If it was up to Dwight Gooden, the next Mets manager would be Wally Backman.
“I think he would be a great manager for them,” Gooden said. “I remember when we played together, he was totally locked into the game and knew the game.”
But Gooden said he thinks the former second baseman would be the right choice for more than his baseball knowledge.
“He’d demand the best out of his players,” Gooden said. “And if you don’t have a player that is loud and gets in your face, then you’ve gotta have a manager that does it. And I don’t see a guy on the team — and maybe I’m wrong — that does that. So I think Wally would bring that.”
Backman is expected to get a second interview with new general manager Sandy Alderson next week as the managerial search continues — something Gooden has been following closely.
“I think they’re headed in the right direction with Sandy,” Gooden said. “His track record is pretty good. He seems like the right guy to be in charge.”
The former Met was at Citi Field last night, attending a fundraiser for NephCure, an organization that is raising awareness of Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis — a kidney disease that attacks the organ’s filtering system. Gooden’s father suffered from kidney disease.
Gooden is also close to Charlie Samuels, the team’s clubhouse manager who is suspended indefinitely while under investigation by the NYPD and the Queens DA for allegedly betting on baseball, as well as a host of other transgressions.
“I was totally shocked when I heard about that,” Gooden said. “I was in his wedding and he would do anything for you, but he doesn’t seem like the type of guy who would get involved in the stuff he’s been accused of.”
Gooden said he reached out to Samuels since the investigation became public, but hadn’t talked to him.
“He’s still a friend,” Gooden said. “I think this is more of an individual thing, but it’s unfortunate that he’s an employee of the Mets and makes the organization look bad. But their focus should be in putting a good product on the field.”