NEW YORK (AP) New York Mets manager Terry Collins will resign after the team’s final game this season, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.
The Mets were finishing up Sunday at Philadelphia. New York began the day with a 70-91 record.
The person, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because there was no official announcement, said Collins would take a front office position with the team. The Atlantic website first reported the move.
”It’s baseball,” Collins said pregame, before word of his departure spread. ”I’ve spent my whole life in it. There’s good days, bad days, good years and bad years. You have to be able to deal with them all. You can’t just ride the wave all the time. You have to move on.”
When Collins and Phillies manager Pete Mackanin exchanged lineup cards at home plate, the two men hugged before walking away.
It was announced on Friday that Mackanin would not return as Phillies manager in 2018. Instead, he will transfer to a front office role as senior adviser to general manager Matt Klentak.
The 68-year-old Collins, the oldest manager in the majors, had said he had no plans to retire after this season and would like to keep working until age 70 – even if that meant somewhere else in baseball.
His two-year contract was set to expire after this year. The Mets have long been expected to make significant changes following a drastically disappointing season derailed by injuries and underperformance.
The New York Post reported last Wednesday that longtime pitching coach Dan Warthen, who predates even Collins on the staff, is likely to be let go. And in the past few days, things turned particularly ugly amid anonymously sourced reports of sniping by players and friction between Collins and the front office – partly over how he’s handled the bullpen.
”Terry’s a great person. He’s helped me out a lot through my baseball career,” catcher Travis d’Arnaud said after the Mets’ home finale Wednesday. ”He’s been a tremendous help for me. He’s an amazing person. Fiery person, and definitely molds a lot of players and brings out the fire in a lot of guys.”
Collins guided New York to a second consecutive playoff appearance last year. He took a 551-582 record in seven seasons managing the club into the final day.
Collins has managed more games than anyone else in Mets history and ranks second to Davey Johnson (595) in wins.
General manager Sandy Alderson is finishing up a three-year contract but is widely expected to return even though the injury-ravaged Mets dropped out of the NL East race early this year.
Two years ago, Alderson and Collins directed New York to its first pennant since 2000. Alderson was diagnosed with cancer that fall and had surgery, but he kept working full-time while undergoing chemotherapy treatments. He turns 70 in November and recently said he would address his future with the team after the season ended.
After beginning 2017 with World Series ambitions that certainly seemed legitimate, New York instead slogged through its worst season this decade. By mid-to-late August, Alderson had traded away a string of veteran regulars who can become free agents in the offseason, including Jay Bruce, Lucas Duda, Curtis Granderson, Addison Reed and Neil Walker.
All were shipped to playoff contenders in exchange for minor leaguers. Alderson also acquired reliever AJ Ramos from Miami for two prospects just days before the July 31 trade deadline. In total, the moves shaved $10.3 million off New York’s $156 million opening day payroll.
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AP freelance writer Kevin Cooney in Philadelphia contributed to this report.
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More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
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