At the end of the 2016 season, Backman stepped down from his job as the manager of the Las Vegas 51s. He said he felt an opportunity to move up in the Mets organization just wasn’t there, and to be frank, he was probably right. A lot of us thought that would be the last we heard about Backman and the Mets, but unfortunately, that’s not the case.
Backman spoke with NorthJersey.com’s Bob Klapisch and expressed some frustration with how his departure has affected his ability to find a new job. He goes as far as to say he believes Sandy Alderson and the Mets have “blackballed” him.