New York Yankees or New York Mets who has the better manager?
By Ed Stein
This weeks roundtable asks the question: Who is the better manager, Aaron Boone of the New York Yankees or Mickey Callaway of the New York Mets?
Its an argument that has resonated throughout the area for decades, who is better, the New York Yankees or New York Mets. One thing is for sure neither will succeed if the men in charge are no good. Yankees manager Aaron Boone and Mets manager Mickey Callaway are about to enter the second season of their respective tenures.
Starting with the Mets. They were done in by injuries last season which hurt their ability to compete. Buoyed by great starting pitchers, the Mets finished close to .500 with a 78-84 record. That was an eight-game improvement over the previous season.
By all logic, the New York Mets had no right to finish with as many wins as they did. Their 16-26 record in one-run games exposed a weak bullpen. Additionally, an anemic offense cost them victories. In the National League, the Mets finished tied for last in batting average (.237), 12th in OPS (.701), and 12th in runs scored (676).
Poor offense and a bad pen is a recipe for disaster. Callaway managed to keep his team competitive for the year. In 2018, the Mets were nobody’s easy out.
It was a surprise to many when Yankees GM Brian Cashman plucked Aaron Boone from the ESPN broadcast booth to take over the team from Joe Girardi. He did plenty to justify his hiring.
The New York Yankees won 100 games in 2018 and finished in second place, eight games behind Boston. It’s quite a rare feat to win in triple digits and finish so far back. Division rival and eventual World Series Champion Red Sox were that good.
Still, Aaron Boone’s Bronx Bombers were a force all season, winning nine more games than they did in 2017. Their calling card was a major league record 267 home runs. An astonishing 12 players finished with double-digit homers. The long ball could come from anyone at any time, there weren’t many opportunities for opponents to pitch around Yankees hitters.
We asked our roundtable panel this week, who is the better manager, Mickey Callaway or Arron Boone?