If Mickey Callaway didn’t have the Mets at “hello,” he certainly had them at “goodbye.”
By the time the 42-year-old Indians pitching coach finished his initial interview with Mets officials last week for the team’s vacant managerial seat, the next step was obvious to general manager Sandy Alderson: Cancel the planned second round of discussions with candidates.
“We ended the first round and decided there was one man for the job,” Alderson said Monday at Citi Field, where Callaway was introduced as the 21st manager in Mets history.
The Mets spent the ensuing days last week wooing Callaway, in case there was any doubt in his mind he should take the job. Callaway’s courtship included a three-hour lunch with Mets co-owner Fred Wilpon.
But Callaway, who also was pursued by the Phillies, insisted any hard sell by the Mets was unnecessary.
“I called my wife after the interview and it was on speaker phone and my two girls were in the back,” Callaway said. “And after I hung up one of them said, ‘Dad was so excited, that was great.’ Of course I couldn’t tell [the Mets] that. But I am the most excited guy in the world right now.”
Kevin Long, Manny Acta, Joe McEwing and Alex Cora were the other known candidates for the job — Cora was named Red Sox manager on Sunday — but Alderson revealed the club also interviewed Mark DeRosa for the opening, giving the Mets a sixth finalist. Alderson said his initial list of candidates included 35 names to replace Terry Collins, who resigned this month.
What appealed to Alderson about Callaway?
“I think his commitment to collaboration, and I say that not just with a view toward the front office, but the coaching staff as well, sort of that vertical and horizontal level of collaboration that I think will be important,” Alderson said. “We want to get the best we can out of our coaching staff, we want to get the best we can out of our players, communication, rapport, empathy, all those things that make a personal connection are what sustain a team over 162 games.”
Callaway offered no promises about performance from a team that spiraled to 70-92, fourth in the NL East in 2017 after two straight postseason appearances, but guaranteed there would be a connection between the manager’s office and players.
“We are going to care more about the players than anyone ever has before,” Callaway said. “And we’re going to know they are human beings and individuals, and this is going to be a group that feels that every day we come to the clubhouse, and that is going to be our main concern.
“We know they are human beings and their numbers or stats are going to be a byproduct of how durable, prepared and aggressive they are, and that’s it. We’re not going to have expectations on numbers.”
Callaway, who agreed to a three-year contract that includes a club option for 2021, spent the last five seasons as Terry Francona’s pitching coach in Cleveland. During that stretch, the Indians’ pitching staff was among the best in the major leagues, anchored by the likes of Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer and Carlos Carrasco.
“People are reluctant to name pitching coaches as managers, but in our situation, short-term, pitching is everything, so I think it was a positive factor in his case,” Alderson said.
Callaway cited a rotation that, if healthy, should include Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey and Steven Matz as the biggest reason for optimism in 2018.
“The team itself, the pitching is something that can be some of the greatest guys on the planet,” Callaway said.
A former pitcher whose major league career was limited to 40 appearances over five seasons, Callaway began his coaching in the Indians’ minor league system in 2010. Three years later he was hired as Francona’s pitching coach. And Callaway would like to believe he absorbed enough from Francona to succeed in his new position.
“[Francona] is the best out there, bar none,” Callaway said. “I couldn’t have been under anybody better to prepare me for this job in New York City.”