New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson earned Executive of the Year honors from Baseball America on Tuesday for building a roster that carried the organization to a World Series appearance.
Adam Rubin of Baseball America noted Alderson's "build-from-within approach" over the past five years has set the Mets up for long-term success. He also passed along comments from special assistant J.P. Ricciardi about the GM's ability to lead a franchise: "Sandy is the best leader I've ever been around. He lets you do your job. He respects you. And he wants your input. In the world today, his 'yes' means yes and his 'no' means no. That's one of the best things about him. He's always in the forefront. He's not afraid to take arrows. He's just a great leader."
New York posted a 90-72 record during the regular season to win the NL East by seven games over the Washington Nationals. Although the Mets were a team on the ascent, overcoming the favored Nationals in 2015 amounted to an early arrival on the championship scene.
They did it with a young pitching staff that featured Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz. It's a combination of players acquired by Alderson and holdovers from the previous regime who he refused to deal while rebuilding the roster and farm system.
The newly crowned Executive of the Year also made moves during the campaign to bolster an offense that struggled early on. Yoenis Cespedes was the most notable addition, but Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe were also among those added to provide much needed depth.
All told, Alderson has pulled all of the right strings since taking control of the Mets in 2010. He understood the process was going to take time while awaiting the organization's young pitching and didn't try to speed things up by moving a Harvey or a deGrom, which isn't easy in the impatient New York market.
His efforts paid off with a trip to the World Series. Although the Mets fell short against the Kansas City Royals, they are built to contend for a title in the foreseeable future thanks to Alderson's efforts.
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