Report: Fred Wilpon Repeatedly Blocked Attempts To Fire Terry Collins
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Apparently Terry Collins has been on the hot seat longer than most of us realized.
In another sign that Collins might be entering his final week managing the Mets, Newsday reported that owner Fred Wilpon has shielded Collins at various points of his tenure from being fired at the urging of chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon and general manager Sandy Alderson.
MORE: Palladino: Collins Will Unfairly Pay Price For Season Beyond His Control
Team insiders told the newspaper the front office had concerns about Collins' in-game management and his relationship with his players. There also is a fractured relationship between the front office and the manager, the report said.
One team official said the Fred Wilpon "got too chummy" with Collins.
Collins' contract will expire after this season. The 68-year-old manager has said publicly he does not plan to retire and has left the door open to join another team if the Mets don't retain him.
"I'm going to be somewhere," Collins told The Record this week. "If after we have discussions, if it feels I shouldn't be here, then I won't be. We've created something here that's pretty good. That's my take. I haven't talked to anybody about it, so we'll go from there."
Alderson said last week that he would talk with Collins about his future after the season ended. The Mets play their final game Sunday in Philadelphia.
A team official told Newsday Collins "has no allies in the front office."
In seven seasons in New York, Collins is 550-581, trailing only Davey Johnson's 595 wins for the most in franchise history. Collins led the team to the World Series in 2015 and the National League wild-card game last season, just the second time the Mets have ever reached the postseason in back-to-back years.
The Mets entered this year with aspirations of returning to the Fall Classic, but, plagued by a stunning number of injuries to key players, they are just 69-90 and 27 games behind the NL-East leading Washington Nationals.
If Collins is fired, some possible successors include ex-A's manager and former Mets bench coach Bob Geren, former Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale, current Mets bench coach Dick Scott, current Mets hitting coach Kevin Long, former White Sox manager and ex-Met Robin Venutra and White Sox bench coach Joe McEwing, also a former Met.
