Remembering Mets History (1999) Mets General Manager Steve Phillips Fires Three of Bobby Valentines Coaches
In the off season the team had spent $165 million to upgrade the
team. They were considered a wild card favorite, possibly even a challenge
for the mighty Atlanta Braves. But at this point they were 27-28 in third place.
After the Saturday afternoon game, game, there was a heated meeting, where Mets Manager Bobby Valentine & GM Steve Phillips vented their disagreements as well as their personal frustrations of each other.
After the Saturday afternoon game, game, there was a heated meeting, where Mets Manager Bobby Valentine & GM Steve Phillips vented their disagreements as well as their personal frustrations of each other.
Next to the shock of Bobby Valentine, Phillips said he was firing three of his coaches. They were called into the GM's office & fired as Valentine watched in disbelief.First went pitching coach & former Mets pitcher, Bob Apodaca. "Dac" had been with the organization for 28 years before being let go.
Over the previous two years, Apodaca had been credited with the Mets pitching success.
The 1998 staff had come in fourth place in league ERA & sixth in wins (88). Prior to that the 1997 staff was fourth in victories (88) & second in innings pitched & walks.
Valentine had once insisted that Apodaca get signed to his coaching staff, in order for him to ink a deal as manager. But at this point in 1999, the staff ERA was at 4.84 (12th among the 16 NL teams) & every starting pitcher had a personal ERA over five.
Quotes- Bob Apodaca: " All I know is that over the past three years, I have been prepared for every game & the pitchers have been prepared for every game. All I can say, is if I'm responsible for Al Leiter's knee, Bobby Jones' shoulder & for Rick Reed being on the DL, then I've got to go."
On the other end, GM Steve Phillips said he didn't like the way Apodaca was handling the staff. Phillips stated that one pitcher went as far as saying if Apodaca was fired, no one would complain.
Valentine had once insisted that Apodaca get signed to his coaching staff, in order for him to ink a deal as manager. But at this point in 1999, the staff ERA was at 4.84 (12th among the 16 NL teams) & every starting pitcher had a personal ERA over five.
On the other end, GM Steve Phillips said he didn't like the way Apodaca was handling the staff. Phillips stated that one pitcher went as far as saying if Apodaca was fired, no one would complain.
Quotes- Steve Phillips: "We needed to make changes with the people who had the most immediate contact & responsibility with those departments. These are some areas where we are succeeding but not finishing the job. Other areas like pitching, we just aren't getting the job done."Also getting the axe, were hitting coach Tom Robson, who had been with Valentine since his first managerial stint with the Texas Rangers.
The Mets were eighth in runs scored but were leading the league in on base %. Strangely, Robson would be brought back the next season, mostly to appease Valentine. That year the Mets would win the NL Pennant.
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| Tom Robson |
The Bullpen coach, Randy Niemann was also let go, although the bullpen had been the best part of the pitching staff up to that point. Nieman was a member of the 1986 Championship team & had spent 12 years coaching at various levels in the organization.
Needless to say, Bobby Valentine was furious at the actions taken on his staff.
Steve Phillips claimed, the team had no intentions of firing Valentine & that he was their guy.
Needless to say, Bobby Valentine was furious at the actions taken on his staff.
Steve Phillips claimed, the team had no intentions of firing Valentine & that he was their guy.
Valentine would take the Mets to two straight post season appearances, including an NL Championship in 2000.
Dave Wallace was named the new pitching coach, Mickey Brantley the new hitting coach & former Met pitcher, a fan favorite, Al Jackson the new bullpen coach.
Dave Wallace was named the new pitching coach, Mickey Brantley the new hitting coach & former Met pitcher, a fan favorite, Al Jackson the new bullpen coach.
The other three coaches, first base coach Mookie Wilson, third base coach Cookie Rojas & bench Coach Bruce Benedict were left untouched.The next night, the Mets broke their losing streak on ESPN's Sunday Night baseball.
They beat up on Roger Clemens, breaking up his personal win streak. The Mets knocked him off the mound by the third inning after he had surrendered seven runs on seven hits, including a two run Mike Piazza HR.
Quotes- Bobby Valentine: "Is there precedent in the business? I was just wondering if anybody after 50 games in baseball ever jumped off the ship because three of his coaches were fired. Has that ever been done before?"
The shake up may have worked, as the Mets went on to win 40 of their next 55 games.
They would tie for a wild card spot at the end of the regular season, then beat the Cincinnati Reds in a tie breaker game. They won the NLDS beating the Arizona Diamondbacks but then lost the NLCS to the Atlanta Braves in six games.