Why Mets’ Carlos Mendoza deserves NL Manager of the Year Award

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza has earned rave reviews for the job he did in his first year managing a big league club.
On Tuesday, the Mets and Mendoza will learn if he earns the NL Manager of the Year Award. Given how the season started in Queens, and especially how it ended, the 44-year-old native of Venezuela is certainly worthy of the prize.
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The Mets lost the first five games of the season, all at Citi Field, signaling another disappointing year for fans. It got worse over the next two months, with the team dropping to a season-low 22-33 record, 11 games under 500 on May 29 against the Dodgers, also known as The Jorge López Game.
That’s when the now-banished reliever untucked his jersey and tossed his glove into the stands after being ejected for arguing with the home plate umpire. Then, in his postgame interview, López went on an expletive-laden rant in front of TV cameras where he showed little remorse for his actions on the field.
Lopez was designated for assignment following the game, ushering in an abundance of roster moves that reinvented the team and boosted chemistry. Mendoza managed these changes with calm, proving to be the right man at the right time for the job.
After the López debacle, the Mets went on a run, posting the best record in MLB (67-40). The next best team, the Astros went 64-41 during that span.
Mendoza ultimately led the Mets to the postseason, where his scrappy team continued to stun opponents. He predicted Pete Alonso’s game-winning home run in Game 3 of the Wild Card Series against the Brewers, did away with the superior Phillies in four games in the NL Division Series and pushed the World Series-winning Dodgers six games in the best-of-seven NL Championship Series, two wins away from the World Series.
Throughout, Mendoza’s belief in his players and coaches never wavered.
Should Mendoza take home the NL Manager of the Year Award, he’ll join a short list of skippers to do it in their first season at the helm. That list includes: Hal Lanier (1986, Astros), Dusty Baker (1993, Giants), Joe Girardi (2006, Marlins), Matt Williams (2014, Nationals), Jeff Bannister (2015, Rangers), Torey Lovullo (2017, Diamondbacks) and Rocco Baldelli (2019, Twins).
Mendoza will have to beat out a pair of equally worthy candidates, Brewers’ Pat Murphy, another rookie manager, and Padres skipper Mike Shildt. Both managers won more games than Mendoza (93 each versus 89), but neither took their team further — the Brewers and Padres exited the postseason in the Wild Card round.
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Manny Gómez may be reached at [email protected].