SANDY SADNESS

Somber Mets GM stepping away as cancer comes back Says based on team’s poor play, return ‘not warranted’ Mets to interview outside candidates: source

Sandy Alderson says his cancer ‘prognosis is good,’ then Mets win one for GM as Wilmer Flores’ walk-off single beats Pirates, 4-3, in 10 innings.

Mets GM Sandy Alderson, who is taking a leave from team due to a recurrence of cancer, has had his highs and lows through his eight years in Flushing. Staff writer Mark Fischer takes a look:

OCT. 29, 2010

With the Wilpons still reeling from the Bernie Madoff scandal, ownership brings in Alderson, one of the masterminds behind the success of the Moneyball Athletics of the early 2000s. Given a limited budget, Alderson employs in Flushing what made him and Billy Beane so effective in Oakland, all in hopes of snapping what was then a four-year playoff drought at the time. “If you think of all the elements, it’s an iconic franchise in a great city,” Alderson said at the time after replacing Omar Minaya. “With stable, caring ownership. Perhaps most importantly, committed, very passionate fans.”

NOV. 30, 2012

Hindsight is certainly 20/20 when it comes to David Wright. But the idea of Alderson handing the third basemen a seven-year, $122 million extension wasn’t as crazy as it seems now, even though a stress fracture on Wright’s lower back the season before would be one of the precursors to a series of injuries that has kept the former All-star out of the lineup since 2016.

DEC. 17, 2012

The Mets’ motto during the Alderson era has revolved around building an aggressive, young pitching rotation, which aside from a surprise run to the 2015 World Series hasn’t exactly panned out. That withstanding, the flame-throwing Noah Syndergaard, acquired from the Blue Jays for R.A. Dickey, will prove to be a pivotal part of the Mets moving forward. While Travis d’Arnaud is the centerpiece of the trade heading back to the Mets, Syndergaard turns out to the steal of the deal.

DEC. 2, 2013

Alderson has seen a fair-share of ex-players go on to burn him after leaving Queens. Exhibit A: Justin Turner. After hitting just .265 during three years with the Mets, Turner was DFA’d before being picked up by the Dodgers, where he would turn into one of the game’s premiere stars.

JULY 31, 2015

The Mets don’t sniff the 2015 World Series without the one they call “La Potencia” leading the way. Minutes before the trade deadline, Alderson snags Yoenis Cespedes from the rebuilding Tigers for pitchers Michael Fulmer and Luis Cessa, none of whom fit into the Mets’ future plans. Fulmer became a starter with Detroit, while Cessa has pitched here and there with the crosstown Yankees. Who can forget this Cespedes statline: 17 home runs, 44 RBI and a .287 average in just 57 games to cap off the regular season. He resigns on a threeyear deal worth $75 million, but has been on the shelf for half this season.

2015 WORLD SERIES RUN

Alderson’s vision of a strong cast of pitchers leading his team to the Fall Classic comes