Keidel: Alderson Went From Outsider To Ultimate Insider In New York Minute
By Jason Keidel
» More Columns
When Sandy Alderson brought his briefcase to New York City in 2010, along with his MLB Mensa brothers Paul DePodesta and JP Ricciardi, Mets fans were glowing in the glittering future they were sure to enjoy.
But time went by and six months ago, the media and masses were questioning the whole fiefdom, the brain trust that hadn't produced a playoff game. There really were echoes of disdain for the former Marine, Harvard grad, and World Series champion with the Oakland A's.
MORE: Mets' Sandy Alderson Named Baseball America's Executive Of The Year
But with a few swift moves in July, along with the maturation of the players Alderson had already brought in, the Mets made a miraculous run befitting their old-world handle, "Amazins," not only reaching the playoffs, but also vanquishing the favored Dodgers and Cubs on their way to the World Series.
As if to reluctantly acknowledge the personnel moves that got the Mets there, initial credit was given to Omar Minaya, the former Mets GM who brought Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom aboard.
But it was Alderson's final strokes on the Mets mural that sparked the epic October run and eventually led to him being named Baseball America's Executive of the Year.
Not only did Alderson acquire Noah Syndergaard but he also grabbed Travis d'Arnaud in a deal -- see: steal -- with the Toronto Blue Jays. And Alderson also signed Curtis Granderson, who was arguably the Mets' best position player this season.
Then came the summer of amazement as the beleaguered Mets' personnel czar dealt for Kelly Johnson, Juan Uribe, and Tyler Clippard. And if that wasn't enough, right before the trade deadline Alderson bagged his biggest player to date, Yoenis Cespedes. And while Cespedes may have shrunk in the shadow of the eventual world champion Royals, the Mets wouldn't have gotten to the Fall Classic without Cespedes, who had perhaps the best late-summer in franchise history.
Alderson will never be the most popular man or Met. He doesn't have Joe Torre's avuncular charm. He doesn't have George Steinbrenner's caustic appeal. And he doesn't have Bobby Valentine's humorous, costume-wearing neuroses.
Alderson is an intellectual. His laconic style, expansive vocabulary, and platitudinal pressers don't get anyone fired up. He sends you scrambling for a thesaurus, brooding over his personality more than his personnel.
But results can trump the warts in anyone's character, especially when the Mets, who were toiling in June with five or six embellished Double-A players, suddenly morphed into a behemoth, a fine, focused club that belied most baseball logic by making uncharacteristic trades.
Seen as a suit, a stuffy, sterile executive who got more thrills from slashing salary than winning games, Alderson showed he indeed had a gambler's side. Had the Mets failed to reach the playoffs, he surely would have heard more jeers, and calls for his vocational head.
But it didn't happen that way. Instead, Alderson now hears cheers, can take bows for becoming the toast of the town, for taking a risky, and now tasty, bite out of the Big Apple.
He's finally one of ours.
Follow Jason on Twitter at @JasonKeidel
