Mets’ season ‘rollercoaster’ of emotions
After an emotionally draining season, Mickey Callaway knew how to describe his season with the Mets.
On the final day of an emotionally draining season, Mickey Callaway knew exactly how to describe what he just went through with the New York Mets.
“It’s been a roller-coaster ride,” the rookie manager said. “There definitely were highs and lows.”
New York said goodbye to captain David Wright, general manager Sandy Alderson and former ace Matt Harvey.
Jacob deGrom delivered a Cy Young-caliber performance that went to waste.
Zack Wheeler and Brandon Nimmo had breakout years. Yoenis Cespedes and Jay Bruce got derailed by injuries. Harvey, Jeurys Familia and Asdrubal Cabrera were traded away.
There was pain and frustration. There was pride in deGrom. There were electric nights and empty seats at Citi Field.
And a sizzling start was wiped out by June, making the solid finish a formality.
At the end of it all, the Mets went 77-85 and came in fourth in the NL East. It was a seven-win improvement over last year, but a second consecutive
losing season marked a major disappointment for a team that spent nearly $90 million to fill holes in free agency and entered April with October aspirations.
“I think there’s a lot more in the tank for these guys. I think the effort was there, but I don’t think we got out of them what we should have gotten out of them,” chief operating
officer Jeff Wilpon said Sunday.
The first order of business in trying to change that will be hiring a new general manager.
Alderson stepped down with a stunning announcement in late June, saying his cancer had returned. Assistant GM John Ricco and special assistants J.P. Ricciardi and Omar Minaya
ran baseball operations the rest of the season, but Wilpon said the next boss will come from outside the organization.
He said the search will be “very broad” and include “some untraditional candidates.” He’d prefer to have someone in place by the general managers’ meetings next month. If not, then by the winter meetings in December.