What do you recall about Terry Collins as manager of the Angels? He was just named manager of the Mets and I can't think of much of anything good to say about him... can you?
His 1997 Angels were in first place for 17 days, but never by more than one game. They were as high as 16 games over .500 at one point, but fizzled out at the end and finished 2007 at just three wins above .500 at 84-78.
His 1998 Angels were in first place by 3.5 games on September 6. They finished the season on September 27 three games back. They lost six and a half games in the standings in 21 days. Sounds like a perfect manager for the Mets.
The Bill Bavasi-led front office was confident enough to sign Mo Vaughn in the offseason and high expectations opened the 1999 Angels campaign, but fifteen players hit the disabled list, the players mutinied against Collins and he was dismissed midseason. Bavasi and lots of staff were let go as well. Collins had actually gotten the Angels to the brink where wholesale changes were made. It is our greatest fortune as fans that those changes worked better than any of us could have imagined.
The purge has just taken place in New York with the termination of entrenched Mets General Manager and all around jerk Omar Minaya as well as manager Jerry Manuel. One reason Collins edged out other candidates was his deep familiarity with the Mets minor leagues as he has served as an overseer of the team's system for the past few years. Perhaps he has mellowed with age and his years of wondering what-if have caused him to accept the second guesses and grow in his own self-awareness. He didn't have any as manager of the Angels and heaven help him if he doesn't have any when he faces that team's media.
0 recs | 21 comments
I miss the CA logo
The late-90’s were basically a mental blackout as far as baseball was concerned for me. I held a grudge against the team because of 1995 that lasted for a few years. Also started losing interest in playing around that time because of “small town locker room politics” I guess you could say.
I don’t remember much from about ‘96-’00 other than Tim Salmon, Garrett Anderson, Jim Edmonds and the CA logo. That and I remember the Mo Vaughn ankle incident re-igniting my self-loathing from ‘95. If the team ever switches names/logos again (which I hope they don’t) I would prefer a return to this style.
Commander_Nate - November 21, 2010
an irony
Terry Collins was hired by the California Angels but never managed them, they became the winged logo Anaheim Angels before the took the field in 1997.
Rev Halofan - November 22, 2010
That uniform was another reason I don't remember much from that period
I thought the switch was later though, like ’98 or something.
Commander_Nate - November 22, 2010
Speaking of logos...
What was your guys favorite Angels logo? The LA, the CA, the lower case a, the regular A with the halo from the 80s/90s, the Disney A with the wing (puke), or the one we have now?
I honestly like what we have now and wish we could just keep it like that for the rest of time.
notaznguy - November 22, 2010
The A with the Halo. I consider that the classic (and it was used during the 70s as well as 80s, 90s.)
I really like the initial powdered blue caps, but I don’t think they would work any more.
Barca - November 23, 2010
I like the A with the halo
Both the ‘70s/’80s version as well as the current one.
The C/A cap is also very elegant and classic looking.
Never really remembered the LA one (until I saw it in “The Sandlot”), and the lower case “a” and the winged A were horrible.
red floyd - November 23, 2010
Well, I'm finally back to HH
before I say anything, just wanted to apologize to you Rev, for abandoning the fantasy team midseason, and to whoever missed my foul mouth and contentiousness for the last three months of the season…and I’m sorry for giving ammo to a ton of people who probably think I’m some retarded bandwagoner now. I had a really rough last couple of months personally, so I took some time away from here to try to straighten some things out…didn’t mean to sabotage your league in the process, but I basically had no time for anything recently.
Anyway, I’m posting here because the Mets are (sadly) my #2 team. I’m pretty bitterly defensive of them, because I think the myth around them the last few seasons has been a bit larger than the reality to the point it’s swallowed it up. I actually feel bad for Manuel…he was thrown into a shitty situation and tried to make the best of it, but was really in a can’t-win situation. I can’t blame them for throwing him out when they were purging the franchise, but he’s more an unfortunate casualty of war than anything…I like the guy. Hope he catches on somewhere else.
As for the team? Well, I don’t think they’re in a terrible position right now. They played pretty good baseball into June this year and then just sorta crapped the bed…but they have some pieces there, and I think it would be foolish to not try to win with them first while they’re young. Trying for a full, healthy year of Reyes, Wright, Beltran, and Bay could work out well for them. Ike Davis’ immediate impact last year was a welcome surprise, and he could easily mature into what Casey Kotchman never could become. Santana is regressing, but still has front-end caliber numbers for the next couple years and could anchor a thin rotation…albeit one with some decent young arms trailing behind. I’ve given up on Maine, but Pelfrey and Niese are legitimate talents, and Mejia has all the makings of a future ace. F-Mart could very well be a star, and I REALLY like what Pagan could bring to the table.
Basically, I’d hate to see the team give up on its core this early…the franchise isn’t the disaster some say it is, and I think it’s too early to blow it up. If Collins has learned a goddamn thing since 11 years ago, maybe being humbled by playing Lost in Translation the last couple years and toiling in the minors, then maybe he can turn his fiery demeanor into a motivator for a club that got down on itself the moment things turned bad. This is actually a team that was jumping and dancing and high fiving every run that came across the plate in May this year when they were rolling…and by July they had become a group of head-hangers in the dugout. Actually, their season sorta paralleled ours in some respects. All the while, Manuel sorta sat there with a “gee golly I dunno” look, and things sorta snowballed. I don’t think Collins is a bad baseball mind at all, to be honest. The issue was just always in his demeanor. If he’s overhauled that at all, or if some of the Mets goofballs (Santana, Reyes, Pagan) can loosen him up, I don’t think they’re headed for disaster. I don’t think they’re beyond competing in a division where the Phillies’ glory days are probably coming to an end.
Caseys Kiss of Death - November 21, 2010
welcome back man
sometimes I wonder if people have died when they don’t post here for a while. I figured you were just in some sort of flux, but always good to have the mighty CKOD on board.
Rev Halofan - November 22, 2010
If I die, I'll be sure to let you guys know.
Commander_Nate - November 22, 2010
I voted in a few polls from time to time for basically just that purpose.
but I really just couldn’t invest myself in anything other than that…some emotionally draining B.S., and what good am I if I’m not hyperbolic and overly passionate?
Caseys Kiss of Death - November 22, 2010
but what about 2007
it made “our” 1995 look better
Halos in DE - November 22, 2010
Mets fans
I’m a Mets fan first and Halos fan second.
I posted this is another thread, but since it fits here:
One thing you have to understand about the Mets’ fanbase is their paranoia and almost irrational fear that no matter how good things seem, it’s somehow going to end up bad in the end. This is a long-standing product of being in the same city as the Yankees, as well as the effect of the last few seasons.
Since falling one game short of the World Series in 2006, they’ve been on the wrong end of two late-season collapses (one of which was of historic proportions), and endured incompetence from the organization’s heirarchy from ownership (the owner’s son, COO Jeff Wilpon, is seen as soemthing of a spoiled rich kid who meddles too much with baseball decisions) to the general manager and field manager.
By the end of the 2010 season, the organization was basically a joke (check out Amazin Avenue for a chronology of individual embarassments) and the fans had absolutely zero faith in the people running the organization to do literally anything right. The hiring of Sandy Alderson as GM was seen as a smart move, but was still met with skepticism, a symptom of this now-instinctual fear that it will all somehow go wrong.
The stuff that happened with the Angels scares me, but I guess we’ll see if he’s learned anything in the last 11 years. Teams tend to swing the pendulum in the complete opposite direction after an unpleasant experience with a manager/GM, and Collins’ fire-and-brimstone approach is certainly the opposite of Jerry Manuel’s post-game stand-up comedy routines with the media.
I’m not sure it really matters all that much, anyway, as the talent of the players will dictate his success or failure, just as it did Manuel.
El Duq of Hurl - November 22, 2010
Holding a grudge a bit long?
Hey Rev – respect the opinion.
I have no “love” for Collins, and I certainly don’t care what Alderson and the Mets are doing. I appreciate that they took HGH from us, but unless they are willing to take Mathis and Wood from us too……..
As for Collins: picking apart what he did 10+ years ago seems a little harsh. Everyone screws up, and we all hope (or at least I do) that we still aren’t getting our noses rubbing in it 10 years later.
mustard_man - November 22, 2010
I was pretty young during the "Collins' Years"
I was in my early teens during Collins’ tenure. Even then I was an avid Angel fan and followed them closely. However, I have to admit that I had no idea that Collins was such a hardass until listening to your interview the other week, Rev. That being said, Collins really meant little to me. I always wanted to back our managers but growing up we seemed to have nothing but mediocre men at the helm — Doug Radar, Marcel Lachemann, Terry Collins. I do remember, though, when Maddon took over and I really liked him. Still do, actually. Super happy with Scioscia but Maddon’s-style, while a product of Soth, is so much fun.
BryanHarvey'sMoustache - November 22, 2010
Whoa..
I didn’t realize Collins managed the team until 2007…lol
maze88 - November 22, 2010
Collins was the type of a guy who could take a team with Salmon, Anderson, Erstad, Edmonds
And declare that the Heart and Soul of the Team was Dave Hollins.
mattwelch - November 22, 2010
+1 and rec'd
angelslogic - November 22, 2010
haha Dave Hollins
Halos in DE - November 22, 2010
Apparently the Mets front office thinks the players really need a fire under them
It isn’t just Collins being hire to manage—story tonight has Larry Bowa becoming the Mets’ bench coach.
It’s about time someone other than K-Rod was punching people out in the locker room.
George Kaplan - November 22, 2010
Angels
Collins will be fine for the Mets-They arent going anywhere and niether is he-The Angels have one of the best in Scossia and they need to focus on Beltre-Crawford-And the closer-I think that is Soriano-And keep who they have—Napoli-Morales-Kendrick-Aybar-Beltre-Crawford-Bourjjos-Hunter-Abreu-Bench—Isturis-Wilitz-Trout-Frandson-Trumbo-Calypso-Conger-Wilson-Rivera-throughout the year—-The 5 starters and the rest of the Bullpen will be fine and the Angels will be easily back on top this year with this Roster and the Payroll will be about 125 to 130 million
high but affordable—GO ANGELS!!!!!!!!Now with this roster they would have at least 4 players that could be used in a "good " trade for a starting pitcher later if Kazmir doesnt come back
spc7 - November 23, 2010
CSUF Game
When I think Collins one of the things I remember was going to an exposition game between Cal State Fullerton and the Angels at Angel Stadium (Edison Field). What made it all the stranger was Kevin Costner (yes that one) was the short stop for CSUF. During the 7th inning stretch, Costner actually pitched to Collins. Collins ended up grounding out to either SS or 3rd.
Now that’s a memory I feel is worth keeping!
JakeinVV - November 30, 2010
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