Mets general manager search limited by ownership’s old ways

The New York Mets are searching for a new general manager. Sadly, the ownership may limit the candidates.

The New York Mets general manager search should headline any stories about the team until Jacob deGrom officially wins his Cy Young Award. Unfortunately, the owners aren’t making that storyline an easy one to stomach.

In today’s analytic-driven sports world, the Wilpons don’t seem ready to adjust. We all knew that but recently received a little more confirmation.

According to a recently published article on the New York Post, a “person with knowledge of the Wilpons’ thinking” said Fred Wilpon would “blow his brains out” if someone were to explain analytics to him.

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These harsh words, said with a bit of hyperbole (maybe), show just how behind on the times the Wilpon Way is. I don’t think any of us can believe Fred Wilpon would literally blow his brains out at the thought of hearing someone tell him about a pitcher’s FIP. However, we can all safely assume he’d absolutely refuse to hire anyone for the general manager’s chair who values these kind of numbers.

The Mets’ general manager job should be one of the most desirable in sports. Instead, it’s becoming one many are passing on. With the knowledge that the owners call the shots, many promising and talented executives are looking for careers elsewhere.

The worst thing to happen to the Mets this year may have been the loss of Sandy Alderson. Think whatever you want about him. The man helped build a World Series squad.

Alderson managed to make smart moves in recent years. Trading Jon Niese for Neil Walker and signing Asdrubal Cabrera after the 2015 run worked out well. Neither helped get them beyond the 2016 Wild Card Game so we forget about those transactions.

Whoever does get the general manager job (in name only) will have two Wilpons to answer to. And sadly, based on this quote from an anonymous source, it would seem any intelligent candidate they hire will need to talk down to the owners.

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As boring as baseball can be at times in 2018, there’s truth in the data. It’s fairly obvious there’s little interest from the owners to move in a more progressive direction. Because of this, they may once again be left behind.