Amazin’s weren’t going to speed up process for Girardi

After Joe Girardi interviewed for a second time for the Mets managerial opening on Oct. 22, the team’s top brass wanted to keep him alive in the process. He wasn’t a clear frontrunner and wasn’t eliminated. The Mets preferred to think about him for a longer period.

And the front office’s perception was that Girardi’s preference among all the openings was the Mets. But whether that was true or not, they also had heard what so many in the game had — that Girardi was the clear top choice with the Phillies, especially with owner John Middleton, and that Philadelphia wanted to move quickly.

Brodie Van Wagenen had laid out a multi-tiered process to find Mickey Callaway’s successor. But now the Mets had to at least contemplate whether they wanted to speed up or eliminate elements in case Girardi provided an ultimatum. That never became a factor because Girardi gave a courtesy call the next day to say he was taking the Phillies job and because no matter what, Van Wagenen insists, “we weren’t going to speed up the process for anyone. The only way to be 100 percent sure about someone was to go through the whole process.”

That is how Girardi and Carlos Beltran became intriguing NL East rivals. Beltran played for Girardi with the Yankees from 2014-16. Now, he will manage against Girardi 19 times a year after being officially introduced Monday as Mets manager.

Girardi hovered over the Met managerial process because he was the only known serious candidate with previous managerial experience, which was made more appealing because he did 10 years already in New York with the Yankees and had won a championship. And he was the consensus fan pick.

But officials briefed on the Met process said Van Wagenen emphasized the need for a comfortable, casual relationship between the GM and a new manager to better forge a united front in a difficult, pressurized atmosphere. And word from inside was that Van Wagenen could not get to that place with Girardi.

Van Wagenen sidestepped the Girardi minefield multiple times at Beltran’s introduction by stating the managerial decision came down to what Beltran could offer rather than what anyone else lacked. Still, Van Wagenen made reference to wanting a situation in which he could “exhale” in comfort when visiting the manager’s office rather than “inhale” in concerned anticipation.

Girardi was gone by the time the Mets got to a final three of Beltran, ESPN’s Eduardo Perez and Minnesota’s Derek Shelton.

“Carlos won — the others didn’t lose,” Jeff Wilpon insisted. “I can’t say enough good things about Eduardo and Derek. They were excellent, excellent candidates. Neither lost. We really just felt great about Carlos.”