Sandy Alderson, as outgoing Mets president who will continue in an advisory position to the owner, expects to participate in the process to choose his successor.
But the job description for Alderson’s replacement may not involve much in terms of shaping baseball operations. Alderson admitted Friday that he has been largely uninvolved with baseball operations this season, following general manager Billy Eppler’s hiring last November.
“I would say I was very much removed, by design, by preference,” Alderson said at Citi Field on Friday after the Mets a day earlier announced he would step down as team president once his replacement is found. “There was a lot going on with the business side and I think Steve [Cohen] was confident in what Billy was doing.
“It’s difficult to provide any insight unless you are in the weeds with everybody else, so I have been careful not to go beyond what my current knowledge has been.”
Asked if he thought his successor would be more involved in baseball operations, Alderson said: “Not necessarily.”
Alderson, 74, said his decision to step down as team president was based on wanting to move his life in a different direction. He returned to the Mets in 2020 — after 7 ½ years as the team’s general manager — to help Cohen, a baseball outsider, with his transition after he purchased the club.
Alderson’s presence helped provide Cohen with credibility as he sought the necessary approval of MLB owners to buy the Mets.
“I haven’t been on a summer vacation in 40 years,” Alderson said. “The fact I have never been to Yosemite and lived in California for 25 years, it’s somewhat telling. Not that I have this strong desire to go to Yosemite or Lake Tahoe or the Catskills for that matter. [But] I am looking for a little different cadence.”
Alderson said he’s most proud of the infrastructure to the organization that has been built during his tenure as team president. He cited the return of Old Timers’ Day and the Keith Hernandez number retirement ceremony as two successes from this year that stand out.
“It’s easy to screw up, especially with everybody constantly observing,” Alderson said. “I think we have limited the forced errors this year. I think that’s a function of better organization, better leadership and attention to detail that I think has become more of a cornerstone of this organization than it was in the past.”
Alderson said he will continue in his role whether it takes “six weeks or six months” to find his successor.
“My goal is to keep powering through because ultimately last impressions are important,” he said. “My responsibility is my responsibility. It didn’t end [Thursday].”
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