Mets Infielder Wilmer Flores talks Tim Teufel

Tuesday night at the Thurman Munson Awards Dinner benefitting the AHRC NYC, Wilmer Flores had a bit to say about the former Mets third base coach.

Read it for yourself. Flores had the following to say regarding Tim Teufel:

"“He always helped me. He basically taught me how to play the position. He helped me a lot.”“I was surprised. I really liked working with him. I am glad he is still around.”"

Flores went on to say that the players were never told a reason for this change at third.

I mean, we can all take a wild guess, right?

Well, Flores, you may be the only one surprised regarding this move. Do you not remember that time he sent you home, on multiple occasions, where you were thrown out at the plate?

One vivid memory, that I’m sure you all remember and I’m sorry I’m about to make you relive it, is when the Mets lost to the Braves 4-3 back in June. There were no outs in the ninth, Flores tried to score from first, but was thrown out at the plate. Wait, not only was he thrown out, but he was injured in a collision at home… resulting in a season-ending injury.

Of course it’s interesting to me after all this to hear that Flores is the one speaking out about Tefuel. I’m sure he did learn from the former player, but of course many Mets fans have a bad taste in our mouths after all the runners sent home that very much should not have been sent home this past season. And of course from this Flores injury, obviously.

Anyways, for those of you who missed the earlier news regarding Teufel and are a bit confused now as to what I’m even talking about, back in November the team announced that Teufel would no longer be serving as their third base coach.

The team hired Glenn Sherlock from the Arizona Diamondbacks to fill this position. Not too long after this announcement, the Mets named Teufel as a club ambassador and a MInor League infield instructor throughout their farm system.

Next: Ty Kelly has been designated for assignment

As Tefuel was an important part of the 1986 team, and as he clearly has had an impact on the current players as evidenced by Flores, it’s good to see that he will still be part of the organization in some capacity.