4:49pm: The contract includes a team option for a fourth season, per Mike Puma of the New York Post (via Twitter).
11:00am: The Mets have announced Callaway’s hiring. There’s a press conference set for Citi Field at 4pm ET today.
OCT. 23, 8:40am: The Mets are expected to announce Callaway’s hiring this afternoon at Citi Field, tweets Mike Puma of the New York Post.
OCT. 22, 1:37pm: Callaway is taking the job, Marc Carig of Newsday tweets.
12:43pm: The Mets have offered their managerial job to Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The two sides are finalizing Callaway’s contract, Sherman adds (Twitter link). It’ll be a three-year deal, Jon Heyman of FanRag reports (on Twitter).
The 42-year-old Callaway emerged as the top candidate for the job earlier Sunday, beating out Mets hitting coach Kevin Long, Mariners third base coach Manny Acta and White Sox third base coach Joe McEwing for the position. Callaway “stood out” from the rest during his interviews with Mets brass, Sherman tweets. The club’s hope is that Long will stay on as part of Callaway’s staff, per Sherman (on Twitter).
Callaway, who also drew interest from the manager-needy Phillies, developed an excellent reputation during his five-year run as the Indians’ pitching coach. In what will go down as Callaway’s final season on manager Terry Francona’s staff, the Indians boasted one of the most successful pitching staffs of all-time.
As was the case in Cleveland, Callaway – a major league pitcher from 1999-2004 – will have an opportunity to work with a slew of gifted hurlers in New York. Despite the immense talent on hand, though, the majority of Mets pitchers dealt with injuries and posted poor performances in 2017 during a 70-92 season that led to previous manager Terry Collins’ ouster. Aside from Jacob deGrom, who was his typical excellent self, none of the Mets’ top starters stayed healthy. Noah Syndergaard missed most of the season, while Matt Harvey, Steven Matz and Zack Wheeler mostly turned in ineffective showings when they were physically able to take the mound. Meanwhile, fellow starters Robert Gsellman, Seth Lugo and Rafael Montero failed to distinguish themselves as rotation locks for 2018.
In addition to trying to turn around the fortunes of the Mets’ pitchers next season, Callaway will oversee a position player group that also had a less-than-ideal 2017. The Mets’ premier hitters, Yoenis Cespedes and Michael Conforto, endured injury-shortened years, and the latter could miss a portion of next season after undergoing shoulder surgery in September. Still, the expectation is that those two will continue to serve as the Mets’ offensive centerpieces going forward. There are questions elsewhere, though, most of which center on the team’s infield alignment. Amed Rosario is a lock to start at shortstop, but it’s not yet clear who will earn the lion’s share of playing time at first, second or third base.
The Mets’ roster issues will be up to general manager Sandy Alderson to figure out in the coming months, but he’ll obviously work to put his first-time manager in position to succeed right away. Despite their miserable campaign, the Mets aren’t far removed from being one of the National League’s most formidable teams. They earned playoff berths in each of the two prior seasons, including a World Series appearance in 2015, and will attempt to return to relevance under Callaway in 2018.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Noooooooooo
Sorry, c4c.
A guy who can actually manage a pitching staff. Good for the Mets
Yeah sounds like a pretty smart move to me
That doesn’t mean he’d be able to manage a whole ballclub. John Farrell was a good pitching coach. Most people will say he wasn’t/isn’t a good manager.
FWIW, I’m certainly not saying Callaway isn’t a good choice.
I mean, thats fair, but at least you’re bringing in an expert to guide a part of your team that struggled. They surely have the talent, but now its time to see someone actually guide them
I don’t know. I’m thinking the METS would be ecstatic to see this guy bring half the success Farrell created.
Farrell created probably negative success
Winning the World Series is considered negative success? Sure he had two terrible seasons after that, but those were followed by back to back Division Titles.
If I could expand your point further, Farrell won the AL East division title, 3 out of 5 years, and won World Series first year.
Mets will sign up for that.
I don’t think John Farrell was the reason any of those teams succeeded. It seems he finds a way to lose games, not win them.
.533 winning pct in BOS (statistically he won more games than he lost)
And to think Goat, you defend “TC” who by any measurement standards is half the manager of Farrell. Your loyalty to the Metsies is so sweet. It’s time for you to hand out chocolate kisses with each of your posts.
I have never once defended Collins. I thought he was also a bad manager. And I’m not a Mets fan. Anything else on your mind?
So did you goat. The team has little leadership from the top to keep players on the field and not in the DL.
playing on the land of make believe is dangerous as the digital impression documents your denial. No need for you to throw around the pigeonholed stats.
This team fails to keep players on the field. They celebrate individuality rather than team spirit.
If Mutt and Jeff spent half the time directing management to lead, guys would be drinking water every day and NOT
Pumping iron like morons.
They can sign up for everything however cheapness prevents them from being relevant and effective. Just sayin
Mikeyank..
Mets fans, (or at least every one I know) hate their owners. None were huge fans of Collins either.
These feelings (hating the owners) are in line with a thousand other fans through baseball history who hated their cheap, stupid owners.
That being said, your compulsive need to enter every Mets thread and declare the Mets as “irrelevant” is old, tired, and ridiculous.
They went to the World Series a whole two years ago. I know America has a short attention span, but it’s not that long ago.
A staggering one year ago, they were in the same coin flip proposition your Yankees were in, playing in a wild card play in game at home.
They had a ton of injuries, and a bad year, it happens. They fired a bunch of people. They fired their medical staff. Please stop acting like they can’t rebound from this. Your team got clowned by Charlie Morton in game 7, and Justin Verlander throughout the series…. two pitchers who were considered roadkill at various times in their careers, only to bounce back.
I know it seems like your team is foolproof next year, but it’s not. Players regress. Players get hurt. Players bounce back. It’s called baseball and you are doing the same thing the dreaded “sabremagicians” are doing… posting your thoughts as absolute truths when they are far from it. Baseball is an extraordinarily unpredictable game and even the most brilliant minds barely have a clue from year to year as to what is going to happen.
Your manger did the same thing the Mets did with Severino, flying past his innings limit when they saw a shot at the World Series. You going to blame him when Severino’s arm blows out? You know it will. They ALL blow out eventually. Then he’ll come back and be good again, that’s how it works. Not sure if you understand that.
Very sweet and typically self centered. The Mets blew past all of their pitchers inning limits and in face publicly shamed and embarrassed their leader Harvey into “taking 50 innings”‘for the team”.
With a name like “the runs” you are questioned on the accuracy of your claims regarding Mets fans positions on the owners. Most of your “brothers” are in EXTREME DENIAL about the eternally sad state of affairs and the Wilpon’s perpetually ripping them off.
So taking the sword and turning it on someone calling it exactly like it is looks like a typical Mets’ day late and a dollar short contribution. The reality here is that all you fans still line the Wilpon’s pockets with your hard earned $$$ and they laugh
In your face as they take the money and buy Dodgers Memorabilia!
And pitching was the one thing we thought the Mets actually had.
Yeah even with our depleted Rotation I’ll still take two of the top pitchers in the game in Degrom and Syndergaard what every team dreams of a Great 1 2 and the Mets still have that!
Two tops?
I guess you forgot they don’t even have the top 2 in their division
Health is a big part of being a good pitcher, Scherzer and Strasburg have actually been better over the last few years. Let’s not exaggerate too much Scherzer 4th, Strasburg 10th, with deGrom 11th and Syndergaard 27th. Kershaw is first, their health is still a big ?
Syndergaard ‘s shoulder is torn up.
How dare you! I’ve had Thor on my dynasty team since he was in the minors! He will come back fully healthy and win 32 games and strike out 400 batters in 2018! You heard it here first, you’re welcome.
If you think I am comparing Scherzer and Strasburg to Thor and Degrom you are out of your mind not what I said at all. Where did the top two pitchers in their division get the nats? Exactly a first round exit because they choke and can never win when it comes time for meaningful baseball!! Secondly, if you don’t consider Degrom and Syndergaard as two top of the line pitchers in baseball you are a dunce sir!
Yeah his shoulder is torn up that’s why when he came back he ended the season throwing over 100 mph lmaoo!!!
I would rather have lesser players who can stay healthy. The Mets have been riddled with players who are good and can’t stay healthy. From Cespedes, Duda, Cabreara, Walker, and Conforto, which isn’t even going into the roller coaster in the pitching. Now who’s the dunce, this is your team. I like players, not teams which makes it fun for me to watch games. I love to watch deGrom pitch on your team, and that’s about it!
He wasn’t healthy at the end of the season, throwing strikes and hit 100mph
What are you talking about?!?!? He tore his lat muscle last time i heard that wasnt in your shoulder. You want to hate go ahead at least be smart about it.
he can’t do any worse than collins did. He over worked all the mets pitchers and they broke down.
Yes and crown his three innings of work proved that he is completely healthy. Lmao
Time for a reality check. Let’s see where “Thor” is after a winter of pumping iron.
Face the facts: under “TC’s” leadership the Mets blew through their “dream rotation” that you touted as HOF quality. Instead they have collectively spent more time on the DL than the roster. Together they have under 100 victories combined. Too bad. Your hopes were so high. It’s time to come crashing down to reality; they may never achieve the greatness that you guys pumped up.
Funny comparing post season to regular season when comparing the Mets to the Nationals. Only a Mets fan would try such gimickery.
Hey MikeYank you do realize that anything the Mets did with their pitchers, the Yankees did with Severino, right?
Severino, at age 23, was coming off a season where he worked 151 innings, and off of a three year span where he averaged 141 innings.
This year he worked 210.. they also threw him back out into a playoff game after he was lifted from his previous start with an injury issue.
Please explain how that is different than what the Mets did in their World Series run and I’ll wait for your answer.
I’m sure it will be brilliant lol.
Wow runs. Let’s look at the starting rotation next year and compare it to the Mets rotations years later. The Mets have completely mishandled their “dream rotation” that guys like you pontificated was a “hall of fame rotation”.
Instead you’ve got pitchers who accrued more DL days than starts; and collectively have been a failure winning LESS than 100 WIND together.
Your continued blindness is scary1
So you blew a lot of hot air but didn’t answer my question.
How is what the Yankees did with Severino different than what the Mets did with their young pitchers?
A 23 year old pitcher, who averaged 141 IP per season over the past three seasons and they pitched him 210 innings which is well past what would have been his limit.
Maybe because, well…. I dunno because they were TRYING TO WIN THE WORLD SERIES?
Y’think?
They even pitched him after he came out of a game injured, which you ignored in your incoherent babbling about something I never said. Nobody on here, (except the voices in your head, which seem plentiful) called the Mets rotation a “Hall of Fame rotation”.
We called them what they are, a talented young rotation that still has a ton of baseball left ahead of them.
And literally every Mets fan I know HATE the owners.
Turns out it’s hard to just stop rooting for a team you’ve rooted for since before Woodstock.
Bummer
Bummer, but good luck to him. Actually got to chat with him a couple times. He’s one of the nice guys.
Gonna miss him.
Fantastic move for a team built entirely on pitching like the Mets.
Very pleased as a Mets fan signing this guy to become our Next Skipper!!!!
damn i was hoping they would do the typical mets thing and hire kevin long
Hey Walls…don’t be surprised when Kevin is long gone.
That’s what I am afraid of. I love Long but I think he deserves to be a manager somewhere. I hope he decides to stay as the hitting coach and continues to work and develop these young guys but if he gets a manager spot I wish him nothing but the best. I’m thinking maybe Phillies?
Whats the story with Kevin Long? The Yankees cut him, the Mets hitters seemingly had a down season and now he didn’t get the Mets job. Is there something happening off the field? Just interested to hear from anyone who has insight…
Which Mets hitters had a down season?
Cespedes?
Cespedes had a bad month at the plate and a bad season health wise. His numbers were pretty much in line with 2016 overall.
Aside from the injuries, his counting stats were right in line with 2016
Are you nuts game? He had a terrible year because he is selfish and immature. His health issues have plagued him his whole career. Do you actually think that his overall numbers were acceptable given the amount of money your cheap team paid him. Top management–not Mickey needs to sit him down. He must play 145 games. Bring a bottle of water and tell him that he must drink several (a specific number for a guy like Ces) per day.
He is always pulling up lame. Not much in the IQ department so he doesn’t put one and one together. However Game, it’s all about you Mets fans and your acceptance of mediocrity.
It’s hilarious how you actually took time out your day to type this
Yanks is a miserable person. Sad actually.
Frank and Goat-you two should date each other. The only thing that is miserable is your team which has such a long history of disappointing fans for decades. It would be great finding a high school dance and enjoying a few soft drinks while you get to create your chemistry. You can pontificate your silly Mets centric notions and blow hot air into each others’ ears.
It’s time for you to stop fighting because all other teams’ fans know how sad the state of the Mets franchise is and understand the deep depression that you must be suffering from. Hopefully in the next few weeks, once your first date is over you can each take steps forward in backing off your meds.
Does anybody on this website get more downvotes than mikeyank55?
Mets fans get no votes. Too bad. It’s the price of mediocrity.
Push upstream and knock yourselves out, metsies fans
Seem to me the Indians starting pitchers were injured a lot, they were left depleted going in the series a few year ago.
The Indians were in the Series a few years ago? That’s news to me.
MISTAKE! Mistake!
Well, now John Farrell can go back to being Tito’s pitching coach……..
Farrell won’t stoop that low. Nothing against Tito, but Farrell will not take a step down. Willing to bet.
Well Farrell will not get another managing job so unless he is ready to retire he needs to go back to pitching coach. There is no shame in that. Many ex managers go back to coaching. There are only so many managing jobs
He can show real teams how he could swim within the dysfunction of the Madoff Mets. Then he can move up to a real team. Like college coaches showing off at mid majors. Owners will pay him peanuts so they can continue to use Mets to rebuild their wealth after Madoff, and their fans are continuing to be shorted.
Any guesses on who might be the new Mets pitching coach? And whether or not Kevin Long will stay on as hitting coach?
Mets dysfunction starts at the top, and DePodesta took it to Cleveland.
Depo works in an entirely different sport. There’s plenty of actually relevant things to troll the Mets about, try to pick one of them.
Lol!!!!
Bobby Bonilla anyone?
Mets needed something different than someone with ties to the organization. Callaway is a good gamble because the Mets best asset is their pitchers and when healthy is definitely as good as Cleveland.
W H O ?
Mets….. baaaahhhaaaaaa
This is why Mets fans didn’t root for the Yankees this postseason.
Don’t understand the logic.
Root for NY, not troll fans That’s what I would do.
Signed,
Yankee fan
Like we needed you to root for us in the post season Eventually. That was the difference maker?
The Yankees were a team that universally nobody had post season expectations.
The Mets were a team with fans that had false bravado going into the season. You couldn’t field a competitive team the whole year and generally underperformed. Your owners sold whatever assets they could for CASH.
Last year our CASH sold whatever assets we had for the future.
BTW-Yankee fans stay true. No front runners needed. We had plenty of support from NYC this post season.
Root for us? You are part of the team? Didn’t know that!
Hey frank–your posts weren’t about “us” they were about your ill conceived, “you” opinions
Was pulling for him for the Phils job. They better hurry up, not many super appealing options left.
Dave Martinez, who in my opinion is one of the best options floated for anyone this offseason, would be perfect for Philly..
I felt Martinez was ready to manage several years ago. Really surprises me that his name has not been mentioned by even one writer recently.
i keep seeing him on twitter bandied about, but i see his name every time a vacancy opens up. he’s floated constantly, kinda weird that he hasn’t been hired yet.
Now they just need to sign Bosio as their pitching coach.. I could be wrong but I can’t seem to remember any serious injuries to any integral pitchers on the Cubs staff.. The 2 of them could be exactly what the Mets need.
Good for Mickey! Sad to see him leave tribe but that’s what happens when you are successful.
Don’t know much about him but I do know he is not Manny Acta, so I’m cool with this.
Good luck to him, not sure he’s manager material but definitely a very good pitching coach.
If the roster can stay healthy this could be a decent ballclub. Congrats and good luck!
Why???? Sandy Alderson needs to start with the medical staff before hiring a manager
I’m pretty sure the mets fired their head trainer a couple of weeks ago
Does this mean my Callaway autographed baseball has just gone up in value?
Yeah, but it’s still not worth the price of an MLB ball.
Uh, it is an MLB ball.
Uh, an MLB ball costs $24.99+, one signed by a bench player or coach won’t fetch that much. So the value of a Calloway signed ball probably did just go up, but still not worth the price of a ball.
Whatever
Any chance Farrell ends up back with Tito in Cleveland?
Doubt it. Maybe Jason Bere steps up from bullpen coach?
Wally Backman must be ripped.
Just saw the interview with Mickey Callaway, he sounded very intelligent and positive. It will be interesting to see if things change with the Mets. They need some stability.
Lots of noise on a managerial search which is of low, to no, relevance. The window has closed, as the cheapest owners in sports spent the last two off seasons convincing everyone they were spending (something) and the downward trend was all due to injuries. Now, even less spending. Unreal. Though, at this point, it’s likely moot. You can’t plug all the holes they have in a single off season. Another top 10 pick is more likely than a playoff spot.
Sorry to say this Mets nation, but the Mets actually needs to take a page from the Astros and totally rebuild. Yes from the top down to the bat boy. Just look and see how the Astros did. There World Series bound. A total rebuild ain’t bad at all. Cut ties with all the players including Wright and start over.
Phillies have been quiet. Did Ausmus reject an interview with them as well? Last I heard was that they were interested but that was a couple of wks ago.