Wally: Alderson ‘blackballed’ me
Former Triple-A Las Vegas manager Wally Backman blasted Sandy Alderson and Jeff Wilpon Wednesday, telling Bob Klapisch of NorthJersey.com that the Mets GM “blackballed” him and the Mets owner “betrayed” him.
Backman — who will manage in Mexico this season — hasn’t been able to get a minor-league coaching job since resigning at the end of the season. And he believes Alderson is the reason why.
“There’s been a bad roadblock, and I know where it’s coming from,” Backman told Klapisch, citing that he was tipped off of Alderson’s alleged dirty ways from a friend in the commissioner’s office. “In the last phone call I had with Sandy (in September) he said, ‘I will do anything I can to help you.’ But he is not an honest man. People are telling me, ‘Sandy has it in for you. You’re being blackballed.’”
“I’ve talked to several teams, and every one of them has said, ‘You’re overqualified,’” Backman continued. “How can you be overqualified when you’re trying to win? No one is overqualified unless there’s something else going on.”
According to the report, Alderson declined to respond to Backman’s accusations.
In September, Backman had said that he’d chosen to resign because of a “lack of respect” from the Mets organization. He was passed over during the team’s search for a major-league bench coach, and didn’t feel he had a future with the organization.
Reports had suggested that Backman upset the front office with his handling of top prospects Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo.
Backman added Jeff Wilpon “didn’t stand up for me” despite his extensive resume managing the organization’s Triple-A team.