5 reasons why this Mets team is so beloved by the fans

3. Buck Showalter was the perfect managerial hire for the Mets, and this team is so well-coached. 

When was the last time you could say the Mets had an incredible in-game leader of men? I haven’t noticed much of it from the franchise until this year. The Mets simply couldn’t afford to do another two-and-done manager hire after the disasters of Mickey Callaway and Luis Rojas. Buck Showalter was the perfect hire for this win-now team.

Showalter has endeared himself to Mets fans for a variety of reasons. They range from him standing up for his team after all the hit-by-pitches this season to his post-game wisdom, but most importantly, surrounding his team with the right coaches and personnel. The Mets have the best challenge rate in all of baseball by a colossal margin, and Showalter credits his replay guy for giving him the right buttons.  

Keeping Jeremy Hefner as their pitching coach was a huge plus, and he lured Eric Chavez away from the Yankees to be the Mets’ hitting coach. Glenn Sherlock was another strong hire to be the bench coach (he previously worked for Buck Showalter with the Yankees and the Diamondbacks). 

Showalter has gotten his team to hustle, to pay attention to proper detail, and he played a huge role in instruction on the field, and it was evident in spring training that it would translate to great play on the field.