Washington Nationals Editorial: Where Does Dusty Baker Rank Among Managers In The NL East?

Terry Collins – New York Mets

Last season, Collins had the best season of his 11-year managerial career. The Mets gave him some talent to work with and they were the first team Collins has ever led to a 90-win season as they eventually won the NL pennant. Collins has a career winning percentage of .496 with the Astros, Angels, and Mets. As a Mets’ manager, he is 394-416 (.486 winning percentage) in five seasons.

The one decision that people will remember from last season is when Collins left Matt Harvey in to start the ninth inning in Game 5 of the World Series against the Kansas City Royals. He went with his gut and it backfired, but it was an understandable decision.

The interesting thing to watch this season is how Collins and the Mets handle the expectations of being the hunted instead of the hunter. Here is what Collins had to say about those expectations:

"“We’re good. We’ve got a good team. Now, we can’t be egomaniacs about it, but you’ve got to walk out there with that confidence that we’re going to win.” (h/t Tim Rohan, New York Times)"

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It’s a close call between Collins and Baker, but I give Collins the slight edge as he has the talent now to do more than he did in his first four seasons with the Mets. We want to hear from you! How do you rank the managers in the NL East and where does Dusty Baker rank on your list?