Wally Backman was the scrappy, intense second baseman for the World Series champion Mets 18 years ago. He promises to bring that same style to the Diamondbacks as their new manager.
Backman, 45, will take over an Arizona team coming off a 51-111 season. He was selected minor-league manager of the year by The Sporting News after leading Class A Lancaster to an 86-54 record in his first year with the Diamondbacks.
Backman, given a two-year contract with two team options, was chosen over former Seattle manager Bob Melvin and Montreal Expos third base coach Manny Acta.
Backman interviewed for the White Sox’s job in 2003.
Mets narrow list
Yankees coach Willie Randolph, Texas coach Rudy Jaramillo and former major-league manager Terry Collins were asked to return to New York Wednesday for a second round of interviews with the Mets, who hope to hire a new manager this week. New York did not say the three were finalists.
Leyland ready for return
Jim Leyland, who led Florida to its first World Series championship in 1997 and guided Pittsburgh to three division titles in the early ’90s, interviewed for the Phillies’ managerial position on Monday, and also plans to talk to the Mets.
Bowden to join Washington
The Washington-bound Montreal Expos will name Jim Bowden, Cincinnati’s general manager from 1992-2003, its GM Tuesday, a league official said on the condition of anonymity. He would replace Omar Minaya, now the Mets’ GM.
Hunsicker resigns GM post
Gerry Hunsicker, 53, resigned as general manager of the Astros and his assistant, Tim Purpura, assumed the top job. Hunsicker will be an adviser through next season.
“I will look with pride at what we have accomplished,” said Hunsicker, whose clubs won four NL Central Division titles and were second in 2004.
Taking shot at critics
On Fox Sports’ nightly talk show on Friday, Kevin Millar said that Red Sox players did shots of Jack Daniel’s before Game 6 of the ALCS. And because it worked, Millar said, they did it before every game through the World Series.
“It was one of those group team things, like shaving our heads last year,” Millar said. “What we had was one small Gatorade cup. We passed it around and everyone symbolically drank out of the same cup, because we are a team. It wasn’t as if guys were drunk.”
Millar made it very clear that manager Terry Francona was not part of the ritual.
