Former New York Mets, Houston Astros, and Oakland A’s manager Art Howe’s life is in danger due to COVID-19 related health complications.
Art Howe will forever be remembered as the manager of the “Moneyball” Oakland A’s. He led that team to three straight playoff appearances and two straight 100-win seasons. His ouster in Oakland was due to a lack of postseason success. That led him to the New York Mets.
The Wilpons were looking for a high-profile manager to take over their new and expensive roster. It didn’t work out as Howe lasted only two seasons and had a record of 137-186. That team was unfairly named “the worst team money can buy.”
According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, that man is now in intensive care due to COVID-19 related health complications.
Prayers to Art Howe, one of the nicest men who ever wore a baseball uniform, who's in intensive care in Houston with COVID-19.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) May 14, 2020
Howe’s legacy with the Mets is so much more than being the manager of the underperforming 2003 and 2004 teams. He was Jose Reyes and David Wright‘s first major league manager.
The valuable experience that he gave them such an early age set the stage for their explosion in 2005. Both players ended up being cornerstones of the franchise and both could have their names in the Mets Hall of Fame in the near future.
Howe wasn’t the greatest manager in Mets history, but he had his role. He was the bridge to Willie Randolph and the great Mets teams of the mid-2000s. Would things have been different had the Mets kept Howe?
Would he have been able to get over the hump in 2006? Could he have prevented the collapses in 2007 and 2008? It’s impossible to know, but he wasn’t given the chance.
He built much of the core of those teams. Cliff Floyd, Jose Reyes, David Wright, Tom Glavine, and Steve Trachsel are just a few of the key members of the 2006 team that played under Howe years earlier.
Let’s all wish Howe the best. It’s too soon for baseball to be missing the former manager.
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