Which NY Mets manager has the most career ejections?

There are a few things that will give any manager a chance to own a franchise record for most ejections. One is longevity. You need enough seasons on the job. You need some bad times, too. Most of all, you need a temper. The first two can contradict each other. If you’re employed long enough it’s probably because things have been going mostly well. However, there was a time period when the New York Mets weren’t winning and yet they didn’t change the manager.

With 24 career ejections as the Mets skipper, the owner of getting tossed more than anyone else belongs to Joe Torre. Four more times than Terry Collins who managed 1134 games versus Torre’s 709, the situation was perfect for the future Hall of Fame manager to own this dubious record no one will challenge.

Dark days for the Mets and job stability allowed Joe Torre to set a franchise record no one will beat

Oddly, we almost did get a new record holder. Bobby Valentine, whose ejections live on, was tossed 17 times. Terry Collins had 20 times when the umpire told him to hit the showers. Collins’ tenure is actually a pretty good match to have overtaken Torre. The early seasons were lean. By the time Collins was managing the Mets to victory, the ejections had more importance. His personal-high of 4 in 2015 oddly came at a time when the team was playing its best baseball. We’re fortunate to know his best ejection of all would occur a year later. You know the one.

Torre was in a much different spot while managing the Mets from midway through 1977 through 1981. The team’s 67 wins in 1980 was the most he’d accrue. It was a frustrating period with the team barely showing signs of life. He was ejected 7 times in 1978 and matched the total the following year.

By the end, Torre might’ve gotten more complacent. He was ejected just twice in 1981. 

Never again would he match the 7 ejections (twice!) but he came close in the shortened 1994 season. In his penultimate year employed by the St. Louis Cardinals, Torre was tossed 6 times. 

A much cooler demeanor with the New York Yankees in his 12 years there, every season included at least one ejection with the most coming in his final season when Torre had 3. It was probably easier to stay out of an umpire’s face. His Yankees never lost fewer than 87 games. They happened to beat the Mets in the World Series the year they did.

An even calmer Torre finished his managerial career with three seasons as the Los Angeles Dodgers skipper. In 2009, the team won 95 games and he did something he hadn’t done in his career. Torre went all 162 games without a single ejection.