By John Torenli
E-mail: sports@brooklyneagle.net
Cyclones general manager Steve Cohen said it best during yesterday’s official announcement that former Mets second baseman Wally Backman, a key member of New York’s World Series championship team in 1986, would be the new manager on Coney Island next summer.
“Brooklyn and Backman were made for each other.” Cohen said.
After five years of managing in virtual obscurity in the independent leagues following an abbreviated and well-publicized four-day stint as skipper of the Arizona Diamondbacks in November 2004, Backman is returning to the organization where he became a local baseball legend.
The 50-year-old Oregon native and New Yorker at heart was a defensive stalwart, offensive sparkplug and trash-talking mouthpiece for what many consider the best Met team ever more than two decades ago.
The Cyclones, entering their 10th anniversary season at KeySpan Park next June, are hoping Backman’s hard-nosed, never-say-die style will translate to the incoming crop of draft picks, free agent signings and holdovers during the 76-game grind of the New York-Penn League campaign.
“The greatest days of my professional career were spent here in New York, and I have always felt a special connection to the city,” said Backman, who was fired four days after taking the Arizona job when a pair of previously unreported arrests and personal financial issues came to light.
“I am especially excited to be joining the Cyclones. Brooklyn is a major minor-league team, and I know the borough’s fans are — like me — intensely passionate about baseball and about winning.”
They certainly are.
The Cyclones appeared to be the cream of the crop in the NY-Penn last summer, reeling off a franchise-record 16 wins in their first 18 games and holding on to first place until the waning days of the regular season.
However, Brooklyn failed to stay in front of hard-charging Staten Island down the stretch, and lost an opening-round playoff series to Mahoning Valley before watching the rival Yankees celebrate their fifth title of the past decade.
Backman, who complemented a star-studded ’86 roster filled with such notable players as Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden, Keith Hernandez, Lenny Dykstra and Ray Knight, is the fourth member of that club to take the reins on Surf Avenue.
None of his predecessors, however, were able to duplicate the magic of that inaugural 2001 campaign, when the Cyclones opened KeySpan by racing to a share of the NY-Penn Championship under Edgar Alfonzo.
Mookie Wilson, Tim Teufel and current Mets hitting coach Howard Johnson all managed the Cyclones to more than respectable finishes. But Backman is here to finish off the season with a second title for Brooklyn’s faithful fans.
“He has always been a fan favorite in New York, symbolizing the blue-collar work ethic and unbridled dedication to winning that this city — and particularly this borough — values above all else in its sports stars,” Cohen added.
The move, clearly designed to give Backman a second shot at a big league managing gig, could wind up paying high dividends for the parent club, which has seen a major dropoff in its Minor League production over the past several years, with the notable exception of Brooklyn’s continued success.
The highest-drawing franchise on the 14-team circuit is nearly always in the hunt for the championship, but the Mets’ other farm clubs in St. Lucie (Class A Advanced), Binghamton (Double-A) and Buffalo (Triple-A) are coming off disappointing campaigns.
Backman may also be prepping for a future job in the dugout at CitiField — a job he appeared well-suited for prior to his star-crossed turn in Arizona.
After a trio of highly successful Minor League seasons with the Chicago White Sox (2002-03) and Arizona (2004), Backman was handed the Diamondbacks job for 2005 before the organization learned of several off-the-field transgressions, including a DUI and an harassment charge stemming from a domestic incident.
Beaten down but unbowed, Backman bounced back to lead the independent South Georgia Peanuts to the South Coast League title in 2007 before spending parts of the past two seasons with the Joliet Jackhammers.
Mets fans have been clamoring for years for one of their heralded stars from the past to return to the club in Queens to its previous glory. Backman has always been on a short list of those deemed worthy of restoring Met pride by the Flushing faithful.
“I’m happy he’s back in the organization,” said Bay Ridge resident and long-time Mets and Cyclones fan Costa Michalakis.
“It’s good to have one of those Mets that we associate with a winning team and winning tradition. It’s nice to be reminded that we used to win around here once in a while. It’s nice that he’s getting a second chance.”
A strong season in Brooklyn, followed by a potential move at the top of the organization, could have Backman climbing up the Mets’ managerial chain faster than Jose Reyes legging out a triple — when he’s healthy, of course.
Backman showed off some speed of his own at Shea Stadium, ranking eighth on the team’s career list with 106 stolen bases. His .333 average during the Mets’ fabled six-game ’86 Fall Classic triumph over Boston enhanced his reputation as a go-to guy when the chips are down.
Fortunately for Backman, the organization he spent nine seasons with as a player wasn’t afraid to give a second chance to a baseball lifer and proven winner.
“I am thrilled and grateful to be coming back to the Mets’ organization,” said Backman.
So are the 8,000-plus fans that will fill KeySpan Park on at least 38 occasions next summer.
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