WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT NEW METS INTERIM MANAGER AFTER CARLOS MENDOZA'S FIRING

Mar 30, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza (64) looks on before a game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Fans of the New York Mets can exhale now that Carlos Mendoza has been let go.

But who is the Mets’ new manager, and what is New York getting in interim manager Andy Green?

Green, the former Mets player who has been a coach since 2012, is taking over for Mendoza, who was fired Friday after the Mets went 34-47 in their first 81 games.

Mets fans of a certain age will remember Green from his one-season tenure in Queens (2009) or his three seasons as a player for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Or you may recall his three-plus years as the manager of the San Diego Padres.

Andy Green Played for the Mets and Managed the Padres

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New Mets interim manager Andy Green finished his playing career with the Mets and managed the San Diego Padres for four seasons between 2016-19.

Green came up in the D-backs system as a scrappy 5-9, 165-pound infielder who was chosen in the 24th round of the 2000 MLB Draft — a round that doesn’t even exist anymore.

So you can bet Green will want to push the Mets to be scrappier, hungrier and more intense over the second half of this season.

The Mets will be Green’s second role as a major-league manager. He spent three-plus seasons managing the Padres (2016-19) and finished with a .428 win% before he was fired with one week remaining in the 2019 season, posting a 69-85 record before being let go in September.

The Padres then made the playoffs in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season, going 37-23.

Green only played 140 big-league games and finished his big-league career with a .547 OPS and two home runs. His attitude was enough to earn a job in the D-backs system as the manager in Missoula of the Pioneer League.

He won the title there in 2012 then was named Southern League manager of the year in 2013 and 2014 before being promoted to D-backs third base coach.

The Mets’ Manager Search is Officially on

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Alex Cora is likely to be high on the list of candidates for the Mets’ manager role.

The Mets may have put Andy Green in place to ride out the rest of the season, but you can bet they will leave no stone unturned in their pursuit of their next manager.

Mendoza was well-thought-of candidate from the New York Yankees organization that pushed all the right buttons in 2024, when they went to the NLCS. But owner Steve Cohen has already flexed his financial might in signing Juan Soto and luring David Stearns from the Milwaukee Brewers.

You can be sure he’ll do the same when finding his next manager.

So Alex Cora immediately comes to mind as the top candidate for the Mets job. He, of course, was fired by the Boston Red Sox in April then turned down the Philadelphia Phillies role, which ultimately went to former-Yankees great and 2020 NL manager of the year Don Mattingly.

Cora could again be a candidate for the Phillies role, which makes it imperative that the Mets at least bring him in for an interview — especially with the Phillies playing well under Mattingly.

Cora, of course, won the World Series in Boston in 2018 and boasts a .534 win% over his 1,161-game tenure as a manager. Other candidates will arise, including Mattingly if he is not retained by the Phillies.

But Cora has to be the first option for the Mets.

- Pat Pickens

MAY'S DEATH SPARKS TRIBUTE FROM BASEBALL WORLD AND BEYOND

 Tributes poured in for Willie Mays following news that the Major League Baseball great died on Tuesday at the age of 93, with the Hall of Famer being remembered as a "legend and pioneer" of the game.

Mays was an electrifying centrefielder during a 23-year playing career during which he established himself as one of the greatest all-around players of all time.

"Today we have lost a true legend," said San Francisco Giants Chairman Greg Johnson.

"In the pantheon of baseball greats, Willie Mays' combination of tremendous talent, keen intellect, showmanship, and boundless joy set him apart."

Mays, who was known as the "Say Hey Kid" because of his standard greeting, spent most of his career with the Giants -- six in New York and 15 in San Francisco -- before finishing up with the New York Mets in 1972 and 1973.

"Willie Mays was one of the greatest to ever play the game," said Mets owner Steve Cohen.

"Willie ended his Hall of Fame career in Queens and was a key piece to the 1973 NL championship team. Mays played with a style and grace like no one else."

Mays made his professional debut with the Negro League's Birmingham Black Barons at age 17. When his death was 1973 during a Barons game on Tuesday, those in attendance stood and saluted him with an applause.

Fellow Giants legend Barry Bonds, who is Mays' godson, also took to social media to pay tribute.

"I am beyond devastated and overcome with emotion," Bonds wrote on Instagram.

"I have no words to describe what you mean to me - you helped shape me to be who I am today. Thank you for being my Godfather and always being there. Give my dad a hug for me. Rest in peace Willie, I love you forever."

Teams from across MLB mourned Mays' death.

The Los Angeles Dodgers called him "incomparable" and the Boston Red Sox said he was a "legend and pioneer of the game".

The tributes also came in from outside of MLB.

"His impact extends far beyond baseball," California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement, while Basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson said on social media that Mays was "one of the main reasons I fell in love with baseball".

- Reuters 

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