The National Baseball Hall of Fame has announced the candidates on the ballot for the Contemporary Baseball Era, and Sandy Alderson is among them.
Alderson was at one time a private attorney before becoming general counsel to the then-Oakland Athletics in 1981. After two years in that role, he took Billy Martin’s spot as the general manager of the A’s, and built teams that reached the World Series in 1988-1990. They took home the pennant in 1990.
During his first time with the Mets, Alderson was the executive
vice president of baseball for Major League Baseball starting in 1998 and ending in 2005. He next took a job as CEO of the San Diego Padres until 2009. In 2011, he joined the Mets as their general manager.
During his time with the Mets, he had a limited budget to work with. Nonetheless, Alderson made moves such as extending David Wright, trading for Zack Wheeler, and drafting Jacob deGrom. In 2015, the Mets made it back to the World Series, only to lose in five games to the Royals. However, Alderson was named Executive of the Year in 2015. He remained in his role as general manager with the Mets until 2018
After a brief return to the A’s, Alderson returned to the Mets as the team president when Steve Cohen purchased the team. He transitioned to an advisory role in 2022. His career in baseball has been long and storied, thanks to a high baseball IQ, good business sense, and probably vampires, and his nomination to the ballot is well deserved.
