Keith Hernandez New York Mets
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New York Mets color commentator and former first baseman Keith Hernandez believes Carlos Beltrán will show great leadership as a manager.

Last week, the New York Mets finally concluded their search for a new manager. They ultimately decided to hire Carlos Beltrán, who played centerfield for the organization from 2005-11. Beltrán will now look to man the coaching staff and lead this team to a postseason appearance.

The keyword in the previous sentence is “lead.” As a manager, you need to show leadership and accountability in that dugout when it comes to both on-field and off-field decisions.

When discussing the newly-hired manager, former Mets first baseman and current color commentator Keith Hernandez said he believes Beltrán possesses those necessary authoritative qualities.

“The players will look up to him,” Hernandez said. “A manager has to lead. Players want to be led, and I think that he’ll provide that.”

Prior to the hire of Beltrán, there were concerns that tensions were still afloat between him and the organization. The once-rocky relationship stemmed from a disagreement over knee surgery in 2010. This led to Beltrán’s trade to the San Francisco Giants in 2011. However, the tensions are evidently in the past.

The managerial search encompassed numerous interviews with a multitude of candidates. Prospective managers included Eduardo Pérez, Tim Bogar, Pat Murphy, Joe Girardi, to name a few. The latter came to an agreement with the Philadelphia Phillies prior to the Mets hiring Beltrán.

Carlos will now do his best to lead a ballclub that was in this past year’s playoff hunt until the final week of the regular season.

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Ryan Honey is a staff writer and host of the Wide Right Podcast.