The New York Mets appointed Hensley Meulens as their bench coach in November. He was supposed to be a part of Carlos Beltran’s staff, but now the latter is gone. The team, as a consequence, is looking for a new skipper. Among internal candidates, Meulens is as good as any.
Hensley Meulens is a baseball man. He was a Major League player back in the day, he has lots of coaching experience and he has even managed the Netherlands’ World Baseball Classic squad a couple of times.
A great communicator for the Mets
He is a fantastic communicator, and that is often an underappreciated trait in baseball. Young players, especially foreign ones, are much more comfortable speaking in their own language. Meulens is a great facilitator in that regard, speaking English, Spanish, Dutch, Japanese, and Papiamento, which is spoken in Aruba and in his native Curacao.
Meulens evolved enough to learn and digest advanced stats and analytics. He is no dinosaur in that regard. The fact that he can impart his vast baseball knowledge with impeccable communication skills bodes well for his chances of securing the Mets’ position.
The experienced baseball man interviewed for the Yankees’ 2017 managerial opening and he was allegedly impressive. The team went with Aaron Boone, who played with the Bombers back in the day and was a postseason hero.
Back then, he sold the Yankees about his communication prowess. “I’ve been known as a great communicator with guys because I speak five languages. I like going around the clubhouse, finding out how guys are feeling,†he said. The Mets sure could use a talkative and understanding presence in their dugout. They need it after an agitated offseason.
Meulens has experience as a hitting coach. He could mesh well with current hitting coach Chili Davis and cover the offense while the analytics-driven Jeremy Hefner pays more attention to the pitching.
A little bit about Meulens
The folks at MetsMerizedonline.com did a pretty good Meulens’ profile. He is now 52 and has been around baseball since he signed with the Yankees out of his native Curacao in 1985.
Meulens played in the bigs for seven years after reaching The Show in 1989. He also played in Japan and Korea.
Besides coaching the Netherlands, he was making a career as a coach in the bigs. He was appointed as the San Francisco Giants’ hitting coach in 2010, and won three rings in the Bay.
Meulens’ nickname is Bam Bam. Stars such as Brandon Belt and Buster Posey often praise his work. Players like and respect him. He is familiar with what the team wants to implement and achieve. He could be the perfect candidate to manage the New York Mets.