where were you when the Mets fired Willie Randolph? I was in the Vatican Museums in Rome, Italy! JUNE 17, 2008: On this day last year, the Mets management had enough with Willie Randolph. In the wee hours after the Mets had beaten the Los Angeles Angels 9-6 in Anaheim, Willie was fired as Mets manager. The Randolph era came to an end after 3 1/2 years. Willie’s record was 302-253, the second-highest winning percentage in franchise history, trailing only Davey Johnson.
In Randolph's 1st year at the helm 2005, the Mets had played better than they had in four years finishing over .500 in 3rd place. In 2006 they won their 1st NL east title in 18 years and fell one game short of the World Series. 2007 was a disappointment as they blew a 7 game lead with 17 left to play, including a loss on the final day of the season. The Mets were struggling in 2008, playing at around .500 in 4th place at the time of Willie’s firing. Along with Willie, coaches Rick Peterson, & Tom Nieto also went packing. Randolph was still owed 2.2 million dollars on his salary.
In a press conference the next day, GM Omar Minaya, announced Mets bench coach Jerry Manuel, would take over as interim manager. The axing of Randolph came less than a week after Minaya told reporters Randolph had the support of the teams ownership. Under Manuel the Mets would play much better but still miss out on the playoffs. Again losing to the Marlins on the last day of the season, finishing second. In 2009 Randolph is bench coach for the Milwaukee Brewers and Jerry Manuel was named Mets manager.
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