I have heard many say they don’t want Wally Backman as the next manager of the New York Mets because of the possibility he will embarrass the organization off the field. Many call him a “drunken wife beater,” which obviously paints a negative portrayal of the man. Back in the winter of 2008 I interviewed Backman after he won the independent South Coast League championship. Throughout the day I will be posting portions of that interview on the site. I hope this will educate the readers about a man whom I am supporting to be the next manager of the Mets. I believe it would be a huge mistake for Sandy Alderson to pass up on someone that could be a modern day Davey Johnson.

Here is what Wally told me about the events that led to him being fired as manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks just four days after he was hired:

There was a DUI in 99, everyone said it was 2001, it was actually in 99. I was very embarrassed over it, took full responsibility. Apologized to the fans over the speaker. Apologized to the fans on TV. Was not happy with myself at the time when that happened. It’s almost ten years old. Probably the biggest thing that bothered me, more so than any, was that they tried to make me into a drunken wife beater and I have never hit a women.

What bothered me more than anything was when I did an article with Jeff Pearlman with ESPN this last winter, and I did one with Carl Green with Sports Illustrated. I know that Carl Green had seen the papers, and they tried to make it out, from my first wife, that there was a restraining order put on me, and the reason that it was thrown out was that she didn’t show up to court. That is totally inaccurate it still makes me look guilty. The fact was she was held in contempt of court twice, and she was in court and they threw it out. In reality if you read the stories they wrote it makes me look somewhat guilty, which I wasn’t at all, and it bothers me because you try to be honest with the people and a lot of the people that wrote the stories that they wrote with it not being accurate.

To me the rapport I have with the media in New York, and I am not blaming anybody in New York, but the people I would blame are the Arizona people that started the articles without telling the whole truth.

I am not the only person who’s had a DUI, and believe me I took full responsibility for it. I had this domestic dispute that was with my wife’s girlfriend and I got my arm broken. I never laid a hand on anybody and she hit me with a baseball bat, but yet I had to settle for a harassment charge.

The judge in my town kept trying to tell me, without being able to tell me, I should have taken it all the way to trial. I never could have lost. Probably looking back at it now I wish that I would have because I really believe the domestic part is the biggest reason I lost my job (with Arizona).

Obviously Backman has made some bad decisions in his life. I do not condone domestic violence or drinking and driving. The latter is something that hits close to home, and I know what the abuse of alcohol does to people. With that said, I have talked to Wally Backman a few times over the last two years. He is someone that understands what he did, learned from it, and is ready to make his life all about baseball. Let’s judge the man on what type of manager he can be for the New York Mets. Let’s not take the sanctimonious high ground on a situation that has been misreported in the media.

Note: The Sports Illustrated article reference by Backman was actually written by Karl Greenfeld. I wanted to transcribe the interview in his words, so I kept it as is. If you want to read the piece you can check it out here.

Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host since March of 2007. This website is his own personal "digest" of New York Baseball He's also hosts NYBD Radio on Blog Talk Radio and 1240 AM WGBB. Check out his sports media commentary at www.sportsmediawatchdog.com. Check out his official website, www.mikesilvamedia.com

Mike Silva

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Tags: Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Mets, Sandy Alderson, Wally Backman