Backman Criticism Smells of Hypocrisy
By Mike Silva ~ August 4th, 2009. Filed under: Mike Silva.
Mike, wow, we just got rid of Bernazard and his horrible temper and here you want the Mets to hire a man with history of same to replace him? Unbelievable
At some point Met fans need to get over 1986, what with in being over two decades ago
This might be the stupidest thing I’ve ever read
I’ve got passion, I’ve got desire, and you can hear it in my voice. I also don’t have a history of DUI’s, financial issues, and temper tantrums, like Backman does
U (sic) fire one guy for being a jerk but want to bring a wife beater to replace him??
Fan Responses to Mets Should Hire Wally Backman for Player Development
Toby Hyde of Mets Minor League Blog wrote a great piece about the issues that have plagued Backman off the field and in independent baseball. What he put on his blog is exactly what professional baseball people bring up when you discuss Wally Backman. I understand the skepticism about suggesting Wally, who has not worked in a front office capacity, for the role of “Director of Player Development”. That was my out of the box idea, not Backman’s, but when I broached it to him he felt it’s a job that he could excel at due to his history of recognizing talent , teaching, and working with young ballplayers. What disappoints me most about the fan reaction is they focused on off the field issues, none of which has anything to do with talent evaluation, as prime reasons not to hire him for any position in the organization. This isn’t just unfair, it’s downright hypocritical. Unfortunately their reaction is shared by some in the baseball circles.
Tonight the St. Louis Cardinals come into town. Their manager, Tony LaRussa, was arrested for a DUI back in the spring. How has that impacted the team? Should the Cardinals have fired him on the spot? These same fans that condemn Backman probably were hoping the Jets signed Plaxico Burress if he had avoided jail time. Has Backman done any worse than some of his former teammates? I love Strawberry, Gooden, and Hernandez, but they have checkered pasts as well. Should SNY not allow Mex and Straw to work? Should Doc be banned from Yankee Stadium Old Timer’s Day and Citi Field? You do know Tim Teufel, a Mets coach, was arrested back in 1986 for a bar fight?
The point being is you can’t judge a man based on past mistakes. I am not going to get into all the incidents in this piece, Wally addressed this on the show last year, and, if he so inclines, I will offer him to clarify again in the future. I can tell you that many of those who left comments don’t know the facts. I am not condoning a domestic dispute, drunk driving, or on the field outburst. I just don’t think Backman has done anything that should prevent him from being hired by one of the 30 MLB teams.
I would also take his incidents in the South Coast League with a grain of salt. The information decimated was highly inaccurate, Wally, and the one reliable independent source, John Fitzgerald of Playing for Peanuts, clarified that on the air. I also did some research on the South Coast League. That wasn’t exactly a professionally run operation. Ironically, some of those involved are still working, but Backman is not.
Ask yourself, regardless of what team you root for, if all its employees have perfect pasts. Just because you don’t hear about it in the news doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened. What about all these scouts and executives that stole money from international players? Want to bet they get another job? All I am asking is the New York Mets, an organization we are all familiar with, talk to Wally Backman. They need someone with his baseball skills in the organization. Whether that would be in coaching or player development is up to the well paid powers that be over there. This organizations player development is too barren to be playing politics with potential candidates. To deny him employment because of his past mistakes is just not wrong, it’s small minded and hypocritical.
August 4th, 2009 at 10:32 am
Just hiring Wally into the minor league system would be a PR coup for an organization that needs something positive to talkabout. Let’s face it, there are probably very few organization people at the minor league level that deserve to keep their jobs, Bernazard or no Bernazard. Not hiring him makes it much more of an issue than pretending they are upholding some standard.
August 4th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
Happy Jack,
Great comment! I think you identified a major rpoblem in the Mets organization as the PR department has been botching the public image for years. However, the organization needs a bit of a house cleaning. I don’t feel like organizational personal to trying to perform to their highest levels. Like any other job, the Minaya and Co. regime just might have gotton complacent. Backman brings something valuable to the organization. However, I think he would need to motivated to improve the other parts of his personality that can be toxic. Wally is not an “in the middle” type of personality. He’s either achieving high levels of success or a complete disaster. I think Wally would give a lot of personality and fire to the organization that I don’t think they have now. The Wilpon’s are typical corporate executives excelling at being status quo. It seems funny but look at the spoofy direct TV commercials and I guarentee the meetings with the team and SNY are very similiar to that. When was the last time you saw a real new and unique idea come out of the organization? This is the part that needs to change that seperates them from other organizations.
August 4th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Not that I have firsthand knowledge, but it seems like the issue with Backman isn’t just about the “off-field” issues. Backman and Tim Teufel aren’t equivalent just because Teufel had a DUI. Backman appears to be a guy who is, by temperament, on the edge a lot of the time, and he hasn’t shown that you can rely on him to take a stable and consistent approach to things.
The organization’s current development philosophy has them bringing a lot of young players from Latin American into the system. I’m trying to imagine Wally Backman communicating with these 16-, 17-, and 18-year-olds in a supportive and effective way. I don’t know the guy, but based on what I’ve read, that’s a picture that doesn’t compute.
August 5th, 2009 at 11:50 am
Actually this is where Backman excels. Not only is he supportive and communicates well, these kids know what is expected and want to play for him. Take a look at what Ron Darling says about Backman’s managerial style:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oakaFP1RyEM
Watch the Playing for Peanuts DVD, the players love playing for him and he works hard on there behalf. Even when he “loses it” it is protecting them. And Wally’s on field show is no different than Leylands, Penellas, Weavers, Martins and other well established and often great managers. It has always been part of baseball, and let’s hope it will always be.
Give him a job
August 9th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Make Wally a Met again. He has paid his dues.
His love for baseball has been demonstrated by his tours with
semi-amateur teams at Joliet and Georgia.
The frustration he conveys when he loses, needs to felt my these Mets.