The LoHud Mets Blog

Here is the official release from the Mets:

FLUSHING, N.Y., October 29, 2010 – The New York Mets today announced they have hired Sandy Alderson as General Manager.  He becomes the 12th General Manager in franchise history.  Alderson, whose baseball career spans four decades and includes six division titles, three American League pennants and one World Championship, signed a four-year contract through 2014 with a club option for 2015.  Terms of the contract were not disclosed.  Alderson will oversee the Baseball Operations department and report to Chief Operating Officer Jeff Wilpon.

“Sandy has the intelligence, leadership and creativity to reinvigorate this franchise and implement a structure and system that will produce a winning and contending team for the long term,” Wilpon said.  “His success and vast experience are unmatched, uniquely qualifying him to lead our baseball department.”

“I am thrilled with this opportunity and am eager to work with Ownership and the entire organization to achieve a successful and sustainable future for the Mets and our fans.” Alderson said.

Alderson, 62, was the architect of the Oakland Athletics teams that played in three consecutive World Series from 1988-1990 and won the championship in 1989.  Oakland captured four American League West Division titles in 1988-90, and 1992.  Alderson served as General Manager from 1983-1997 and President from 1993-1995, and 1997-1998 before leaving to join the Office of the Commissioner.

In his role as MLB’s Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations from 1998-2005, Alderson oversaw baseball operations, umpiring, on-field operations and security and facility management.  He helped baseball expand internationally, securing MLB’s participation in the historic games with the Cuban National Team in 1999 and the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where Team USA won the Gold Medal.  He also created MLB academies in Australia, Italy and Compton, California.

In April 2005, Alderson returned to the front office and became Chief Executive Officer of the San Diego Padres.  During his four years in San Diego, Alderson led the franchise to back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time in club history in 2005 and 2006, winning the National League West Division title both seasons.  He was responsible for the club’s daily business and baseball operations and instrumental in bringing the inaugural World Baseball Classic to San Diego in 2006.

Alderson most recently served as a special consultant to the Commissioner for Latin America, leading the sport’s efforts to combat identity fraud and performance-enhancing drug use by baseball prospects.  He was appointed by Commissioner Bud Selig to that position in March 2010.

Alderson, who served four years as a Marine Infantry Officer with a tour of duty in Vietnam, holds degrees from Dartmouth College (1969) and Harvard Law School (1976).  The Seattle native and his wife, Linda, have two adult children. EndFragment->

NEW YORK (AP) – Sandy Alderson was chosen as the New York Mets general manager and is now responsible for rebuilding a big-spending organization beset by problems on and off the field.

Alderson will be introduced tomorrow at a Citi Field news conference, the team announced today.

Caption: Sandy Alderson has been announced as the new general manager for the New York Mets. (The Associated Press photo)

Alderson and former Arizona Diamondbacks general manager Josh Byrnes were brought back for a second round of interviews this week.

GM Omar Minaya and manager Jerry Manuel were fired after the team’s second consecutive losing season. The club has said its new GM will lead the search for the next manager.

Alderson, a Harvard Law School graduate and former Marine, met Tuesday with the Mets owner Fred Wilpon; son Jeff Wilpon, the chief operating officer; and club president Saul Katz. Byrnes met with Mets ownership Monday.

Alderson, the former president and GM of the Oakland Athletics and chief executive officer of the San Diego Padres, will have to leave his current job with Major League Baseball in which he’s leading efforts to reform operations in the Dominican Republic.

Alderson, who turns 63 next month, was Oakland’s general manager from 1983-97, also serving as team president from 1993-95 and 1996-97. He built power-packed teams led by the Bash Brothers of Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco that won three straight pennants from 1988-90 and a World Series title in ‘89.

Well-respected among MLB executives, Alderson was executive vice president for baseball operations in the commissioner’s office from 1998-05. He was the Padres’ CEO from 2005-09.

The Mets, who went 79-83 last season and finished 18 games behind the Phillies in the NL East, haven’t made the postseason since reaching the National League championship series in 2006. On the business side, Alderson also will have to deal with several unwieldy contracts for underperforming players.

They have been beset by injuries the past two seasons to stars Johan Santana, who had shoulder surgery and will miss the start of the season, Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, Jason Bay and closer Francisco Rodriguez.

K-Rod also has criminal charges pending stemming from a fight with his girlfriend’s father. He tore a ligament in his thumb punching the man. He is due in court Nov. 10.

New York also interviewed Allard Baird, Dana Brown, Rick Hahn and Logan White for its GM position. Major League Baseball discourages teams from making major announcements that conflict with the World Series. The first day off is Friday between Games 2 and 3.

According to a report on Newsday.com, new Mets general manager Sandy Alderson will not choose Brooklyn Cyclones manager Wally Backman as the new skipper for the rudderless team.

Some names the article tosses out as candidates are former Brewers manager Ken Macha and Mets third-base coach Chip Hale.

Now that Backman is seemingly out of the picture, who is your choice for manager? What do you think the Mets should look for in a manager? A big name with experience or a no-name who has nothing to lose and something to prove? According to the Newsday article, it would seem Alderson is looking for someone closer to the latter.

UPDATE: Joe Girardi reportedly will sign a three-year $9 million extension with the Yankees, so obviously he’s off the list of potential managers.

NEW YORK (AP) – Sandy Alderson has been selected by the New York Mets to be their new general manager, Sports Illustrated reported on its website late Tuesday night.

Citing unidentified sources, SI said the team could announce the move as soon as Friday.

Alderson met with the Mets’ ownership group Tuesday, and the team said it wouldn’t comment any further on the search until it is ready to announce its next GM.

Contacted by The Associated Press on Tuesday night, Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said he had no new information to provide. Messages left for chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon were not immediately returned.

Alderson, the former president of the Oakland Athletics and chief executive officer of the San Diego Padres, met Tuesday with Mets controlling owner Fred Wilpon, his son Jeff, and club president Saul Katz.

Alderson and former Arizona Diamondbacks general manager Josh Byrnes were brought back for a second round of interv iews this week as the two finalists to replace Omar Minaya, fired along with manager Jerry Manuel after the team’s second consecutive losing season.

The club has said its new GM will lead the search for the next Mets manager.

Byrnes met with Mets ownership Monday. He and Alderson had initial interviews earlier with Jeff Wilpon and lower-level management.

Alderson, who turns 63 next month, was Oakland’s general manager from 1983-97. He built power-packed teams that won three straight AL pennants from 1988-90 and a World Series title in ‘89. He currently is in charge of baseball’s efforts to reform operations in the Dominican Republic.

Major League Baseball discourages teams from making major announcements during the World Series. Game 1 between the Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants is Wednesday night, with the first off day in the Series coming Friday between Games 2 and 3.

New York also interviewed Allard Baird, Dana Brown, Rick Hahn and Lo gan White for its GM position.

Well-respected among MLB executives, Alderson was executive vice president for baseball operations in the commissioner’s office from 1998-2005. He served as CEO of the Padres from 2005-09.

WEST CALDWELL, N.J. (AP) – Bill Shannon, a baseball historian, author and an official scorer at New York Yankees and Mets games for decades, died in an early morning house fire today.

West Caldwell fire chief Charlie Holden said the three-alarm fire was called in just before 9 a.m. and brought under control within an hour. Holden identified Shannon, 69, as the only fatality.

Neighbors told News 12-New Jersey they were able to rescue Shannon’s mother through the front door. One neighbor placed a ladder up to the second floor to reach Shannon, but Shannon told the neighbor he was unable to break the window and disappeared into the thick smoke.

Shannon became an official scorer for the American League in 1979 and the National League one year later, and in recent seasons was the senior official scorer for games of the New York Yankees and Mets. He also contributed stories to The Associated Press.

After attending Columbia University and serving in the Army, he was the head of public relations for Madison Square Garden from 1965-73 as it moved into its new building. He was longtime assistant on the press staff for the U.S. Tennis Association.

He authored the book, “The Ballparks,” a history of major league baseball stadiums and edited “The Official Encyclopedia of Tennis of the United States Tennis Association.”

NEW YORK (AP) – Former Arizona Diamondbacks general manager Josh Byrnes has met with the Mets ownership group in his bid to succeed Omar Minaya as New York’s GM.

Byrnes met Monday with controlling owner Fred Wilpon, team president Saul Katz and Jeff Wilpon, the owner’s son and the team’s chief operating officer.

Former Oakland Athletics president and San Diego Padres chief executive officer Sandy Alderson is to meet with the Wilpons and Katz on Tuesday.

Alderson and Byrnes are the finalists to replace Minaya, who was fired along with manager Jerry Manuel after the team’s second straight losing season. The pair met earlier for initial interviews with Jeff Wilpon and lower-level management.

The Mets and Francisco Rodriguez have agreed to play nice. Below is the statement from the Mets:

The New York Mets today announced that the grievance filed by Francisco Rodriguez has been resolved. Rodriguez has instructed the Major League Baseball Players Association not to challenge the team’s decision to withhold his salary for the remainder of the 2010 season. In return, the Mets have agreed they will not seek to convert Rodriguez’s contract to a non-guaranteed contract, and will remove him from the Disqualified List. Rodriguez will forego approximately $3.1 million of 2010 salary as a result of this agreement.

Mets Chief Operating Officer Jeff Wilpon said: “We are pleased that Frankie Rodriguez has accepted responsibility for his actions and their consequences.  We have been assured that he is taking steps to address the issues that led to the incident, and that those efforts will continue.  We have also been assured that he will work hard both on and off the field to regain the trust of the organization, Mets fans and the community.”

The Mets on Aug. 17 placed Rodriguez on the Disqualified List following the season-ending injury to the thumb on his right pitching hand.  The injury was a result of an altercation following the Mets Aug. 11 game at Citi Field.

Rodriguez underwent successful surgery to repair the torn ligament and is expected to fully recover and be ready for Spring Training.

In light of the ongoing criminal process involving the Aug. 11 incident, the Mets will have no further comment.

NEW YORK (AP) – The New York Mets plan to interview baseball executive Sandy Alderson next week for their vacant general manager position.

The Mets already have said they will interview Rick Hahn, Allard Baird and Josh Byrnes as well.

A Mets spokesman says chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon spoke with Alderson today. The two plan to speak again to set up a meeting.

The 62-year-old Alderson was the Oakland Athletics’ GM when they won the World Series in 1989. He currently is in charge of baseball’s efforts to reform operations in the Dominican Republic.

NEW YORK (AP) – Starting their search for a new general manager, the New York Mets are set to interview Rick Hahn, Allard Baird and Josh Byrnes next week.

Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said Thursday that the team received permission from the White Sox to speak to Hahn, and Boston to interview Baird.

Hahn is an assistant GM with the White Sox. Baird, general manager of the Kansas City Royals from 2000-06, is an assistant GM with Boston.

Byrnes was fired as general manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 1.

New York dismissed GM Omar Minaya and manager Jerry Manuel on Monday after its second consecutive losing season. Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon said the club plans to first hire a GM, who will lead the search for a new manager.

Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com has a great breakdown of what the Mets will encounter in the off-season. Here are some of the highlights:

• What to do with potential free agents Jose Reyes, Hisanori Takahashi, Pedro Feliciano, Henry Blanco, Fernando Tatis, Elmer Dessens and Kelvim Escobar


• What to do with arbitration-eligible players like Mike Pelfrey, Angel Pagan, R.A. Dickey, John Maine and Sean Green


• Important winter dates


• What to do with old and often-injured or ineffectual with hefty contracts. We’re talking about you, Carlos Beltran, Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo.


• Where some players could end up for winter ball

We all knew it was coming, but here’s the official announcement:

The New York Mets today announced that Omar Minaya has been relieved of his duties as Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations & General Manager and they have declined to exercise the club’s option on Jerry Manuel’s contract as manager for 2011.

A search is under way for a new general manager who will run the team’s Baseball Operations department.  Ownership will lead the process with assistance from Vice President, Assistant General Manager John Ricco who will in the interim direct the department.  The new General Manager will work with ownership to identify and hire a new manager.

“We are extremely disappointed in this year’s results and the failures of the past four seasons,” said Jeff Wilpon, Mets Chief Operating Officer.  “We need to hire a new general manager with a fresh perspective who will transform this club into a winner that we want and our fans deserve.

“We appreciate all that Omar and Jerry have done for the organization and thank them for their time and effort,” Wilpon said.  “Changes like these are never easy, especially when you are dealing with people you like and respect.”

Mets ownership will meet with the media today at 1:30 p.m. in the Press Conference Room at Citi Field to address these changes.

NEW YORK (AP) – Oliver Perez hit Adam Kennedy with a pitch before walking three batters in a row in the 14th inning, and the Washington Nationals beat the New York Mets 2-1 Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep.

It was a fitting ending to a miserable season for Perez. Making just his fourth appearance since Aug. 1, the left-hander entered to loud boos in the 14th. With one out, he plunked Kennedy in the shoulder. Kennedy stole second before Roger Bernadina and pinch-hitter Wil Nieves walked to load the bases. Justin Maxwell walked to force in the go-ahead run.

Perez (0-5) walked 42 in 46 1-3 innings this year. In the second season of a $36 million, three-year contract, he was banished to the bullpen in May.

Joel Peralta (1-0) pitched two innings for the win and Miguel Batista got three outs for his second save, helping the Nationals end a string of 18 straight one-run losses on the road.

With it almost certain that the Mets will not ask him back, manager Jerry Manuel said he would not speak with his players as a group because “to address them to prepare for spring training is probably not mine to do at this point.” Chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon, the owner’s son, has told Manuel they would speak about his status after the season ends.

Players packed boxes and made travel plans as they prepared for their final game of the team’s fourth straight year without making the playoffs – and second consecutive losing season (79-83).

After moving a season-high 11 games over .500 on June 27, it was all downhill for New York. A 2-9 road trip following the All-Star break was too much to overcome and attendance dropped sharply. This season’s home attendance was 2,559,738, including 30,849 on Sunday. The team drew 3,154,262 in 2009, its first at Citi Field.

After going 81-81 in 2005, the Nationals’ first season in Washington, the former Montreal Expos completed their fifth straight losing season at 69 93 after two 100-plus loss years – and lost rookie sensation Stephen Strasburg to major elbow surgery.

Adam Dunn went 1 for 4 in what could be his last game with the Nationals. He can become a free agent after the season.

Mike Pelfrey was sharp for seven innings, then was pulled for a pinch hitter. Manuel gave him a hug before nudging the Mets right-hander back out of the dugout for an ovation.

One of the few bright spots this season, Pelfrey finished 15-9 with a 3.66 ERA. He gave up just one hit through four innings, but walked Bernadina to open the fifth.

Bernadina scored on Alberto Gonzalez’s single to center field.

New York, which got its first hit in the fourth, tied it in the bottom half on Josh Thole’s double-play ball.

Washington starter Livan Hernandez pitched 6 2-3 innings, giving up a run and six hits.

NEW YORK (AP) – David Wright hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning to power a New York Mets’ starting lineup of seven rookies past the Washington Nationals 7-2 Saturday.

Raul Valdes outpitched Yunesky Maya in the first matchup of Cuban starters in seven years, and knuckleballer R.A. Dickey made his first relief appearance in a season in which he has emerged as a key member of the Mets’ rotation at 36 years old.

Wright homered off reliever Tyler Clippard (11-8). On Friday night, Josh Thole homered against Clippard in the 10th inning to give New York a 2-1 victory.

NEW YORK (AP) – With the Mets braced for a management shakeup, Josh Thole homered in the 10th inning Friday night to begin the final series of the season with a 2-1 victory over the Washington Nationals.

Thole connected against Tyler Clippard (11-7), hitting a one-out drive into the right-field seats for New York’s fourth hit and first since the fourth inning.

Rookie Ike Davis homered in the fourth off Jordan Zimmermann as the Mets stopped a three-game losing streak. Michael Morse’s homer tied it in the seventh.

Hisanori Takahashi (10-6) pitched two hitless innings, combining with Pat Misch on a three-hitter. Washington hitters struck out 14 times.

Mets manager Jerry Manuel and general manager Omar Minaya both said they have not been notified they are losing their jobs following another season filled with injuries rather than accomplishments. Sports Illustrated, citing unidentified sources, reported on its website earlier in the day that the team will announce after the season that the pair won’t return in their roles.

“This is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately town, and lately it hasn’t been good,” David Wright said. “There’s going to be fingers pointed and, obviously, that’s where we’re at now.”

New York rested Wright, who pinch hit in the eighth and flied out.

Misch struck out a career-high 10 in eight innings. His previous high was eight for San Francisco at San Diego on Aug. 4, 2007.

Zimmermann allowed three hits in six innings, struck out three and walked none, lowering his ERA to 4.94 in his seventh start following right elbow ligament replacement surgery.

Davis took a pitch down the middle and drove it into the Mets’ bullpen in right with one out in the fourth. With his 19th home run, he matched Ron Swoboda (1965) for the second-most by a rookie in Mets history, trailing only Darryl Strawberry’s 26 in 1983.

Morse tied it with one out in the seventh, hitting a drive to right-center for his 14th homer.

Citi Field was a tough park for power hitters in its first season, when just 130 homers were hit, 25th among the 30 major league stadiums. In this year of the pitcher, the power shortage has been even more pronounced. There have been 106 this season at the pitcher-friendly ballpark – only Seattle’s Safeco Field, with 96 entering Friday, had fewer.

Washington’s Adam Dunn struck out in the first and seventh innings, giving the free-agent-to-be a career-high 196, two more than he had in 2004 with Cincinnati.

NOTES: The game drew announced crowd of 29,424 (it appeared to be less than half that), leaving the Mets’ home attendance at 2,498,503 in the second season at Citi Field. Last year, they drew 3,154,262 at home.