6:20pm: Asked whether he’d return should be again be declared cancer-free, Alderson offered a candid assessment of his recent work (link via MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo). “[I]f I were to look at it on the merits, I’m not sure coming back is warranted,” Alderson said, in a nod to his team’s 31-45 record. Joel Sherman of the New York Post, meanwhile, writes that while Alderson and COO Jeff Wilpon neglected to go further into the prospect of the future, Tuesday’s press conference “sound[ed] like a goodbye to the job.”
The Post’s Mike Puma tweets that in the interim, there’s an expectation that Ricco will serve as the de facto point man, with Minaya and Ricciardi serving as experienced advisers and sounding boards. It’s been reported on multiple occasions in the past that the organization views Ricco as something of an heir apparent to Alderson anyhow, and the coming months could serve as an audition of sorts for the longtime AGM.
3:12pm: Mets GM Sandy Alderson will take a leave of absence to address a recurrence of cancer, the organization announced. Tim Britton of The Athletic (Twitter links) was among those to cover the news.
Alderson, 70, previously took a leave of absence in December of 2015 owing to a cancer diagnosis. He was later able to resume his duties as the top baseball decisionmaker, a role he has held since the end of the 2010 season.
In Alderson’s absence, top lieutenants John Ricco, J.P. Ricciardi, and Omar Minaya will run the baseball operations department. That group brings decades of baseball operations experience to the table. Ricco has been an assistant GM with the Mets since 2006, while Minaya is a former Mets GM himself. Ricciardi, meanwhile, was once the general manager of the Blue Jays.
It is not known at this time how long Alderson will be away, but he says that he will likely undergo surgery later this summer. Fortunately, the veteran executive says that the prognosis is good. MLBTR joins those around the game in sending its best wishes for a rapid and full recovery.
Hope he makes a full recovery. Will the replacements just keep the status quo? Or will they be allowed to make bold moves?
Seeing as he has been forced to take leaves of absences like this before, I believe it would be in everybody’s best interest for him to retire, allowing the Mets to get a longer term gm to pioneer the rebuild.
Best wishes to Sandy.
Life is more important than baseball. Get well soon.
This. Get well soon.
Baseball is life!
That job is not beneficial to one’s health. Perhaps retirement is the best option…
This team has 4 ex GMs counting Ruben, and it is a mess! If I’m Sandy I retire, the players you brought in let you down this year.
May Sandy Alderson make a full and permanent recovery. All the Mets problems aren’t his fault alone they’re mainly on the owners. Health in life is way more important then the game of baseball.
Give me a break. Baseball is dying because there’s hordes of mediocrity like Alderson forcing themselves into the ranks, and Keith Law and all the other riff raff the legitimate leaders have to battle to gain positions.
“Baseball is dying because there’s hordes of mediocrity like Alderson forcing themselves into the ranks, and Keith Law and all the other riff raff the legitimate leaders have to battle to gain positions.”
Wow, you sure packed a lotta stupid into one short sentence. Was it as painful as it looks?
Hope he can beat the cancer again.
Speedy recovery for Sandy Alderson.
Can’t believe the reaction by some people. Seriously glad he’s take a leave of absence due to health issues? Really?
Ok, if you really want to use the baseball argument I really hate to break it to you Mets fans but Alderson is a better baseball man than any of the guys mentioned. Furthermore, Alderson never got the credit he deserved for creating the hype that is Billy Beane. Alderson was the architect of the Oakland A’s teams and started Moneyball. He, not Beane, should have been featured in the book and the movie. I’m not here to say Beane is not a good baseball man. Just saying Alderson and his front office built the core players that started the little run in 2000. He didn’t stay on to see it through.
He’s been a damn good executive in his career. Better than damn good. Be careful what you wish for Mets fans because your team is in worse hands as we speak.
Also seems like a great guy.. served his country.. highly educated.. solid .. hope everything goes as smooth as possible
Yeah, he protected our freedom that we often take for granted. He also did some interesting things with baseball. May he have a safe recovery.
Alderson was literally the poster boy for the USMC:
ar15.com/forums/general/-/5-1814144/
i too hope he has a full and speedy recovery (same with chris duncan) and imo he’s done a pretty good job of running the mets despite being a puppet for the real gm the owner. (tbh i don’t really follow the mets i’m just going off of what i read from a lot of mets fans upset with how cheap the willpons are)
You are correct. Alderson was the man in Oakland who brought the sense of analysis to the front office, yet still relied on his scouts to give him feedback. He would stop in to New Britain in the 80’s to see AA minor leaguers, then send his farm director Walt Jocketty to follow up and send his thoughts. A lot of good baseball men cut their teeth under him.
Mets fans for months have come on this website destroying Alderson. Yet when I see Ricciardi and Minaya stepping in to make bigger decisions it tells me everything about the Mets. Alderson has been a successful executive for many years. The other two guys not so much. Ricciardi’s tenure in Toronto, which I lived through, was one of the worst runs of any GM the last 20 years.
Hope you fight your battle well! And don’t worry, the Mets already took a leave of absence from MLB this year… so you’re good!
Some people on here are way to sensitive to humour. Yes, some commenters are complete morons( like suggesting he is faking) but most are just light-hearted banter, nothing to be crying about
When referring to a specific individual, cancer is nothing to even light heartedly joke about. Thumbs up to the site moderators for removing much of the lunacy. A special shout out to Sandy from Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC where my wife has been for two + weeks. Hoping for a fast, favorable recovery.
Ugh, I knew there would be some nasty comments on this story. I should probably stop reading them. Just shaking my head. Used to be a lot of good discussion without all the vitriol. Sad.
Get well, Sandy.
Did some get struck? I definitely expected the usual vitriol and was pleasantly surprised all the comments seem well within the bounds of decency.
yeah this definitely got cleaned up. I first saw the post like a half hour after the post was made and the usual trolls were out. glad to see that this is staying decent.
Ok let’s not loose focus here. Sandy came in at the behest of MLB because the franchise was so screwed up because of the Madoff thing and the owners. Sandy dealt with what he was given. The Wlpons. The dynamic duo. All these new GMs are Ivy League grads. Jeff? Chump High in NYC. We’re screwed.
The NL version of the Orioles.
“All these new GMS are Ivy League grads. Jeff? Chump High in NYC.”
First of all you’re comparing apples to oranges. Jeff Wilpon will be his father’s successor as managing partner, not the team’s GM. And, while I don’t generally find myself defending a Wilpon it’s worth noting that Jeff Wilpon will be one of the few—perhaps the only, if Jeter’s deal is for show only, owner with actual professional baseball experience as a player.
“We’re screwed.”
Depends on how patient you are. Try to travel back mentally to the Mets before Madoff’s scam was exposed, seriously impairing the Wilpon-Katz group’s ability to manage the franchise. The Mets in those days were one of the highest payroll teams in MLB, the Wilpons had no problem spending money when they had it, or thought they had it.
Once their finances have recovered sufficiently I’d expect the Mets, under Fred or Jeff, to return to their free spending ways. There won’t be any announcements but you’ll know it when you see it. So, if you’re expecting help any time soon you’re probably out of luck. But long term prospects for the franchise in Flushing are excellent.
“Sandy dealt with what he was given.”
Yes, as I’ve pointed out several times before, Alderson’s job wasn’t to please the fans or bring a championship to Queens. He was hired to help the Wilpon-Katz group keep ownership of the Mets, which it wasn’t at all clear they’d be able to do. And he did that job quite well.
Majorflaw, stop defending two horrible owners for making a stupid life decision with ridiculous amounts of money. A decision which has now left them funneling money out of the husk that is currently the Mets to re-line their own pockets at the expense to the fans. They are both a disgrace and incredibly bad for baseball as a whole.
As for Sandy, I wish him nothing but the best and a speedy recovery. It’s a shame that baseball is losing a great baseball man like this and the Mets fans are getting stuck with the Wilpons. But as one poster said, life is more important than baseball. God speed Sandy.
“Majorflaw, stop defending two horrible owners for making a stupid life decision with ridiculous amounts of money.”
Where did I defend them? Other than pointing out that Jeffy played MiLB kindly quote the part(s) where I defended Fred of Jeffy Wilpon. I’ll wait.
It was a perfect storm. Their share of building Citi Field created a lot of future liabilities. Not sure how long that financing was for but this is the tenth year so hopefully it will soon become a financial asset.
“Their share of building Citi Field . . . “
The problem wasn’t the cost of building Citi Field, paying for the Wilpon-Katz purchase of Nelson Doubleday’s interest in the team and financing the SNY startup per se. The Wilpon group had become accustomed to putting all its earnings into various accounts managed by Bernie Madoff.
Their forward looking statements assumed that they would continue to earn very high returns on cash investments. In the event, they lost not only that regular income but much of their principal as well. Now those obligations became more significant than they would have otherwise. Had Fred Wilpon known that Madoff was a fraud and the income he generated unreliable, perhaps he wouldn’t have undertaken all three obligations simultaneously.
Free spending ways? ROFL. A few facts:
– The Coupons (didn’t get that name by accident) have been stripping $$ from the Met organization since seizing control of it in 1991, Much like they do with their class B buildings. Doubleday nearly sued them for running the team into the ground and lowering its value to reduce their eventual purchase price which was determined over a 10 year period.
– The few instances of a big market payrolls they permitted were to avoid a media lambasting, fan uprisings and political problems related to getting the new ball park, AND they were paid for by across the board cuts in all other areas of the organization, including scouting and development (and their absolute miserly approach to the draft for a decade).
– Madoff has nothing to do with the Mets spending like a low end mid market team on payroll, and a small market team on everything else. Just an excuse for the feeble minded part of the fanbase (like yourself). If you understood the settlement and math you’d do that the actual losses of the principals were less than a 1 year salary of top, AND, of course, the losses by the principals should have had nothing to do with the money made by the Mets and SNY (where much of it was let’s say “relocated” in Wilpon fashion). Don’t believe me – the Wilpons themselves said this to MLB to alleviate their concerns. MLB concluded it was just incompetence and sent Sandy to operate it as, at least, a decent small market team.
– Ever ask yourself how SNY can be raking in $$ when their only real asset is the Mets contract? Why the farm system is among the worst in baseball, and the Mets are one of the few teams to draft below slot of over a decade (prior to Madoff) and next to last in $$ spent on IFAs (back when you could spend)? Why the damn farm team is Las Vegas? Why after making $$ after the WS appearance, they refused to put any of it back in the team and actually intended to let both their #3 and #4 hitters go? Why every big contract they sign is backloaded? And the payroll always overstated by amounts owed to guys no longer playing? Why we can’t make deadline deals without the other team agreeing to the pay the guy (lessening our prospect return) – no team does as much as the Mets and long before Madoff. Why they’re the only team in MLB that operates without a budget beyond the committed monies? Why guys like Oliver Perez and Jason Bay were not released/bought out sooner? Cheapskates didn’t want to pay for replacements.
The Wilpons are the stingiest owners in MLB. A big market team operated like a cash strapped small market one, and it’s largely been for 27 years. Taking every nickel they can find off the table whenever they can. It’s been well known for 27 years.
This will allow him to walk away gracefully.
Nice man, hope he kicks cancer’s ass…………but he’s been an absolutely brutal GM for the Mets.
Wow, assumed it be personal, non-disclosed reason…..
Sandy always had my sympathy because of his bosses. Man, Life comes at you fast. Good luck, Sandy… People, long as the Wilpons are owners, the Mets always be destined LOSERS. Quit blaming Sandy, especially in sad thread, like this one. Makes me sad 🙁
Only fools would use this thread as a means to criticize his job-performance. If you did that here as a Mets’ fan, you deserve perpetual mediocrity. This transcends baseball.
Best wishes to Sandy on a fast & full recovery. Get well soon so I can get back to complaining about you! #LGS
Sandy’s served his time. He was the perfect front man for the Wilpons. So perfect that he deserves some derision for it. At times, he almost made it seem like some decisions were baseball driven. Of course, there wasn’t enough lipstick in the world to put some on all the pig moves he felt compelled to make. But, presentation aside, the Wilpons don’t need an enabler, so he doesn’t quite deserve that moniker. No long time Met fan thinks Sandy was any part of the real underlying problem here. We’ll never know what he could have done with a budget, even a relatively modest one.
Since the Wilpons generally only hire people they know (Sandy was the exception and not completely their choice), and generally people they know don’t want to work for them, nobody should expect the “new” guy won’t be all that “new” or any kind of upgrade. Maybe one of the guys mentioned in the article.
Hope he finally beats cancer’s a$$.
sad to hear this. hope he gets well. shame the Mets are a mess but like others have said life is more important.
Best wishes to Sandy. Semper Fidelis
Get well big fella.
Omar Minaya…..I almost just chocked on my own vomit. Been there, done that. Pleeease!!!
Choked…as in Beltran.
beltran got fooled on a good curve by wanio and iirc had a pretty good nlcs in 05 (hou) and 06 between him and pence they have sent us home in oct many times so i can’t say he choked
No hitter in baseball (even if they it was coming), would have had much of a chance to hit that pitch. Nobody hits a crisp 12-6 curve ball, except by luck, and then they rarely hit it very hard.
Semper Fi Sandy!!
Sandy is a class act!! I wish him the best.
He never even flinched on strike three delivered right down the middle….choked!!!
I wish Sandy Alderson nothing but the best and if he wants to come back, I hope he is allowed to come back
Good recovery to Alderson but the mets are a cancer.
By my own casual observance of Cespedes running in the outfield in 2016 I could tell his leg was weak and shot. Yet here’s Alderson running statcast data that says it’s fine to the tune of a ridiculous 4 year contract.
Another forest for the trees buffoon!
Hiring Alderson was a total waste of time. I was against it from the start. The Wilpons have no idea what to do.
The man brought the Mets back to the World Series. Cespedes for Fulmer at that time was exactly what they needed to put them over the top and Ces carried them into the Post Season almost by himself. Just off the top of my head, Addison Reed absolute steal, Jerry Blevins at the time Absolute Steal, Tyler Clippard absolute steal. Are you even a Mets fan or just trolling? Nimmo, Conforto, Alsonso, all under Regime of Alderson. Syndergaard and d’Arnaud for RA Dickey lol one of the greatest trades if not the best trade he’s ever made! You can hate the man all you want but for the most part he has been extremely successful with a pair of owners who are as cheap as they come.
The Wilpons aren’t cheap, so please stop with the lies.
Regarding Sandy Alderson, I wish him the best. It’s always sobering when illness strikes – and then returns. This is Sandy’s time again to fight.
But as Mets GM, there was more he did poorly than successfully. But as a human being, he grew in his time here as person and GM, far more humble and accountable than when he started in the fall of 2010.
Yeah, I hear Scrooge was really a big spender too. Cratchit was FOS.
Wish him and his family the absolute best and a speedy and full recovery. Having said that…will the powers that be possibly send de Grom to the Bronx? I hope so since sandy won’t even deal with us at all.
“Will powers that be possibly send De Grom to Bronx? I hope so since sandy won’t even deal with us at all.“
I hope so since Wilpons* won’t even deal with us at all.
Fixed it.
Wishing him the best.