Ed Blankmeyer hired by Mets to manage Brooklyn Cyclones
Ed Blankmeyer has sent more than 100 players to the professional ranks and now he will be joining them.
The legendary St. John’s baseball coach has agreed to a contract with the Mets as the manager for the Single-A Brooklyn Cyclones and their extended spring training coordinator after nearly four decades as a college coach.
The 65-year-old Blankmeyer, the Queens school’s all-time leader in wins and the Big East leader in conference victories, has had professional options before, but the timing was never right. After coaching his son, Ty, at St. John’s, and being offered the opportunity to remain in the area by the Mets, he accepted the offer.
“I’m looking for another mountain to climb,” he told The Post in a phone interview. “I just felt the time was right for me.”
Blankmeyer, a lifelong Mets fan who resides in New Jersey, had spoken to the team about joining their organization in the past. After talking to general manager Brodie Van Wagenen, assistant general manager Allard Baird and minor league director Jared Banner about their vision, he committed to the seismic change. Banner, in particular, convinced Blankmeyer someone like him was needed.
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Ed BlankmeyerCharles Wenzelberg/New York PostBlankmeyer doesn’t expect his job to be much different. It will still be about teaching, development and winning, the same things he did at St. John’s. The only change is he isn’t the boss anymore.
“I felt that I could be helpful,” said Blankmeyer, who had a hand in developing the likes of Joe Panik, Craig Hansen, Craig Biggio, Mo Vaughn, John Valentin and Matt Morris. “I liked the direction [Banner] was headed with the organization and the farm system. That’s the bottom line. When you make a change like this and you jump into pro ball, you better understand the vision and direction they want to go in.
“How they want to build and teach in the organization, that’s what I’m about, developing better baseball players and developing men. Good men who can play in the big leagues with the Mets.”
Blankmeyer reached out to St. John’s athletic director Mike Cragg on Sunday, informing him of his decision. There was no changing his mind.
“This is an opportunity I felt he couldn’t pass up,” Cragg said.
Blankmeyer replaces former Mets star Edgardo Alfonzo, who led the Cyclones to a New York Penn League title last season but wasn’t brought back.
The winningest coach in St. John’s baseball history, Blankmeyer ran the program for 24 years, notching an 829-500-44 record. He led the Johnnies to five Big East Tournament titles, six regular-season crowns and 11 NCAA Tournament berths, along with winning a Big East-best 347 conference games. He has been named Big East Coach of the Year a record eight times and has seen 91 of his players drafted and/or signed to professional contracts. Before coming to St. John’s, he was an assistant coach at Seton Hall, his alma mater, for 15 years.
“It’s tough to close one chapter of one book and open up another chapter, but I’m excited,” he said. “But gosh I’m going to miss these people.”
The Mets also named Lorenzo Bundy the manager of the Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies. Bundy, 60, is a veteran coach and was most recently managing in the Mexican League after splitting with the Marlins organization.
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