The New York Mets might still be licking their wounds after their five-game World Series loss to the Kansas City Royals, but they didn't waste much time rewarding the manager who helped get them to the Fall Classic.
According to Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News on Tuesday, the Mets and Terry Collins agreed to a new two-year deal. Collins, who made about $1.1 million in 2015, will get a raise. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported the new deal is worth "about" $3 million over the two years.
The Mets confirmed sides had reached a deal on Wednesday.
Collins completed his fifth season with the Mets in 2015, which was by far his most successful with the club as he managed it to a divisional title and National League pennant.
He had to avoid the ax a few times to get to this point over the past few seasons. Per Ackert, the Mets came close to firing Collins at the end of the 2014 season, when "Alderson was quoted as saying that they were 51 percent to 50 percent on bringing him back."
Even in July of this season before a deal brought in slugger Yoenis Cespedes, who helped turn the offense around, Ackert said there was a possibility that Collins would be on his way out. But a scorching stretch to end the season in which the Mets went 38-22 saved him.
The 66-year-old has created a winning culture in the clubhouse and seems like the epitome of a player's manager.
It wasn't any more evident than after the Mets' Game 5 elimination loss in the World Series, when he spoke to the media, per the Associated Press' Ronald Blum (via Yahoo Sports). His decision to let starting pitcher Matt Harvey, who dominated headlines toward the end of the season with an innings-limit controversy, go back in for the ninth inning proved to be a costly one as the Royals plated two in the frame before clinching their first championship in 30 years soon after:
Obviously I let my heart get in the way of my gut. I love my players. And I trust them. And so I said, 'Go get 'em out.' ... When you looked in this kid's eyes, when he came off that inning, he's been through a tough summer. He's been beaten down, and I just trusted him. I said, 'You got it. You've earned this. So go get 'em.' So it's my fault. It's not his.
Winning helps solve everything, especially in an instant-gratification city like New York. But a manager who has handled the big market in New York while making sure his players come first is certainly a bonus.
With a staff of young power arms as the cornerstone to a franchise that has tasted success for the first time in almost a decade, Collins has been rewarded for his patience and directing in the dugout. Now he has an opportunity to move forward with a team looking to defend a National League crown.
Stats courtesy of Mets.com.
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