Big news out of New York coming from Adam Rubin at ESPNNY.com -- Buffalo Baseball Hall of Famer Terry Collins is going to be named the new manager of the Mets.
Collins, who served last year as the Mets' minor-league field coordinator, got the job over fellow finalists Bob Melvin, Chip Hale and Wally Backman. Collins is 61 now and says he has mellowed from his authoritarian days leading the Astros and Angels. But that's what we loved about him in Buffalo, when he managed the Bisons from 1989-1991, and it's what the Mets need more of in the wake of the regime of the ultra-soft Jerry Manuel.
The Mets' development philosophy completely turned in one year under Collins, who helped transform the Bisons from embarrassments in 2009 to contenders in 2010 and cemented the Mets' stay in Buffalo. Now we see what he can do with the big-league club under new GM Sandy Alderson.
Rubin put together this neat list of Collins tidbits, most of which came after he left Buffalo. But No. 10 is right on in reviewing his days at then-Pilot Field. Had Buffalo been a 1993 expansion winner, there's no question Bob Rich was hiring Collins as his first manager.
The Mets need a ton of help on the field but they've made huge strides in the offseason in the front office and dugout. Here's hoping it continues.
---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)
