In the revelry of the Mets’ playoff celebration on Saturday, one moment resonated. A group of players, led by Jerry Blevins, Jose Reyes and James Loney, formed a circle around Mets Manager Terry Collins and jumped up and down, hooting and hollering as they sprayed him with Champagne and beer.
Collins laughed and shook his arms as if that would help dry his drenched shirt. “I’m too old for that shock treatment,” he said.
In a sense, he was right. At 67, he is the senior manager in the major leagues, but in a season filled with injuries and other setbacks, it was Collins, ancient as he sometimes might feel, who found a way to keep his team from falling apart.