Wally Backman

Over on Facebook, I recently came across a fan page for Wally Backman, the firebrand utility player who showed that utility guys could be impact players. He's got a World Series ring, to prove it.

• Wally is my direct connection to the major leagues.
• Wally was my grandparents' next-door neighbor in rural Beaverton, Oregon when we were kids.
• Wally taught me to throw and to hit.
• Wally must have been all of 14 or 15 at the time.

The fan page for Wally is a campaign to get him the Manager's job for the Mets. He had a near-miss with the Diamondbacks a handful of years ago, and I think he's the right guy for the Mets at this particular time.

There. I said it. This I believe. Others will have a myriad of opinions. I don't care. I will not be swayed with your separate analysis. If the others had taken the time to teach me the game, and THEN gone on to show they knew what they were talking about, I might be inclined to listen.

In the meantime, just this once, this highly analytic fan is going to go with his heart, letting his emotions carry the way, and supporting an imperfect-but-catalytic man toward a higher achievement.

Go, Wally, Go. An emotional, imperfect Man? Yup. We all are. It's those emotions that make you right for the job. You're not running for President, you're a potential candidate for a job as Manager of the F'in' Mets. Baseball Managers need to be firebrands. I wish you the very best luck, sir.

And thank you for teaching a punk eight year old how to handle a ball. I may not play, but I'm the guy in the stands who quietly keeps score...and by the third inning, people next to me are asking questions. By the Fifth inning, the answers have become a running color commentary from the score book. Your place in baseball is glorious; mine is miniscule. But we both share a love for the game. AND, I can honestly say that the 14 year old Wally taught me to love the game.

Thank you, sir, thank you.