Backman named B-Mets manager
In 2010, the Hillsboro, Ore., native led Brooklyn to an impressive 51-24 record and the New York-Penn League Championship Series, where the club fell to the Tri-City Valley Cats.
"I remember when I first got to Double-A [as a player]," Backman said. "I knew that I was on the right track. Certain players are really going to work hard for their dreams of playing in the Major Leagues. It's all based on fundamentals. If the players buy into the system, we're going to be good in Binghamton. I like to win. It's still about development, but I believe winning is part of development.
Pitching coach Marc Valdes will join the Binghamton staff after serving in the same role for the Savannah Sand Gnats from 2009-2010, while hitting coach Luis Natera returns for his third straight season with the club.
Wally Backman
Backman, 51, enjoyed a 14-year Major League career with five different teams, including nine years with the Mets. Heralded for his hard-nosed play, he was a member of New York's 1986 World Championship team. As a second baseman with the '86 Mets, Backman had a career year, with a .320 batting average over 124 games in the regular season. He batted .275 for his career with 10 homers and 240 RBIs while compiling a sparkling .980 fielding percentage in 1,102 games played.
"It's exciting to be with the Mets," Backman said. "It was almost like a homecoming coming back to the Mets last year. Being traded for the first time, takes a piece of you. I would say my heart never left New York."
The Mets drafted Backman out of Aloha High School in Hillsboro with the 16th overall pick in the 1977 First-Year Player Draft. Upon being drafted, the highly touted, 17-year-old began his professional career with Little Falls, the Mets' affiliate in the Class A Short-Season New York-Penn League. He cracked the big leagues for the first time in 1980 as a September callup. The scrappy infielder made his Major League debut on Sept. 2, 1980. as a 20-year-old, and pounded out two hits against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Backman retired following his release from the Seattle Mariners in May of 1993. He began his managerial career in 1997 in the independent Northeast League. After three years in the Western Baseball League (1998-2000), he was hired by the Chicago White Sox to skipper Winston-Salem (Class A Advanced). In 2002, he was promoted to Birmingham (Double-A) where he led the Barons to the Southern League Championship. The Arizona Diamondbacks snapped him up in 2004 to lead the Lancaster JetHawks (Class A Advanced). Backman skippered them to an 86-54 mark, which yielded him Sporting News' "Minor League Manager of the Year" honors.
He was named the Diamondbacks manager in November of that year, but was relieved of the position four days later. Backman managed the South Georgia Peanuts in 2007 and the Joliet JackHammers from 2008-2009, both of which are independent league teams.
Marc Valdes
Valdes, 38, begins his fifth year in the New York Mets organization and first at the Double-A level. He spent 2009-2010 as pitching coach of Savannah (Class A). In 2010, the Sand Gnats finished second in the South Atlantic League with a 3.08 team ERA. He joined the Mets in 2007 as the pitching coach for Kingsport (Rookie-level), where he served for two seasons.
The right-hander spent six seasons in the Major Leagues (1995-2001) with four different teams: the Florida Marlins, Montreal Expos, Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves. In 144 games, he compiled a 12-15 record with four saves and a 4.95 ERA. From 2002-2004, he pitched in the Japanese Professional League for the Hanshin Tigers and Chunichi Dragons. Valdes was drafted out of the University of Florida by the expansion Florida Marlins with the 27th overall pick in 1993. He remains the Gators' all-time leader in wins (31) and innings (394.2). A native of Dayton, Ohio, he currently resides in Tampa, Fla., with his wife, Heather.
Luis Natera
Natera is entering his 14th season in the Mets organization as a coach or coordinator, including four seasons as the B-Mets hitting coach (2000, 2008-2010). Natera has served as a hitting coach for New York at five different levels, including Class A Advanced St. Lucie (2007), Class A Hagerstown (2005-2006), Rookie-level Kingsport (2003-2004) and Class A Capital City (1999). He was also a member of the coaching staff for the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Mets in 1998.
Natera served in his native country as coordinator of the Mets' Dominican Academy in 2001 and 2002. An infielder, he played shortstop in the Mets organization from 1984-1988, advancing as high as the Class A South Atlantic League. He lives with his wife, Maria Elena, and their sons, Luis Alberto, Jose Luis and David Luis. Luis Alberto played for the Dominican Summer League Mets (Rookie) in 2009 and 2010.