Frank Walks Episode 101: Wally Backman
Recently, I met up with Wally Backman and had a chance to serve as bench coach alongside him for a game with the Staten Island FerryHawks. Backman was a key member of the 1986 Mets, playing second base, while leading the team with a .320 batting average. Platooning with Tim Teufel, Backman and Lenny Dykstra were a 1-2 punch at the top of the Mets' lineup, providing the spark for their franchise-best 108 wins. In the postseason, Wally Backman helped spark a ninth-inning comeback in Game 3 of the NLCS and scored the winning run in Game 5 against the Astros.
Since retiring from baseball in 1993, Wally Backman has coached and managed. He spent several seasons managing the Las Vegas 51s, a AAA team for the Mets at the time, helping develop stars like Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard. He also managed in the acclaimed series, "Managing for Peanuts", documenting the 2007 season for the independent South Georgia Peanuts.
