Wally Backman reached out to Mets for job, but GM Sandy Alderson shut it down in curt e-mail: source https://t.co/KClCdqExDn pic.twitter.com/9QxKuvof8a
— NY Daily News Sports (@NYDNSports) October 30, 2017
Wally Backman asked to come home, back to the New York Mets. General manager Sandy Alderson wouldn’t even consider it.
After a bizarre and ugly break up last year, former World Series champion and Mets minor league manager Wally Backman reached out to Sandy Alderson for a job with the Mets, according to a report by Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News.
He was denied, a source tells Ackert:
“After expressing his interest to the Mets, a source said that Backman received a curt e-mail from Alderson that sounded like a form letter basically saying thanks for the interest, but no thanks.”
Now residing in Mexico to manage winter ball, Backman decided to make one last ditch effort at a return to the team that gave him a second chance back in 2009, when it hired him to manage the Brooklyn Cyclones.
The timing does seem odd, considering it was just last year when Backman openly claimed after both parties had parted ways that Alderson had blackballed him.
Backman is a polarizing figure. Mets fans either love him or hate him. And usually the desperate party is easy to rag on in this type of situation. But maybe both sides should be desperate.
While Backman can only find work south of the border, the Mets minor league system was a disaster in 2017, especially at Triple-A Las Vegas, which finished 56-86 despite having top prospects Amed Rosario and Dominic Smith on its roster most of the season.
Alderson also publicly criticized his organization’s prospects and their preparedness for the big leagues.
Sandy Alderson says players from AAA weren't ready to play in the big league? I guess he shouldn't have let Wally Backman go and done better
— New York Sports Guys (@NYSportsGuys5) October 3, 2017
It seems that both sides could use each other right about now, but it looks like that option isn’t an option at all.
They say you should never burn bridges. Wally is finding that out the hard way.
