Tim Teufel Interview

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The NY Sports Day Interview: Tim Teufel

http://www.nysportsday.com

FLUSHING, NY - The Mets of the 1980s have been remembered as one of the more outgoing group of players in recent times. With all of the winning, booze, drugs and free thought that came from those teams, no one thought, at the time, there would be so many future managers and coaches. But it happened and Tim Teufel is one of them. The former second baseman is beginning his third year as a manager and second skippering the St. Lucie Mets. When he was in New York to greet fans buying tickets, NY Sports Day was able to ask Teufel a few questions.


NY Sports Day: How does the St Lucie team look this year?

Tim Teufel: It's pretty much the same guys I had in Brooklyn a couple of years ago. There may be a couple of guys from Kingsport or the Dominican. It's pretty much the core guys that jumped up through the ranks. Many jumped up to AA already, but it's the same guys and I get to see them again.

NYSD: How big of a loss is Ian Bladergroen for the organization?

TT: It's a big loss for a minor league team, but for an organizational standpoint look at what we got, so there we go. I'm in development, so it's more of a feeder program for the overall good of the program, not a particular town's record or anything. Development is a little different animal. We develop the players and move on. Last year we were pretty successful at developing talent. Port St. Lucie moved six or seven players up to AA, so it was a pretty good year for us.

NYSD: Do you think Mookie Wilson will succeed as the manager of the Brooklyn Cyclones?

TT: Mookie will do great; He's good with kids and on top of things. Mookie's going to have a fun year up in Brooklyn.

NYSD: Do you eventually want to manage in the majors?

TT: Eventually that's the goal for anyone who coaches in minor league baseball, especially the guys who have been in a big league setting for their careers. We have that goal in the back of our minds someday. We know it takes time to develop and that's what I am doing right now. I am just building my resume and we will go from there.

NYSD: Do you think Gary Carter will succeed as the manager of the Gulf Coast Mets?

TT: Gary has been up in the booth and called games for the Expos and Marlins, I think he is all set. He's doing the Gulf Coast League, which is more of working with the kids than first and thirds and double steals. It's more communicating with the kids and getting them up to the next level.

NYSD: What managers have been your biggest influences?

TT: Well Davey Johnson had a big influence. [So have] Tom Kelly and Bruce Bochy, I've been around. There have been some quality managers I've been around. And then there are guys who weren't good managers and I learned from the negative side. You can learn from any situation.

NYSD: Why do you think the Mets organization of the 1980s produced so many managers?

TT: We learned how to win, what it takes to win, and we learned a winning style. That's what this organization gives back to guys who spent three years in a very successful program. We evaluated what worked and what didn't work. We've been through the advantage because we've seen what works and what doesn't work and what could possibly work in the future.

NYSD: Have you spoken to Wally Backman after his troubles?

TT: Can't get a hold of him. Wally is a guy who has been a little undercover because of what happened to him. I feel bad for him because he's on top of the world one day and brought down a couple days later. I feel for Wally.

NYSD: Have you offered Willie Randolph any advice since he took the job?

TT: I'm on the other side of the fence now and I need to think like the players. My job is to manage players, then I manage the game and then I manage the media. From there that's the order in the minors. In the bigs, it's manage the media, the players and then the game. It's a little different, so what I learned is that I need to motivate the players to come out every day and play hard. I haven't been down there and I am sure Willie will make mistakes and I am sure he will do a great job.

Managing is always a second guess position. That's the nature of the beast. I go through that on a daily basis in the minor leagues. That's how you learn and Willie has been in an organization that has been very successful under Joe Torre and I am sure he's going to learn. A lot of those lessons he's going to go through because he was with the Yankees the last nine years. I think he's going to do a great job.