Willie Randolph still miffed by his Mets firing, second chance that never came

Former Mets manager Willie Randolph was shocked after he was let go in 2008. 

Seventeen years later, those feelings remain. 

“I used to stay up at night thinking about that and it gave me agita many times,” Randolph, 71, said on WFAN’s “BT and Sal” on Thursday. “To this day, I can’t figure out why because when you’re successful in this town… I thought you had a little more house money to play with. But I have no clue how or why that went down.

“It’s a tough game for everyone… I understand that. For me, it was the fact that I wasn’t able to continue to grow and get better. As a young manager you make your mistakes, you go through your ups and downs, but you get better, how to use your bullpen, how to deal with your players, all that stuff. I felt I was climbing. When I got fired, I was shocked — I can’t believe it to this day. And not getting another shot is even crazier.”

Randolph, a five-time All-Star for the Yankees from 1976-1988, was named manager of the crosstown Mets in 2005, something he remains proud of.

“I grew up a Met fan, I grew up in the city,” he said. “For me to get the opportunity after all those years of laboring through the interviews and all the stuff that you went through with that, which wasn’t always real, I finally got a shot. For me, I was very proud to be the first Black American to be named a manger in New York History. That was special to me.”

He led the Mets to an 83-79 mark in his first season, their first finish above .500 since 2001. The next year, they won the NL East with a 97-65 record, falling to the Cardinals in the NLCS in seven games.

The good times didn’t last — in 2007, the Mets were primed to win the NL East, leading by seven games with 17 to go before a collapse left them on the outside of the postseason, looking in.

A 34-35 start to the 2008 season spelled the end for Randolph’s tenure in Queens — and seemingly everywhere else.

He interviewed for a managerial job with the Brewers in 2009 that went to Ken Macha and eventually caught on with that staff for two seasons before joining Buck Showalter’s Orioles staff in 2011.

“It still sticks in my craw a little bit to be honest, I felt like I could have been inspiration to a lot of Black Americans who don’t get that opportunity, who don’t that second chance,” Randolph said of his inability to land another managerial gig.

“I felt like I built up enough clout to at least get enough house money to play with to move a little bit further.”