Callaway?

Just who is the New York Mets new manager, Mickey Callaway?

For a while there, it seemed like a guarantee that the New York Mets were going back to the past for their new manager. Names like Manny Acta, Alex Cora and Joe McEwing, to name a few, were all we heard about. Either them or an incumbent coach like Kevin Long was going to be promoted to the head job. It seemed like a lock.

Then Sunday rolls around and were hear completely differently:

Have had it confirmed #Mets are offering their manager job to Mickey Callaway. Deal being finalized today
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) October 22, 2017

So, all of that talk goes out the window. According to Jon Heyman, the deal is for three years. So there you have it, the Mets new manager is in place. In the coming days and weeks we will hear about the hirings as far as the coaching staff is concerned.

But another question became clear, at least to me. Maybe some of you already knew much of this but I didn’t. The first thing I thought of when I heard the name was, “Who is Mickey Callaway?”.

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So I decided to find out.

Callaway started out as a player, pitching for three teams from 1999-2004, recording a record of 4-11 with a 6.27 ERA. He has a World Series ring to his credit, earning one with the Angels in 2002 while serving as the fifth starter. He took over for Aaron Sele when he went down with an injury.

His best work as a player came in Asia for the KBO league. He played there from 2005-2007 and was an All-Star twice.

He retired in 2009 with a combined record of 116-72 and is in the record books for the most wins in Durham Bulls team history. Part of that could be a double-edged sword though. Did he earn that record by not being able to get up to the majors fast enough? Sorry, that’s for another discussion.

As a coach, he has been the pitching coach for the Cleveland Indians since 2013. They have led the American League in strikeouts for four straight seasons and led the league in ERA last year as well. Corey Kluber became a Cy Young winner on his watch.

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Kristie Ackert of the NY Daily News believes the Mets should be praised for going outside the box for this hire. To a point that is true. How many times have we seen these re-treads go through Queens? Too many times. Bringing in someone with no ties at all might just be the way to infuse life into this organization.

Is it the right move? Who knows at this point? He certainly works well with pitchers, as evidenced by his time in Cleveland. Players who have worked with him love him. The biggest concern will be the health of the pitchers. Will they be healthy enough to return to form? If they are, Callaway may just be the guy to bring them back to the top.

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