This was Port St. Lucie in early March, a time in baseball when nothing seemed impossible, a time of year when you could connect the dots and believe every word you said all through spring, summer, and fall.
Carlos Mendoza was connecting the dots. He was standing in a narrow hallway inside Clover Park with a Fungo bat in his hand, his career record as a major league manager 0-0. He replaced a manager (Buck Showalter) who played 3,418 games. He was a preferred candidate over another manager (Craig Counsell) who oversaw 1,513 games for the Mets.
Most new managers don't talk like Carlos Mendoza did that day when it was raining outside Clover. Do you know young people with an “old soul”? Mendoza was an old-school director. He spoke like a man who had already played thousands of games.
“What I like about this game is we have a lot of guys who want to be here and a lot of guys who want to play hard every day and play winning baseball. We all know there's a right way and a wrong way, but these guys here are all doing it the right way.”
got it. So your next question is probably: “What did you expect him to say?'' You mean we're all excited to lose 105 ball games this year?''
That's fair.
But the problem is that it wasn't what After shaking his hand, I had wished him well for what was almost certainly going to be six months of growing pains and groaning fans, but those words shocked me.
it was how he said so.
It was a brief interaction, a sense of familiarity and obvious respect as the players ran into the clubhouse to take shelter from the rain. One day, Francisco Lindor strolled in, picked up one of my canes, and playfully asked if I wanted to duel him with the other one. Mendoza joked, “Bring your own cane, old man!” Lindor then roared as he ran down the hallway.
It reminded me of both Showalter and Joe Torre. His easy-going demeanor, his decidedly solemn demeanor. Again, this was at a time when he had exactly 13 exhibition games on his resume.
Indeed, to put all of this into some kind of context now that nearly seven months have passed and the Mets are cooling their heels as they wait for the identity of their National League Championship Series opponent to be revealed. It's simple. I could lie and declare, “I saw genius in this man's eyes, sparkle in his soul!''
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You can also pretend you didn't post this to X on May 21st. “#Mets are feeling raw shame right now. Goodness” — and then reposted it three times in the next few days. Maybe that opinion wasn't so ridiculous on May 21st, when they were 21-27 (and would soon sink even deeper), but now it's easier to say, “The captain is the player.'' I knew from the beginning that he would lead us!'', then this is what would happen. You won't believe me and you shouldn't.
Still, it was when the Mets were struggling that Mendoza really found his footing. Mendoza quietly rallied his teammates at a time when City was empty, fans were away, and what felt like two-and-a-half weeks behind the rest of the National League. It wasn't because of a series of team meetings or team meetings. An overturned clubhouse buffet table.
Brandon Nimmo recently said, “He was the same guy in May as he is now in September.”
Pete Alonso said, “He believes in you without giving you any hint that he's just blowing smoke up your ass.” I know what he truly believes. And if he believes, so should you. ”
You see, management is a fickle game. Two years ago, Showalter couldn't buy a meal anywhere in the five boroughs or suburbs, but now he's waiting for his time on TV. Mendoza's old manager, Aaron Boone, has won 58.4 percent of all games he has coached, which is better than players like Casey Stengel, Joe Torre, and Billy Martin (to name three among many). exceeds. Every game he wrestles now feels like a referendum on his future.
Mendoza is probably a one-hit wonder. It's still a work in progress, for sure. But looking at his work so far, it's hard not to think he has staying power. And it's not just because the Mets are only four games away from the World Series. Because even though he's been doing a great job lately, he was still spot on when the Mets were four games removed from having the worst record in the National League.
