Report: Mets Set to Hire Sandy Alderson as General Manager

The Mets have decided to hire Sandy Alderson as their next general manager, SI.com's Jon Heyman reported Tuesday night. The news comes just hours before the World Series is slated to begin, when normally a moratorium on all non-World-Series-related news is observed by the league.

The Mets were known to deciding between Alderson and former Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes, and given Alderson's more extensive and distinguished history as a GM, he seemed like the logical choice of the two.

Of course, Alderson hasn't actually been a general manager since 1997, when he stepped aside as Oakland's GM to make room for a young ex-player named Billy Beane to take over. Those versed in their Moneyball history no doubt remember Alderson as the general manager who kick-started Beane's interest in on-base percentage and unconventional scouting methods that formed the basis of the landmark book.

Alderson actually started his tenure as A's GM way back in 1983, which means that it was his work that laid the ground for the Bash Brothers and the Oakland clubs that won three straight AL Pennants and a World Series from 1988-1990.

Since stepping down as A's GM, Alderson worked both in the Commissioner's Office and as the CEO of the Padres from 2005-09. His long track record in baseball and his great success with the A's would seem to make him a solid choice for a Mets team that badly needs to get itself back on solid footing, but it really has been a long time since he's been the point man for a ballclub.

Will the time off affect him? The Mets are apparently about to find out.

FanHouse analyst and former Mets GM Steve Phillips reacts to the Mets' new hire: