No one had more fun at the All-Star Game than Terry Collins. No manager in baseball is having more fun or doing a better job than Collins.
The Mets, quite simply, have saved Collins’ baseball soul.
Dealing with so many young players, Collins said, “Keeps me young. I’m blessed with a lot of great young kids and that’s why we’re in the mix. You try to keep up with them if you can. Otherwise, at my age, I’d be out mowing the grass.
“What is 63, the new 53?’’ he joked. “I’ve loved the game for so long, I’m just going to enjoy it as I start to wind it down.’’
Collins has more life, more energy than men half his age.
“There are nights I get mad and frustrated about things,’’ Collins said. “I get in the car. When I get home, I worry about tomorrow. It’s all about maturity.’’
Players need to mature to succeed. Managers mature, too, and that is what Collins has done. In his two seasons with the Mets, he has been a much different manager than when he last guided a major league team, the Angels in 1999.
“The fire still burns, I’m as competitive as hell,’’ Collins said, “but I realize now, don’t worry about what’s over. Work with somebody, get them better, and, ultimately, if you get them better, you are going to win games.’’
That is the beauty of this Mets setup. Collins relates remarkably well with players.
Listen to David Wright.
“That kind of energy and enthusiasm that he brings is a lot like what we’re built on — he’s a great fit,’’ Wright explained, noting the time Collins spent as Mets minor league field coordinator was a tremendous proving ground. “He had a lot of the guys in the minor leagues and they respected him from Day 1.
“You see how hard he takes it when we don’t play well,’’ Wright added, “and he places the blame on himself, so you want to go out there and battle for a guy like that because how much he cares about us.’’
The best thing Collins has brought to the Mets is a competitive spirit and that is evident in their 46-40 record, a half-game back in the wild-card chase.
“That’s how we all got here,’’ Collins explained of his competitive nature. “We had to have it at the beginning, and it never goes away. I like to beat my wife in golf and bowling, but I don’t beat her very often in bowling.
“I’m having a blast,’’ Collins added.
Most of all, he has been honest about who the Mets are as a team.
“You have to be realistic to know what you lost, but at the same token you’ve got to know what you’ve got,’’ he said. “When I sat this winter I wrote a lineup and said, ‘There’s nothing wrong with my team.’ Jose Reyes isn’t in it anymore. Carlos Beltran isn’t in it anymore, but, gosh, I got Ike Davis for the whole year, and I got a young power hitter in Lucas Duda. I got David Wright. If we get Johan Santana back, we can be something special.
“We knew what we were missing, but we felt we had pieces that would work, and so far they have.’’
The Mets are the surprise team of the NL. That is so fitting because Collins is shocked he ever got this opportunity. He never believed he would get the chance to manage again. When Sandy Alderson called, Collins said he thought, “‘Geez I’m honored you are interviewing me.’ Then when I got it, I was flabbergasted. That’s why I said when I got it, I’m going to enjoy it more than I did the last time.’’
Collins has been true to his word, consistently turning lemons into lemonade, but that’s what you have to do when you’re a Met.
“Damn right,’’ Collins said.
With that he was off, the second half of the season awaits. Terry Collins is raring to go once again.