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Mets Bring Back Valentine, Phillips

October 31, 2000 / 11:03 AM EST / CBS/AP

The New York Mets agreed Tuesday to three-year contracts with manager Bobby Valentine and general manager Steve Phillips.

"I knew I can do better than I've done," Valentine said. "I can manage better and can interract better with those around me."

Valentine, the only manager to take the team to consecutive postseason appearances, had been under contract through midnight Tuesday.

At least one club had shown interest in Valentine. Cincinnati was reportedly denied permission to talk with him during the playoffs. There are currently three other manager openings.

Phillips and Valentine have had a contentious relationship, but it seemed to improve in recent months.

"The one thing we've both had to deal with is forgiveness," Phillips said. "If we've been offended by something that was said or something done, we've probably both held on to some things longer than we should have."

A turning point seemed to be a speech in Philadelphia that Valentine made early this season. In some reports at the time, he was said to be critical of Mets' management, but many of the more sensational comments published at the time turned out to be exaggerations from an audience member at Pennsylvania's business school.

"We've had ups and downs, things we've agreed and disagreed on," Phillips said. "Sometimes in New York, the issues become bigger, but we got through that one and we're going to get through the next one."

Valentine thought he should be compensated at least as well as Dusty Baker, who just signed a $5.3 million, two-year deal with San Francisco. The new deals for Valentine and Phillips contain team options for 2004.

The Mets won the NL pennant for the first time in 14 years, then lost 4-1 to the Yankees in the first Subway Series since 1956.

"We're on the brink," Phillips said. "They made plays and pitches that we didn't, but we are close. The core is here for a winning team."

Division is nothing new for Mets management. The team's two co-owners, Fred Wilpon and Nelson Doubleday, hardly speak, often using intermediaries. While Wilpon wants a new ballpark, Doubleday opposes one, preferring that Shea Stadium be refurbished.

Neither Wilpon nor Doubleday was at the news conference. Major league owners were meeting Tuesday in Chicago.

The Mets have a busy offseason ahead of them, with nine players eligible for free agency.

Mike Hampton, Rick Reed and Bobby J. Jones, three of the team's top four starters, are free to go, along with setp men Turk Wendell and John Franco.

Shortstop Mike Bordick filed for free agency last week, and Kurt Abbott, Derek Bell and Lenny Harris are also eligible, but aren't as high a priority for the Mets as the pitchers.

"It is safe to assume during this period of exclusivity that we will have contact with all representatives and give them our feeling about where things are," Phillips said. "We will make proposals on some, get a feel for the market place on some, and some we will call and say we are moving in a different direction."

The team also will likely pursue All-Star shortstop Alex Rodriguez, expected to be baseball's highest-paid player, and perhaps Baltimore ace Mike Mussina, if Hampton leaves.