Mets History Today: November 23nd - Sandy Takes Reins for Steve Cohen

NY Post 11/24/2020

Happy Birthday Tom Hall, and Justin Turner. 

Originally when he was hired by Steve Cohen, Sandy Alderson said that his first task would be to hire a President of Baseball Operations.  On November 23, 2020 Sandy Alderson announced that he would take on those duties and would hire a General Manager.  He also announced that Luis Rojas would return as Mets Manager.  Here's some of the reactions from the days Newspapers:

NY Post.com: “Front office stars such as Milwaukee’s David Stearns, Cleveland’s Chris Antonetti and Tampa Bay’s Erik Neander were on Alderson’s radar, according to sources, but receiving permission to interview them — all of whom are under contract and would have been moving laterally — proved problematic. Alderson said he didn’t reach out to Theo Epstein…”

Our @NYDNSports back page: Luis Rojas will return as Mets manager after first season was dominated by COVID chaos. @DeeshaThosar -- https://t.co/eGsWNE9hrS pic.twitter.com/bFL40uyNbJ

— Tom Biersdorfer (@TomBiersdorfer) November 24, 2020

Mets,com: Alderson confirms Rojas will return in 2021. “I’m thrilled to be the manager under the leadership of Sandy and to try to win a World Series,” Rojas said in a text. “We look forward to putting in the work and making our fans proud.”

"Luis as an individual is a person who is able to relate to his players, both in terms of their professional work as well as their personal lives"

The Mets are keeping Luis Rojas around to manage in 2021 https://t.co/yyZ63KWo8x pic.twitter.com/TIsc9dNEeG

— SNY (@SNYtv) November 24, 2020

Mike Puma NY Post: “Alderson…said none of the roughly six GM candidates he’s interviewed were against the idea of Rojas returning for a second season”. 

"We're committed to giving him an opportunity to do that, and we'll see where it goes"

Sandy wants to give Tim Tebow another chance https://t.co/Y7FV98DY0e pic.twitter.com/URsW11LkYA

— SNY (@SNYtv) November 24, 2020

Mike Vaccaro NY Post: Mets surprise gives Sandy Alderson chance to rewrite legacy. “He wasn’t a perfect GM, and while it is easy to blame the bulk of those poor decisions on the fiscal handcuffs of the Wilpon regime, not all of went wrong went wrong because of that. But he did get an awful lot right. Now he gets a chance to leave behind one final parting gift before handing over the reins to the Mets’ future architect, whoever that may be.”

"Sandy is going to be at the head of the table"

The crew reacts to the Mets calling off the search for a president of baseball operations

(@GEICO) pic.twitter.com/HnswivA8Oh

— SNY (@SNYtv) November 24, 2020

Mark Berman The Blogging Mets: Steve Cohen Makes 2nd Mistake as Mets Owner. “The first, arguably, was bringing back Sandy Alderson. Now he is compounding it by allowing Alderson to run the baseball side of things. We know how that turned out last time… Remember when he was supposed to find the hidden value in players, and all he could provide was the likes of Shaun Marcum and John Mayberry, Jr.?”

Newsday: "I don’t think we’re a player away,’’ Alderson told reporters on a Zoom call late Monday afternoon. "I think we’d need more than that. Do we have a good foundation? Yes, I think we have an excellent foundation. But I think that our needs are multiple at this point and that we’re more than a player away.’’

Today in Mets History Per Ultimatemets.com: 

Born on this date:

• Tom Hall (1947)
• Rich Sauveur (1963)
• Ryan McGuire (1971)
• Jared Porter (1979)
• Justin Turner (1984)
• Darwin Ramos (1995)
• Krisspy Valdez (2003)
• Samuel Camacaro (2003)

Transactions:

New York Mets purchased Warren Spahn from the Milwaukee Braves on November 23, 1964.

Baltimore Orioles signed Frank Seminara of the New York Mets as a free agent on November 23, 1994.

Oakland Athletics signed Jeff Tam of the New York Mets as a free agent on November 23, 1999.

St. Louis Cardinals signed Raul Valdes of the New York Mets as a free agent on November 23, 2010.

New York Mets signed free agent CF Nick Plummer on November 23, 2021.

New York Mets signed free agent RHP Denyi Reyes to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training on November 23, 2022.

New York Mets signed free agent LHP Zach Muckenhirn to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training on November 23, 2022.

National Pastime.com:

1964	The Mets purchase Future Hall of Fame southpaw Warren Spahn from the Braves. In addition to serving on the club's coaching staff, the crafty southpaw will post a 4-12 record in twenty appearances.