Carlos Mendoza – Third Place for Manager of the Year
New York Mets skipper Carlos “Mendy” Mendoza finished third in the 2024 National League Manager of the Year ranks – A palpable injustice for Mets fans.
In his first year as a Major League Manager – Mendoza turned an 0-5 start into a NLCS run.
Not to discredit 2024 NL Manager of the Year Pat Murphy, or even second place Mike Shildt – But it’s hard to believe that the rookie manager of the “infamous” 0-5 Mets could knock out the Milwaukee Brewers in the Wild Card, as well as the [Division Champions] Philadelphia Phillies, and force a game six against the [now World Series Champions] Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2024 NLCS, and come out with only one first-place vote.
Here's the full vote for NL Manager of the Year ✍️ pic.twitter.com/GNyYnL3FAF
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) November 20, 2024
“0-5 to OMG!” – Gary Cohen, SNY
Realistically, the Mets wouldn’t have made it to the postseason if Mendoza had not held the clubhouse down from the very beginning of the season. Reminiscing in the irony of it all, they had been swept by the Dodgers back in late May and were 11 games under .500. Remember when Jorge Lopez tossed his glove into the stands after being ejected? And then he supposedly called the Mets the “worst team in the MLB” in a postgame interview? Mendoza allowed his players the space to address the clubhouse and dugout issues without his intervention or input – The May 29th “Players Only” meeting called by shortstop/MVP-finalist Francisco Lindor is dubbed the “Turning Point” of the Mets’ 2024 season. To briefly summarize from then on, the Mets had the best record in baseball for June, strolled into July 40-41, left August 71-64, and concluded their regular season at 89-73 – 16 games over .500 – And two games shy of a World Series appearance.
From 0-5 to OMG.
Now, the goal is clear – put an exclamation point on the season. pic.twitter.com/qHJipks40M
— SNY (@SNYtv) October 1, 2024
The 2024 Mets Magic
Mendoza was the New York Yankees’ former bench coach for four seasons prior to his move to Queens as the fifth Mets Manager hire since Terry Collins. What’s most noticeable about Mendoza’s coaching style is that it is rooted in mentorship. There is an evident intention for preservation of player-confidence regardless of the situation. When it came to individual shortcomings, or just blatantly flawed moments, Mendoza addressed the press eloquently and with a “regardless, these are our guys” approach, while still owning and addressing the opportunity for correction. The sheer turnaround in the Mets’ season is enough, but you can tell his instinctual and relationship-oriented communication allowed some of the best individual players in the game to synergistically turn their rough start into an exceptional 2024 run, and deem it “unfinished business.”
From a Mets player telling the media they were on the “worst team in the MLB” in May, to every interviewed Met [even after they lost the NLCS] in October saying they want to come back for 2025 is indicative of Mendy’s leadership.
(We all still agree that he should’ve started Jesse Winker in games three and four of the NLCS, but he can make it up to us by doing so next season).
mendoza would’ve won if he started jesse winker in games three and four of the NLCS https://t.co/yr4dToJQHU
— jenna (@jennaashlyn) November 20, 2024
