After a midseason collapse last season, the New York Mets got to work retooling their entire. They made a huge splash in the offseason with their signing of Max Scherzer and Starling Marte. The icing on the cake was hiring former AL Manager of the Year winner Buck Showalter to lead the team to victory.
Unfortunately, one of Showalter's trusted men won't be making it to his Mets coaching staff. Brian Butterfield, who served as the Angels' third-base coach last year, wasn't allowed to be part of NY's new coaching staff due to his stance against the COVID-19 vaccine.
The newly-minted Mets manager commented on the matter, saying: (via Audacy.com)
“I know him too well to try to talk him into something like that… I love him to death. If he called me tomorrow and said, ‘I’ve changed my mind and I’ll come,’ I’d figure out every which way I could to get him.”
The Mets were able to pivot eventually to hiring Joey Cora as their third-base coach. Butterfield was the team's first option, as he has a long history with Showalter. The two were former teammates as well as being part of the same coaching staff for a good portion of their life.
In the meantime, the Mets are counting on Buck Showalter to turn this team around, with or without Brian Butterfield. The team enjoyed great success early into the season, before injuries to Jacob deGrom and a slump from the entire team had them miss the playoffs for the fifth year in a row.
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