Nov 29 2006 09:50 AM
A really crappy column featuring Carter trying and failing to resist the urge to self-promote:
Ray McNulty: Carter, Mets a perfect match: So why hasn't it happened?
He has been a roving instructor, working with catchers throughout the organization for four years.
He has been a minor league manager, bringing a Florida State League championship back to Port St. Lucie last summer.
He is one of only two players enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame after spending a productive portion of their careers with the New York Mets.
So why would the Mets NOT want to hire Gary Carter to be their third-base coach?
Why would they not want him back in uniform, back at Shea, back where he belongs?
Is it because he's too big a name, too popular with the fans, too good with the media?
Is it because his presence would remind everyone how long it's been since the Mets won a World Series?
Or is it because he was a member of the best Mets teams ever, when New York was a National League town, at a time when Randolph's Yankees were American League also-rans?
"You'd think from a PR standpoint . . .," Carter was saying Monday in Hobe Sound, where he played in the Celebrities Fore Kids Golf Classic, a fundraiser that provides financial assistance to Treasure Coast children with cancer.
He didn't finish the thought.
And, really, he didn't need to.
From a public-relations standpoint, Carter, who interviewed for the job last week, would be a tremendous hire. The fans love him. He has always been a friend of the media, even in New York, where the tabloids can be brutal. He provides a nostalgic link to 1986, when the Mets were at the top of the baseball world.
Imagine seeing Carter, wearing his No. 8 uniform, standing in the third-base coach's box on a sun-splashed Opening Day.
"It'd be wonderful," Carter said, his eyes sparkling as he pictured that moment in his mind. "I hope it happens."
So do I.
And, I'm guessing, so do most Mets fans.
But will it?
I have my doubts.
After all, no one on Randolph's coaching staff has any ties to the Mets of yesteryear.
Oh, the modern-day Mets occasionally will resurrect a few ghosts for promotional appearances, just to draw more people to the ballpark. They'll parade out Mookie and Darling — and even Darryl — to throw out a ceremonial first pitch. They'll make sure the Miracle Mets of 1969 are never forgotten.
But they don't want them hanging around.
At least not on an every-day basis.
These are the new Mets.
Los Mets.
The Mets of Minaya.
And there might not be a place in the present for the past.
There might not be a job for Carter — not at the major-league level.
"I told them I could do everything," said Carter, who played for the Mets from 1985-89 and now lives in Palm Beach Gardens. "I could coach third. If they want to move Sandy Alomar Sr. over to third and put me at first, I would be happy to do that. I think I'm ready to make that transition (from minor-league manager to major-league coach)."
The Mets have offered Carter the manager's job in Binghamton, N.Y., home of the team's Double-A affiliate. But he's not excited about the long bus trips, which can run up to 10 hours, between Eastern League cities.
Besides, Carter doesn't see any need for another year in the minors.
"I've proved myself at both levels (rookie league and Single A), and I don't think there's anything else to prove," Carter said. "If I go to Double A, what's the difference there? Because I'll learn the double-switch? I already know how to do that. And you're talking about a league that I played in, back in 1973 — which is a very difficult league, travel-wise.
"If it was Triple A and the travel was by plane, it would be a different story."
In fact, Carter talked to the Los Angeles Dodgers about managing their Triple-A team in Las Vegas. But they weren't interested.
"I put my feelers out there," he said. "I submitted my name to all the managerial positions that were open. Obviously, there wasn't anything there."
Which might've been blessing in disguise.
As much as Carter wants to stay in baseball — "I'd hate to leave the game at this point, especially being around for the last six years like I have been" — he said he hopes to stay in the Mets family.
"I even offered to come back to Port St. Lucie," he said.
But he believes he's ready to get back to the major leagues.
He believes he's ready to be the Mets' third-base coach.
"I think the timing is right," Carter said, "now that there is an opening."
Not only is there an opening, but it's an opening that could help him someday get the major-league managing job he has been working toward.
And, perhaps, that's why you might not see him at Shea next season.
The Mets were the best team in the National League last season, before losing both Pedro Martinez and Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez for the playoffs, before losing to the world-champion St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS.
So the expectations are high for 2007.
Anything less than the World Series will be a disappointment.
But what if the season goes the wrong way? What if the Mets stumble out of the gate? What if they're out of the championship chase in July?
If you were Randolph, would you want someone as popular and polished as Carter on your staff, knowing that he wants to be a manager and that at least some in the New York media wouldn't hesitate to push him for your job?
I have my doubts.
ray.mcnulty@scripps.com
