The Mets Need To Actually Commit To Carlos Mendoza

After failing to bring Craig Counsell to Queens, the New York Mets recently hired Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza to be the 25^th manager in franchise history. He is taking over for Buck Showalter who was fired in October. Mendoza is also the Met’s fourth managerial hire in the last six years. Mendoza is stepping into a role where the last three predecessors haven’t lasted longer than two seasons. If the Mets want to have success, they are going to need to give Carlos Mendoza longer than two years.

The Mets Are Still A New York Mess

No matter who owns the team, whether it’s the Wilpons or Steve Cohen, the New York Mets still seem to be an unstable mess. Since Terry Collins resigned in 2017, no manager the Mets have hired has made it past two seasons. In the past five seasons, the team has gone through Mickey Callaway, Luis Rojas, and Buck Showalter. During that span, the Mets have only gone to the postseason once and didn’t advance past the wild-card round. All three of those managers haven’t managed other teams since their time in Queens. It is one of many mistakes this team keeps making that is preventing them from being a consistent contender. This is also the reason why this team hasn’t been able to win a championship despite Steve Cohen shattering payroll records.

The Importance Of Continuity

Continuity with a manager ultimately determines how successful a team will be in the long term. It doesn’t matter how much money a team spends on free agents. If a team keeps shuffling through managers, they’ll never find an identity and success will be hard to obtain. Unfortunately, the Mets haven’t figured this out. Given how many managers they’ve gone through, the team seems to be letting the fans and the callers on WFAN influence their decisions. If the Mets keep firing managers after just two years then no top candidate will want to even interview for the job. If the Mets are smart, they’ll view Craig Counsell’s declined offer as a warning sign of things to come if the team doesn’t change its ways.

Mendoza Has Been Around The New York Pressure

Mendoza has spent the last five seasons on the Yankees coaching staff. During this time the Yankees went to the postseason five times in six years and won two AL East titles. One advantage that Mendoza has is that he understands just how hard it is to play in New York. While he hasn’t been the person getting in front of the media, Mendoza has at least been around the New York pressure. This will mean that he’ll have an easier time transitioning to being the guy who runs the show on the field. He also filled in as the acting manager while Aaron Boone was suspended this past season.

The Mets Need To Make This Work

Mendoza has a lot in common with a couple of his predecessors. Just like Luis Rojas in 2020, Carlos Mendoza wasn’t the team’s first choice when it came to hiring a manager. New York was originally interested in luring Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell to the Big Apple. However, Craig Counsell turned the Mets down to become the Chicago Cubs manager. After failing to get Counsell, New York decided to hire Mendoza away from the New York Yankees. While Mendoza may not have been their first choice, New York better find a way to buy into his program otherwise this team will continue to be stuck in the mud.

Patience Will Be Needed

Just like Mickey Callaway and Luis Rojas before him, Mendoza is a first-time manager at the major league level. Although he has some experience when he filled in for Aaron Boone for a game. Every first-time big-league manager has a lot to learn before they truly know what they’re doing. Mendoza isn’t an exception to this rule. The Mets are going to have to have some patience if the club wants to have success. This means allowing Mendoza to grow into the job and giving him longer than two years to win. If the Mets don’t start having continuity with the managers they hire, this team won’t have success no matter how much money Steve Cohen spends.

The Mets Need Continuity In The Clubhouse

For the past six years, continuity with managers has been non-existent in Flushing. Since Terry Collins resigned in 2017, no manager the Mets have hired has made it past two seasons. It was perhaps a big reason why Craig Counsell decided to turn down Steve Cohen’s money for the Cubs. Unless the team starts having patience with the managers they hire, no future top candidates will even want to be interviewed. Worst of all it’ll be a while before the Mets have another ticker tape parade.

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