Mets interview Andy Van Slyke

By David LennonDecember 6, 2010

Well, it's not Cliff Lee or Carl Crawford, but the Mets provided a ripple of news this afternoon when Terry Collins revealed that Andy Van Slyke is interviewing here for the job of hitting coach.

"We were together in Pittsburgh," Collins said. "Then I know Andy as a player, I knew him as a coach when he was with the Tigers. I know he's a real, real bright guy and played the game right, studied the game. So I wanted to talk to him about this job."

Collins said that Van Slyke was sought out frequently for hitting advice during his time as a first-base coach with the Tigers as well as a player with the PIrates.

"I know of a lot of players in Detroit went to Andy," Collins said. "Major League players, they want all the input they can get. When you have a guy that's as good as Andy Van Slyke, and you want to hear what he had to do, what he did as a hitter and just to gain some more knowledge."

Van Slyke was a career .274 hitter during 13 seasons, but hit over .300 twice, and in back-to-back seasons. He batted .324 in 1992 and .310 the following year.