With the Mets hiring Mickey Callaway, they have a manager with no managerial experience at any professional level.  Sure, he’s a well respected pitching coach who has gotten the most of out young players and has helped rejuvenate careers.  However, we have no idea how he will handle more than just a pitching staff.  We don’t know how he will manage the dynamics in a clubhouse or how to manage playing time for everyone on the roster.  Really, we don’t know how he will manage anything.

Having worked with Terry Francona sure helps, but ideally the Mets will need a respected veteran voice to help Callaway through the process.  With the Nationals not bringing back Dusty Baker, the Mets should seriously consider him to be Callaway’s bench coach.

Now, we know the reasons why any organization, especially the Mets, would not want to bring Baker aboard.  Baker railed against things like “clogging the bases,” and he has long been blamed for the injuries that would befall Kerry Wood and Mark Prior.  His in-game strategy was always in question.  For the longest time, many pointed to Baker’s decision to lift a cruising Russ Ortiz as the moment the Giants lost the 2002 World Series.  While Baker has purportedly improved on the decision making front, including his use of Max Scherzer out of the bullpen in Game 5 of the NLDS, Baker was still the manager who not only kept Jayson Werth in the lineup, but also batted him second.

Behind that is a guy who has won everywhere.  Over his 22 year managerial career, Baker has amassed a 1,863-1636 (.532) record, and he has a pennant to his resume.  Remarkably, Baker has had 14 winning seasons in his resume.  He has taken the Giants, Cubs, Reds, and Nationals to the postseason with him totaling nine trips to the postseason.  One of the years his teams didn’t go to the postseason was in 1993 when his 103 loss Giants team was edged out by the Braves for the division on the last game of the season in the pre-Wild Card format.

Yes, we all know that rosters win games more than managers, but still Baker has typically done something right as a manager to get the most out of his talent.  You need not look any further than how the Nationals fared under Baker as opposed to Matt Williams.  While it may not show up anywhere tangible, Baker knows what he is doing, and he would serve as a fine mentor for a young manager like Callaway.

Hiring Baker serves another purpose as well.  If the Mets want to get back to the postseason, they are going to have to go through the Nationals.  It certainly wouldn’t hurt the Mets to have an insight into that Nationals team.  Certainly, information like that could go far to helping the first time manager.

Overall, Baker may not have the one calling the shots with his somewhat antiquated worldview, but that’s why you hired Callaway.  You want him to come to the job using an analytical approach to managing the game.  For the rest, Baker’s knowledge is unparalleled and would go a long way to helping Callaway.