Let’s check back in on that Mets’ checklist

Back in October, days after the Mets mercifully ended their disappointing season, we wrote about what the organization and its top leaders must do this winter to set the franchise up for success in 2022. There were four critical components on our offseason checklist for the Mets, and although there is still time for the club to continue working on improvements, let’s look back at how much the team has accomplished so far.

1. HIRE PRESIDENT OF BASEBALL OPS Verdict:

Fail

The Mets’ stated goal of hiring a president of baseball operations, preferably an individual with experience and a winning pedigree, was not met for the second straight offseason. After six-plus weeks of a very public and painful front office search that began with high expectations and nearly ended with a lawyer who hasn’t worked in baseball for a few years, the Mets settled on Billy Eppler as their general manager. The club struck out in its attempt to land Theo Epstein, David Stearns or Billy Beane — three experienced executives who would’ve given the Mets’ front office a serious facelift.

Eppler now works under team president Sandy Alderson and owner Steve Cohen. He arrives in Queens with the potential for success, thanks to his attractive experience working as the Yankees assistant GM under Brian Cashman. Eppler’s connections in the industry after his five-year stint as Angels GM were also a selling point for the Mets.

Back in September, Alderson said he hoped the Mets could find a president of baseball ops who would be invested in the team long term. In the end, Cohen and Alderson picked a GM who advertises enthusiasm and a clear drive to help upgrade the Mets. But Eppler is a GM, not a president of baseball ops. Alderson has indicated the Mets may try again next offseason at landing their head of operations. For now, though, Eppler has the runway to show the Mets what he can do. So far, fans should be pleased with his progress.

2. HIRE A VETERAN MANAGER

Verdict: Success

The 2021 Mets were a team with cracks in the clubhouse. They were accountability escape artists who lacked leadership. The animals were running the zoo, and it resulted in poor choices (making up a story about rats and raccoons, putting their thumbs down for the fans) and more losses than wins.

Enter: Buck Showalter, the adult in the room.

There is perhaps no better selection Steve Cohen and the Mets could’ve made this winter (besides the blockbuster signing of Max Scherzer) that will set the team up for success in 2022 and beyond. Showalter brings a fresh air of accountability, leadership, experience, humor, fun, wins — all of the buzzwords the Mets needed in the dugout last year and can expect to enjoy in the upcoming season.

We give the Mets an A+ for the Showalter hire not just because bringing in a veteran manager was an essential part of their offseason checklist, but also because baseball is better when Showalter and his extremely competitive attitude, one that will give Jacob deGrom a run for his money, is parked in the dugout for at least the next three years.

3. DEVELOP ORGANIZATIONWIDE WINNING CULTURE

Verdict: Success

The Mets have acquired the right pieces to set themselves up for success in this area. We wrote back in October that the Mets needed to limit the participation of yes-men and increase the value of contrarian core beliefs. That starts with asking a lot of questions about the process and holding everyone accountable — spanning from the minor leagues to the majors — for their shortcomings and failures.

Showalter has already pledged to flip the Mets culture simply by being him. The 65-year-old is known for his curiosity and he’s the exact opposite of a yes-man. The Mets skipper will want everyone’s opinions before carrying out a task, and he’ll ask plenty of questions, all of which figures to boost the front office’s intention to collaborate.

But this goes beyond Showalter. The Mets are also starting to develop an organization-wide winning culture by placing importance on signing players with good character. Take Scherzer, for example. The three-time Cy Young winner and eight-time All-Star will play for his fifth team next season.

He’s been both dominant on the mound and a leader in the clubhouse across his previous stops. Starling Marte, Eduardo Escobar and Mark Canha are also known for their strong character and teamfirst attitude. The Mets, so far, are making a point to acquire players with favorable resumes.

Younger Mets players like Pete Alonso, Dominic Smith, Jeff McNeil, and even Francisco Lindor, can stand to learn a lot about a winning culture from Scherzer, Marte, Escobar and Canha.

4. IMPROVE FLAWED HIRING/VETTING PROCESS

Verdict: Uncertain

The year that saw the Mets come under fire for hiring three individuals with sexual harassment allegations will soon come to an end. Former GM Jared Porter, manager Mickey Callaway and hitting coordinator Ryan Ellis all reportedly behaved inappropriately toward women while with the Mets, at prior stops or both.

In September, Alderson previewed what the Mets would focus on to improve their hiring and vetting practices. “What we’re doing … is to make sure the process is more systematic, deeper, broader and includes feedback from as many different sources as we can possibly get,” he said. To that extent, the Mets hired Korn Ferry, a search firm, to help them vet candidates during their hunt for a front office leader. In 2016, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred fired Korn Ferry as the league’s leadership search firm because, according to Yahoo! Sports, it failed to place a single minority in a front office job in its time working for MLB.

So while the Mets have beefed up the vetting process, there has been little progress on their hiring of diverse executives and minority leaders, including women. Even during their front office search, the Mets’ interview requests for Red Sox assistant general manager Raquel Ferreira and Yankees senior vice president and assistant GM Jean Afterman were viewed as formalities rather than serious interest. Both Ferreira and Afterman declined to be interviewed.

MLB as an industry is lagging behind its other professional sports counterparts in hiring minorities in front office roles. While it’s easy to critique the Mets for their still-flawed hiring practices due to their recent history, the sport’s reluctance to promote minorities is a larger, industry-wide issue. There is certainly more work to be done in that arena.