Wally Backman Fired From Joliet
By Mike Silva ~ July 31st, 2009. Filed under: Independent Baseball.
John Fitzgerald of Small Ball has reported that the Joliet Jackhammers have fired former Mets 2b Wally Backman. Joliet plays in the independent Northern League and has been under .500 since Backman took over.
I was one of the first, back in June of 2007, to interview John and report on Wally’s return to coaching with the now defunct South Georgia Peanuts. In November of that same year, Backman did an hour long interview talking about his off the field problems that eventually got him fired from the Arizona Diamondbacks, inaccurate media accounts, and his managing philosophy. To this day he was one of the best baseball people I have ever talked to about coaching and player development.
Last night I called Wally after the news and talked to him. He is in good spirits and understands that Joliet has underperformed that last two seasons. He still burns with the desire to coach, in any capacity, in affiliated baseball. Obviously 2009 could be a wash since we are hours away from the month of August and most minor league seasons end September 1st.
Stay tuned for more about Wally and how he could help a ballclub at NYBD.
In the interim, click here to download an old interview I did with Wally in 2007. Some of our older equipment didn’t hold the most crisp sound quality, but it’s a solid interview and worth 45 minutes of your time. Will give you a chance to get to know Wally Backman the manager and why he should be running a ballclub.
