New Mets executive: We can be ‘special’

Allard Baird’s reaction to the Mets’ big news last month aligned with most everyone else’s.

“When he was named general manager, I have to admit: I took a step back, because I’m thinking: How is this going to work?” Baird said Thursday, referring to new Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen, on a conference call.

How it’s going to work remains unclear, besides this: Baird, the veteran baseball executive, will be a crucial part of whatever it turns out to be.

Baird departed the Red Sox, where he had worked since 2006 (and collected three World Series rings), for the Mets, who announced Wednesday he would join them as their vice president and assistant general manager for scouting and development. The widely respected Baird said that he has moved to New York — he already owned an apartment in Manhattan — to take on this new challenge.

“He definitely knows how hard it is to play this game,” Baird said of Van Wagenen, a player representative until the Mets hired him to run their baseball operations. “I knew he had the attributes that would put him at a good position, but until being able to speak with him at length numerous times — even Thanksgiving Day, which I’m sure his family appreciated — that’s when I really was sold. When he was describing my role and the specifics of it, I felt like I could be a good resource for him and we had a chance to do something special here.”

His role will probably come closest to replicating that of J.P. Ricciardi, who departed the Mets following eight seasons shortly after Van Wagenen came aboard. Like Ricciardi, Baird is a former GM, having performed that job for the Royals from June 2000 to May 2006. Like Ricciardi, Baird possesses a scouting background.

“I’m going to be all over the map, I think,” Baird said. “… I’m here to be a part of this and to build something special.”